CUANAS: 10/01/2006 - 11/01/2006

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Preach It, Marvin

Marvin Gaye sings the Star Spangled Banner.

Damn!

Bela Lugosi's Dead

A video by the great old goth band, Bauhaus. Well actually, it's not a video. It's a clip from the movie, The Hunger, starring Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie.

Russia Loves Them Peaceful Iranian Nukes

George Bush named Iran as a member of the Axis of Evil. Iran has confirmed their malevolence by calling for Israel to be wiped off the map.

And, now Russia has clearly chosen sides in the war, indicating they believe Iran's nukes are peaceful nukes:

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Tuesday it believed Iran's nuclear program was peaceful, and a political dialogue, not sanctions, must be used in talks with Tehran. "We do not have information that would suggest that Iran is carrying out a non-peaceful (nuclear) program," Russian Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov told a news conference in Moscow.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a telephone conversation on Monday that talks over Iran's nuclear dispute were being hindered because the European side did not have enough authority.

"The most important problem in continuing Iran and Europe's negotiations (over the nuclear issue) is the European side's lack of enough authority (to take decisions)," an Iranian television report quoted Ahmadinejad as telling Putin.

In a statement on Monday, the Kremlin said Putin had told the Iranian leader that Moscow favored further talks. European states have prepared a draft sanctions resolution but Russia has voiced misgivings. "Sanctions should not be adopted for their own sake," Ivanov said.

Russia believes it can play Iran against the United States. That will work. If we do not take care of the Iranian threat, it will weaken our position in the world. However, just as appeasers hope the crocodile will not eat them, so it is true for Russia. Iran will come back to bite them in the ass, you can be sure of it.

Isn't it interesting that Russia is playing their hand in the exact same way as they did in the leadup to WWII? Remember what happened to them then? Ahmadinejad will turn on Russia just like Hitler did.

British Scientists Grow Human Liver In Lab

And, they did it starting with stem cells which are the initial cells in an embryo when sperm and egg are joined. Stem cells also exist in umbilical fluid. This is an awesome, awesome achievement:

British scientists have grown the world's first artificial liver from stem cells in a breakthrough that will one day provide entire organs for transplant. The technique that created the 'mini-liver', currently the size of a one pence piece, will be developed to create a full-size functioning liver.

Described as a 'Eureka moment' by the Newcastle University researchers, the tissue was created from blood taken from babies' umbilical cords just a few minutes after birth. As it stands, the mini organ can be used to test new drugs, preventing disasters such as the recent 'Elephant Man' drug trial. Using lab-grown liver tissue would also reduce the number of animal experiments.

Within five years, pieces of artificial tissue could be used to repair livers damaged by injury, disease, alcohol abuse and paracetamol overdose. And then, in just 15 years' time, entire liver transplants could take place using organs grown in a lab.

The development provides fresh hope for the hundreds of Britons in dire need of a new liver each year. There are currently 336 patients waiting for a liver transplant - the type of operation performed on George Best. However, in 2004, 72 people died waiting for a suitable donor.

The liver tissue is created from stem cells - blank cells capable of developing into different types of tissue - found in blood from the umbilical cord. Working in collaboration with experts from the US, the Newcastle scientists succeeded in separating out the stem cells from blood removed from the umbilical cord minutes after birth.

They are then placed in a 'bioreactor' - a piece of electrical equipment developed by NASA to mimic the effects of weightlessness. Inside this, the freedom from the force of gravity allows them to multiply more quickly than usual. Then, various hormones and chemicals are added to coax the stem cells into turning into liver tissue.

God gave us the materials, and we are learning how to use them.

Monday, October 30, 2006

Bella Luna

A great song combined with some pretty interesting Japanese Anime:

Sunday, October 29, 2006

An Act Of Faith
The Kingdom Of God
Is Not
A Matter Of Talk
But Of Power

And he said to them, "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power."

Collide

One of my favorite songs from the past year. Howie Day sings Collide:

Fashion Nazis

Un-friggin'-believable!

From Pamela, at Atlas Shrugs:

Behind the seams Spring/summer for Hitler

But if the Voyage designers Rocky Mazzilli and his mother, Louise, are to be believed, the swastika is the new black.

It seems that Harry’s “Gestapo look” [???], otherwise known as the biggest fancy dress disaster since the invention of French maids, may have been the inspiration for their new collection, Year 0. And the reaction from the public was also perfectly in tune with the Prince: the designers were unceremoniously ejected from a Soho nightclub for upsetting revellers with their swastika-print garments this weekend.

“My interpretation of the swastika is of anarchy, rebellion and nonconformism. Isn’t that what London’s clubs believe in, too?” asks Rocky. Source: here.

Israelis
Put
Nuclear Bunkers
In Their
Gardens

In April of 2003, I formed an organization called the Christians United Against the New Anti-Semitism (CUANAS). Our purpose, initially, was to inform Pastors of the rising tide of anti-Semitism in our post-9/11 world. The first plan of action was to meet with Pastors and inform them events which depicted the new Jew-hatred.

Our words fell on something akin to deaf ears. Yes, we were told, they could see that there is a problem with anti-Semitism. However, it is tangled up in the politics of the Middle East, and, as Pastors of churches, they did not feel it was their place to speak out on political issues.

Ah, right.

So, three years later, I must say, I hope my words are burning in their brains, because now we have a Hitlerian madman running a nation (Iran) which is about to complete the process of creating its first nuclear weapon, and, at the same time, he is threatening to "wipe Israel off the map."

That would be 5 1/2 million Jews dead. Sounds a bit like the first Holocaust, doesn't it? And yet, the Christian church refuses to speak out on the issue.

If Ahmadinejad accomplishes what he promises to do, the track record of the Christian church will be even worse than it was with regard to the first Holocaust. Congratulations, my fellow Christians. You really are sheep, aren't you?

Meanwhile, the Jews of Israel are taking the words of the Iranian President seriously, as they must. They are building elaborate nuclear bunkers in their backyards (From the London Times):

Israelis put nuclear bunkers in gardensUzi Mahnaimi, Tel Aviv
AMID mounting fears that Iran is planning to obliterate their country, wealthy Israelis are shelling out on underground nuclear shelters in the gardens of their luxury homes.

Firms specialising in the manufacture of such shelters are booming. Ahim Torati is a company producing parts for atomic shelters. “We supply components for decontaminated air, fortified doors and walls,” said Menahem Torati, its owner. “If in a regular shelter the door should withstand a five-ton blast, the door of an atomic shelter should absorb 250-270 tons.”

Seeking to allay public fears, the government insists that the population has little to fear. “We are aware of all these panicky people building atomic shelters. They’re wasting their money,” said a security source. “Israel will not allow Iran to build an atomic bomb, and even if it did, the Iranians know very well that we’ll bomb them back to the Stone Age before they’ve launched a single missile.”

However, the government is quietly updating its preparations for a possible nuclear strike. Ephraim Sneh, the deputy defence minister, confirmed that a £300m nuclear shelter is being constructed in the Jerusalem hills for the Israeli war cabinet. “This will be a command and control centre that will be able to run the state of Israel during a war, even after a nuclear strike,” he said.

Paris -
City
Of Lights

We can tell from the news that things are looking up for France in their Battle Of The "Youths" (From Atlas Shrugs):

The new buzzword in France "relative calm" - translation rioting, mayhem, WaPo is reporting 25 arrested , FOX 47, I am hearing scores .......... here is the sanitized version.

SIX POLICE HURT IN VIOLENCE ACROSS FRANCE

Six police officers suffered minor injuries and 25 people were arrested in scattered violence across France on the first anniversary of the start of nationwide riots, the Interior Ministry said Saturday.

Police had deployed 4,000 reinforcements across the country Friday night to brace for a replay of violence in mostly poor, immigrant suburbs.

Marauding youths torched two public buses and police and firefighters were targeted in some towns, but overall, the Interior Ministry said in a statement that the night was "relatively calm."

Six officers were slightly injured, the statement said, without elaborating on where or how. Of the 25 arrests, 21 were in the Paris suburbs, where the greatest violence had been expected.

Scores of police, wielding shields and backed by a helicopter blaring its lights, swept into a tough housing project in Montfermeil, a neighboring town to Clichy-sous-Bois, and several youths responded by throwing stones.

Up to 30 cars were torched in Montfermeil, according to another police official.

Paris' transport authority responded to Friday's violence by curtailing bus services in the Seine-Saint-Denis region north of the capital, which is home to thousands of immigrants and their French-born children.

No Pasaran has got more here;

A young woman was seriously burned and 3 other people hurt on Saturday evening in northern Marseille when a bus was attacked by French youths.Just after 9PM, 3 or 4 youths forced open the doors of a bus at a stop in Marseille's 13th district. They threw a Molotov cocktail and fled.4 passengers were injured including a woman who has 2nd and 3rd degree burns on her arms, legs, and face. She has been hospitalized and doctors have not yet made any announcement as to her condition.3 other passengers suffered from smoke inhalation and were hospitalized. The bus was completely destroyed.

And now France's city of model integration, Marseilles, is burning:

MARSEILLE, France - France's interior minister sent riot police to patrol the southern port city of Marseille on Sunday after a group of marauding teenagers torched a bus, gravely burning a young woman.

On Saturday, 46 people were taken into custody, most of them in the communities around Paris, and two police officers were slightly injured. The most serious violence was the brutal bus attack in Marseille.

A group of young people burst onto the bus and tossed in a bottle of flammable liquid before fleeing, police said, citing witnesses' accounts. The resulting fire injured a 26-year-old woman, who suffered second- and third-degree burns on her arms, legs and face and was in a medically induced coma on Sunday.

President Jacques Chirac telephoned the woman's family, ensuring them that France would "do everything to find the assailants and punish them with the greatest severity," his office said.

The "youths" festivities have spread into Belgium. Brussels Journal has more:

These past few days, there have been some «small fires» – small indeed – in the Brussels area, but today the fire brigade was lured into an ambush in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek. There were no casualties, but apparently we'll have to see a few dead before it will be possible to reflect seriously on what is really going on in Brussels. The authorities did not want to confirm a connection to the fires in Paris, but did not dare to deny it either.

From the events of today and the past few days it is clear that things are getting out of control in some parts of Brussels. When even the fire brigade becomes the target of these «youngsters», as they are usually called in the Belgian press, the conclusion can only be that it's already five past twelve, not only in Paris, but in Brussels too.

Surely, one can argue that the identity checks by the police are not always completely justified, and sometimes too frequent, but I find it hard to believe that the immigrants could have any reason at all to throw rocks at firemen who are just trying to do their job. If this continues, there will be casualties sooner or later, and then the fire brigade's latent "racism" will of course be blamed for not having gotten some Moroccan family out of its burning house quickly enough, or extinguished the fire in an apartment block, or something else that went terribly wrong.

Sociologists and other professional anti-racists, always keen enough to give us their opinion about what is wrong in the immigrant districts, should explain now what the fire brigade could done to deserve being targeted like it was this afternoon, and why youths are allowed to play with other people's lives.

UPDATE: France is awarding two of the most famous marauding "youths" (the one's who got the ball rolling in last year's rioting) with an official state-sanctioned memorial, you know, like, as if they were heroes or something:

Last year’s French riots were triggered by the deaths of two “youths,” who fled a police ID check, broke into an electrical substation to hide, and were electrocuted when they touched something they shouldn’t have.

Last Friday officials and residents of Clichy-sous-Bois, scene of some of the worst rioting, dedicated a monument to these two disenchanted fleeing criminals: Silent march for dead youths in France’s suburbs.

Relatives and friends of two French teenagers who were electrocuted as they fled from police a year ago have gathered in Clichy-sous-Bois near Paris. A plaque was unveiled in front of their school, and a wreath-laying ceremony was held at the power sub-station where the teenagers tried to hide.

The deaths of Zyed Benna and Bouna Traore sparked three weeks of violent riots in France’s poor suburbs as the young and unemployed vented their anger over what they saw as lack of opportunity and racial discrimination. The crowd gathered in silent prayer wearing t-shirts with the slogan “Dead for nothing”.

“It’s not by restricting them, or leaving them at home, or stopping them from going out - that’s not a solution,” said Zyed’s father. “The solution is to find them jobs, create training centres.” An inquiry into the teenagers’ deaths could lead to charges of negligence against several police officers.

Ah, to be young in gay ole' Paree.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Human Behavior

A video by Bjork

Friday, October 27, 2006

Women Are Meat,
Being Raped
Is Adultery
Oh, And By The Way,
Kill All Gay People

For the past several months I have been repeating a single sentence over and over. I repeat it because I find the truth of this sentence so apalling, frightening, and unbelievable that I must say it again and again just to remind myself. It is too easy for a person to turn their face away from very hard truths.

Here is the sentence:

There is no Muslim political organization, academic institution, media outlet, or government, of any appreciable size, anywhere in the world, which is moderate.

As I say, I repeat this for my own sake, but also for anyone out there who is also having trouble coming to grips with this truth. And, I challenge anyone, please, if you disagree with the above sentence, please tell me, and provide me with evidence that I am wrong. I would love to be wrong, because the implications of that sentence are enormous and, quite frankly, disgusting to ponder.

The other day, the "most senior" Islamic cleric in Australia said the following words, on the subject of adultery, to a crowd of 500 "worshippers":

“When it comes to adultery, it’s 90 percent the woman’s responsibility. Why? Because a woman owns the weapon of seduction. It’s she who takes off her clothes, shortens them, flirts, puts on make-up and powder and takes to the streets, God protect us, dallying. It’s she who shortens, raises and lowers. Then, it’s a look, a smile, a conversation, a greeting, a talk, a date, a meeting, a crime, then Long Bay jail. Then you get a judge, who has no mercy, and he gives you 65 years.”

“But when it comes to this disaster, who started it? In his literature, writer al-Rafee says, if I came across a rape crime, I would discipline the man and order that the woman be jailed for life. Why would you do this, Rafee? He said because if she had not left the meat uncovered, the cat wouldn’t have snatched it.”

“If you get a kilo of meat, and you don’t put it in the fridge or in the pot or in the kitchen but you leave it on a plate in the backyard, and then you have a fight with the neighbour because his cats eat the meat, you’re crazy. Isn’t this true?”

“If you take uncovered meat and put it on the street, on the pavement, in a garden, in a park, or in the backyard, without a cover and the cats eat it, then whose fault will it be, the cats, or the uncovered meat’s? The uncovered meat is the disaster. If the meat was covered the cats wouldn’t roam around it. If the meat is inside the fridge, they won’t get it.”

“If the woman is in her boudoir, in her house and if she’s wearing the veil and if she shows modesty, disasters don’t happen.”

Now, think about it. That is the "most senior" Islamic cleric in Australia. He is a major leader in the Muslim community. And, he equates adultery and rape.

Meanwhile, in Britain, a major Muslim cleric has made known his beliefs that it would be better for the world if all homosexuals were killed:

A gay rights campaigner has accused an Imam of saying the execution of gay Muslims to stop the spread of disease is "for the common good of man". Dr John Casson visited Arshad Misbahi, the Imam at Manchester Central Mosque, to discuss concerns over the execution of homosexual Muslims in Iran.

Dr Casson said the comments were made in a private meeting but he wrote them down afterwards.

The Imam did not deny the comments but said he had been misinterpreted. Mr Misbahi said he was only talking about the Islamic perspective on homosexuality ...

Like I said, these are leaders in the Muslim community. And, furthermore, they are leaders in the Western Muslim community. They are not backward Imams in some little mosque in the middle of the desert in Saudi Arabia. These are the people Western Muslims choose to lead them.

It seems to me we need to start seriously considering whether we have any partners for peace in the Islamic world. Certainly, if we do, they are not represented by any strong political power.

We Can't
Trust
Our Leaders
To Tell Us
The Truth

Ok, so in the post above I lamented the fact that it is impossible to find a moderate Muslim organizaion, academic institution, media outlet, or government. Now, I must deliver the sad news that it is becoming increasingly impossible to trust our leaders in government and the media world.

For instance, the BBC ran an article yesterday in which they SUPPORTED the rape-excusing Australian Imam discussed in the above post:

A few weeks ago, I happened to interview Sheikh Taj el-Din al-Hilali outside the Lakemba Mosque in Sydney where he delivered his controversial sermon.

A softly-spoken man, who clearly commands both enormous respect and affection within his community, the Egyptian-born cleric discussed the government’s recent proposals for an Australian citizenship test - an examination which many Muslim immigrants believe is targeted at them.

His English is poor, and it was difficult at times to make out precisely what he was saying.
But he told me he was keen to encourage the greater use of English in mosques and for Imams to gain a much greater understanding of Australian history and culture.

Though he did not agree with Prime Minister John Howard’s contentious view that sections of the 300,000-strong Muslim community are not doing enough to integrate themselves into the mainstream of Australian society, he seemed prepared at least to address the criticism in a constructive way.

Sheikh Hilali referred more than once to the idea of “the Aussie imam”, as he called it - model clerics with a broad knowledge of Australian culture and history.

Neat, snappy and eminently quotable. Just the kind of epithet which sticks in a journalist’s mind.

And, not to be outdone, Javier Solana, Foreign Policy Chief for the European Union, tells us Hamas does not want to destroy Israel:

Hamas wants to “liberate the Palestinians,” not to destroy Israel, Javier Solana, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

In an interview following his talks in Tel Aviv with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Solana insisted that it was “not impossible” for Hamas to change and “recognize the existence of Israel.”

History had shown that people and nations “adapt to reality,” he said. “I don’t want to lose hope.”

Pressed as to whether he was underestimating the fundamentalist religious imperative at the heart of the Hamas ideology, Solana said, “I cannot imagine that the religious imperative, the real religious imperative, can make anybody destroy another country... Therefore that is an abuse of religion...”

“I don’t think the essence of Hamas is the destruction of Israel. The essence of Hamas is the liberation of the Palestinians,” he added. “The liberation of their people, not the destruction of Israel.”

Solana here is expressing his wishes, dreams, and unfinished thoughts. But, he is asserting them as if they are true. Actually, that is the strategy of all diplomats and pacifists, turning wishes and dreams into pretty balloons which carry them aloft, high above the difficulties of life on Earth, above the weight of reality, to a lofty position where they can all look down on us and say, "Tsk tsk, can't they see we are working on a peace process?"

Just in case you don't know, Hamas is very clearly founded on the idea of desroying Israel. Here is the official Hamas Charter.

Is This A Sign
That Something
Will Soon Happen?

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is, in my opinion, telling the world that Israel will soon set out to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities:

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has accused the international community of “doing nothing” over Iran, likening the situation to the appeasement of the 1930s when faced with the rise of Nazism.

“Like the 1930s in Germany, the international community hears voices today calling for the destruction of Israel and does nothing,” he said Friday during a speech at the country’s Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem.

“For the first time, the leader of a great nation (Iran) declares that its objective is the destruction of the State of Israel, which does not stop this nation from remaining a legitimate partner in the UN,” he added.

Israel was founded on the idea that "Never Again" would the Jews allow themselves to be the victim of genocide.

France
Prepares
For Battle

The Riot Police are ready to do their job in Paris:

By JEAN-MARIE GODARD, Associated Press Writer

CLICHY-SOUS-BOIS, France - Police fanned out around the outskirts of Paris amid fears of renewed violence Friday as mourners marked the deaths a year ago of two teenagers that ignited riots in largely immigrant housing projects across France.

The outburst of anger at the accidental deaths of the youths, electrocuted in a power substation while hiding from police, led to three weeks of unrest and grew into a broader challenge against the French state that has continued to simmer.

The number of cars incinerated was unusually high overnight throughout France (Pastorius note: Think about how stupid that sounds. The number of burnt cars was unusually high. In other words, it was higher than the already high numbers - 112 per night on average - and they have no idea why.), and in recent days, attackers have torched four buses after forcing off passengers in the outskirts of Paris.

Within the past several weeks, police have been ambushed in several organized attacks.

Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy pledged Thursday to assign police to protect buses serving some of the troubled communities, and more than 500 extra riot police have been assigned to beef up security this week.

On Friday, several hundred residents of Clichy-sous-Bois and other communities outside Paris held a silent march in honor of Zyed Benna and Bouna Traore, the teens of African descent who took refuge in a power substation from what they thought was a police chase on Oct. 27, 2005. In the minds of young people here, it was fear of police that led to their deaths.

The police presence at Friday's march was discreet. (Pastorius note: Yes, thanks heavens they are being discreet. You know, the way one must be discreet about the affairs of love. God, how pathetically French. Do take note, the writer is French.)

Carrying a banner reading "Dead For Nothing," families of the teens led the ethnically diverse crowd away from city hall toward the power station.

"They became a symbol in the projects," said a cousin of Traore who gave her name as Coulibaly.

A memorial to the youths was erected near city hall later Friday; the site where they died was adorned only with the graffiti and rubble that are the signature of such neighborhoods, until family members placed flowers beside the fence on Friday.

Clichy-sous-Bois has no police station, so officers patrolling here come from outside and have no connection to residents. There is no public transport and few here have private cars, leaving most people virtually trapped. Unemployment among its 28,000 residents is well above the 9 percent national average, at 23.5 percent, and rises to 32 percent for those between the ages of 15 and 24, according to the newspaper La Croix.

The 500 additional police officers pulled in to the outskirts of Paris this week will be in five units meant to reinforce the 13 units already assigned to the area.

Human beings own their government. The government does not own the people. The people elect their government and pay taxes so that the government will do its job and protect its citizens. When the government stops doing its job, it is time for the government to go.

George Soros
Is A Very
Strange Man

George Soros is the founder and chief-financier of MoveOn.org, the Political Action Commitee started to remove George Bush from office. Thus far, he has been unsuccessful in his primary goal, but the money behind MoveOn.org has been succeeded in undermining America and adding to the chaos and anger in our national political debate.

But, who is George Soros? Check out this article from Accuracy in Media (thanks to R. Davis to the link):

Speaking at a Washington symposium on the continuing threat posed by illegal drugs to American society, Calvina Fay of the Drug Free America Foundation declared billionaire George Soros to be an "extremely evil person" who wants to legalize dangerous mind-altering drugs. Fay said that Soros, an atheist who is a major funder of the Democratic Party and liberal-left causes, is "our common enemy" and that he is determined to subvert traditional values and undermine America's families.

Soros, convicted of insider trading in France, is a financial speculator and hedge-fund operator who manipulates the currencies of the nations of the world in order to make himself rich. Some of his fortune, estimated at $7 billion, has been put into causes such as abortion rights, gay rights, drug legalization, voting rights for felons, euthanasia, and rights for immigrants and prostitutes. His Open Society Institute even helped underwrite attorney Lynne Stewart, subsequently convicted of helping terrorists. In 2004, he spent about $25 million in an unsuccessful effort to defeat President Bush for re-election.

In this election cycle, according to Roll Call newspaper, Soros has been cutting checks "to organizations expected to launch attacks on GOP House and Senate candidates in the run-up to the Nov. 7 elections." The money is going to a liberal group called Majority Action, "which is targeting GOP candidates…"

In an appearance at the same anti-drug event that featured Calvina Fay, Marc Wheat, staff director and chief counsel of the House Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources, described Soros as someone who has no sense of guilt or responsibility for his actions. He noted that, during a December 20, 1998, interview with 60 Minutes, Soros acknowledged that as a 14-year-old Jewish boy in Hungary, his identity was protected and that he actually assisted in confiscating property from Jews as they were being shipped off to death camps. Asked by interviewer Steve Kroft if he had any sense of guilt over what he did, Soros replied, "no."

In the interview, Soros compared his actions to the operation of economic markets, saying, "…if I weren't there, of course, I wasn't doing it, but somebody else would—would—would be taking it away anyhow." Soros then insisted he was only a "spectator" and had "no role in taking away that property." That is why, he said, "I had no sense of guilt."

Drawing attention to "The Guilt-free Record of George Soros," Wheat noted that Soros has said, in regard to his manipulation of currency markets, "I am basically there to—to make money. I cannot and do not look at the social consequences of—of what I do," and "I don't feel guilty. Because I'm engaged in an amoral activity which is not meant to have anything to do with guilt." He makes money by exploiting human suffering.

Wheat said it is his belief that Soros has found America to be "a hard nut to crack" in terms of weakening America's traditional cultural values and institutions, and that the billionaire would be spending more time and money on activities in Europe, in an effort to fan anti-Americanism there.

Go read the whole thing.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Great Moments
In The History Of
The Mainstream Media

From Michelle Malkin:

NBC's Baghdad reporter, Richard Engel, declares:

"I think war should be illegal...I'm basically a pacifist."

Yes, I'm sure that's a guy whose war reporting we can trust.

Jew Hate
On The
Campus
Of
UC Irvine

Orange County, CA has spawned more than its share of monsters, including of course, Adam Gadahn. So, it is not at all a surprise to hear that the Islamofascists down at UCI are on the cutting edge of Jew Hate:

The University of California Irvine has been the subject of many posts at LGF, because the school plays host to one of the most unabashedly radical Muslim Student Union groups in the US. And now the anti-Jewish incitement has reached such a fever pitch that on the weekend of October 8, a student housing building was covered with swastikas.

What? You didn’t hear about it on the news? Apparently, deranged expressions of antisemitism on California campuses are not really news any more.

In response to this event, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Manuel Gomez held a meeting and demonstrated exactly why the UC Irvine campus has degenerated into a pit of hatred:
Some of the Jewish students at the meeting revealed that they and others had been subject to verbal and physical intimidation at the hands of MSU members, and that they had previously reported these claims to campus security. In light of this, some students asked that Drake place restrictions on where MSU events are held, saying that if their events were held in classrooms as opposed to public spaces, their effect would not be as broad. However, Chancellor Drake told Jewish students at the meeting that he cannot restrict any club, that it would be “violation of law to prohibit certain speech.” Gomez emphasized that though hate speech may be present, he would not seek to curtail it, as “one person’s hate speech is another person’s education.”

There's more. More Nazi Imagery on UC Irvine’s Campus.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

King Without A Crown

Singer - Matisyahu

This dude knows more about Jesus (Yeshua) than most any Christian that I know. And, he would tell you he doesn't even believe his Messiah (Moshiach) has come yet.

Check out the video. The man is in love with his God. Read his lyrics. Tell me, do you have this kind of relationship with your Lord?

You're all that I have, And you're all that I need.
Each and every day I pray to get to know you please.
Want to be close to you, Yes I'm so hungry.
You're like water for my soul, When it gets thirsty.

Without you, there's no me, You're the air that I breath.
Sometimes the world is dark, And I just can't see.
With these demons surround all around, To bring me down too negative.
But I believe yes I believe, I'll say that I believe.

I'll stand on my own two feet, Won't be brought down on one knee.
I'll fight with all of my might, To get these demons to flee.
Hashem's rays, fire blaze, Burn bright and I believe.
Hashem's rays, fire blaze, Burn bright and I believe.

Out of darkness comes light, Twilight unto the heights.
Crown Heights burning up, All through the twilight.
Say thank you to my God, Now I finally got it right.
And I'll fight with all of my heart, And all of my soul, And all of my might.

[Chorus]
What's this feeling, My love will rip a hole in the ceiling.
I give myself to you. From the essence of my being
And I sing to my God, Songs of love and healing.
I want Moshiach now, So it's time we start revealing.
What's this feeling, My love will rip a hole in the ceiling.
I give myself to you, From the essence of my being.
And I sing to my God, Songs of love and healing. I want Moshiach now.

Strip away the layers, And reveal your soul.
You got to give yourself up, And then you become whole.
You're a slave to yourself, And you don't even know.
You wanted to live the fast life, But your brain moves slow.

If you're trying to stay high, You're bound to stay low.
You want God, But you can't deflate your ego.
You're already there, Then there's nowhere to go.
Your cup's already full, Then it's bound to overflow.

If you're drowning in the water, And you can't stay afloat.
Ask Hashem for mercy, And he'll throw you a rope.
You're looking for help from God, Say he couldn't be found.
Searching up to the sky, Looking beneath the ground.

Like a king without his crown, You keep falling down.
You really want to live, But can't get rid of your frown.
You tried to reach unto the heights, And wound down bound on the ground.
Giving up your fright, Then you heard a sound.

Out of Light comes day, Out of day comes light.
Nullify to the one, Like sunlight in a ray.
Make room for his love, Then a fire gone blaze.
Making room for his love, And a fire gone blaze.

I Am So Flaming Gay

There's a group of Democrats who have decided they are going to out closeted gay Republicans. I don't care if someone is gay, or whether they are closeted or not (although, I would prefer for their own mental health that they could be honest with themselves and others) so I'm with The Anchoress on her proposed solution to this new leftie idiocy.

I'm not much of a bandwagon jumper, but I think even I am going to have totak a leap (a la FTD florist) onto this queer caravan:

... I’d love to see an GOP campaign ad based on Roger Simon’s bit of fun, and that great, “I’m a drag queen,” scene from To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar, wherein a whole town of (probably conservative) formerly unglamorous people - newly made fabulous - help out a few drag queens who are being pursued by a stupid hick of a sheriff.

Wouldn’t it be great? You start it off with a little voice-over explaining that the Democrats have decided that this is the Gay-outting season and that in the spirit of the thing, the following Republicans had decided to out themselves. Then you have a montage of various Republicans facing the camera:

Newt Gingrich: “I’m gay!”

Bill Frist: “I’m gay!”

Ann Coulter: “I’m so gay, I’m actually a man!”

Rush Limbaugh: “I’m a harmless, lovable little fuzzball of gay!”

Arnold Schwartzenegger: “I am a little girlie man!”

Richard Nixon (with computer enhanced mouth): “I am not a crook, but I’m so gay you can’t stand it!”

Rudy Giuliani: (in famous wig from any one of several skits he’s done in drag, and his NY ‘tude) “Come over here and tell me I’m not gay.”

President George H. W. Bush: “I’m gay! Bar’s gay, too!”

President George W. Bush (clutching Barney): Me and Barney are gay, and so is this kick-ass economy!

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

A Fitting End

Garbage in, garbage out:

Hospital admits to burning aborted babies in waste incinerator
By JAMES SLACK Last updated at 22:00pm on 23rd October 2006

One of the country's leading hospitals is throwing aborted babies into the same incinerator used for rubbish to save only £18.50 each time, it has emerged.

Addenbrooke's Hospital, in Cambridge, said it was no longer able to afford the dignified disposal at a local crematorium of foetuses from unwanted pregnancies.

Instead, they are being burnt in the hospital's main incinerator - which is normally used for rubbish and clinical waste.

The revelation sparked anger and distress among church leaders and pro-life groups, as well as women whose pregnancies were terminated at the hospital.

One local woman, who asked not to be named, said after the heartache of deciding to have an abortion she was mortified to find the hospital had used the same furnace they burn rubbish in to incinerate her terminated baby.

She said: "I am furious and very hurt. Imagine my horror when I discovered that my baby was incinerated in the same furnace as the hospital rubbish."

Hospital managers said they had to take the decision after 'significant increases' in the fees charged by Cambridge City Crematorium, where they were previously buried or cremated.

The hospital, under pressure along with the rest of the NHS to make millions of pounds of savings, said it was trying to be 'careful with the use of limited resources'.

What's the big deal?

Monday, October 23, 2006

Please Forgive Me

... if I act a little strange, for I know what I do
Feels like lightning running through my veins
Everytime I look at you ...

A song by David Gray

Rape Victim
Is An
"Adultress"

From CNN/IBN:

Muzaffarnagar: The court has given her justice but in the lanes of Muzaffarnagar, Imrana Bibi finds no justice and no support.

Even though her father-in-law Ali Mohammad has been convicted a rapist, in her village, Imrana, today, is an outcast.

Imrana's mother-in-law, Zarifa Bibi, is understandably bitter. She says not only has her husband been framed but the whole world is today on the side of a woman who has is sly and manipulative.

"She has been wanting the property that we have. She just wanted money. Today she has got that money and left all of us bankrupt,” says Zarifa Bibi.

Her sons are as angry at the allegations that got their father into jail.

"I have been married for a longer time than my brother. I have a wife too. But my father has never touched her. Ask any of the women in this house, has my father ever touched them?" says Imrana's brother in law, Noor Mohammad.

For this family to react so aggressively is natural. But even her neighbours are echoing the same thought.

They point out that the entire family slept in the courtyard where the alleged rape took place and if she was raped and had shouted for help, there was no way the neighbours could not have heard her.

In Chartwal village, people like Rayeez Ahmed have branded Imrana an adultress and a liar.
"She has a ‘loose’ character. She had an affair with her brother-in-law as well who would come and spend lots of time with her. This story is all false. She just wanted the property," says Imrana's neighbour, Rayeez Ahmed.

Ostracized, ignored and shunned, there's no support for Imrana Bibi.

Not from her own people and definitely not among the Muslim clergy.

"If she is a true Muslim woman who respects Allah, believes in Islam and the Shariat, she will leave her husband. Otherwise, if she decides she is not a God-fearing Muslim, then what can we say?" says Maulana Mufti Zulfikar from the Shariat court in Muzaffarnagar.

Imrana has been living in her father's house in Kukda village for the last few months. She says if the Darul Uloom of Deoband wants her to leave her husband, she will do so.

There are many explanations to Imrana's story. That is was a property dispute, that she shared an inappropriate relationship with her father-in-law, that she's a wronged woman.

But in the midst of it all, it is the position of the woman in Islamic society that is starkly illustrated.

One would normally be inclined to believe the protestations of her family, except for the fact that this happens all the time in Islamic countries.

Disarm
Yourself For
Self-Defense

A quote from Nicolas Sarkozy, the great French hope:

I would like to say one thing, in what is my conception of the Republic, security is the responsibility of the State, I am against militias, I am against the private ownership of firearms, and I’m trying to make you think about that. If you are assaulted by an armed burglar, he’ll use his weapon more effectively than you anyway so you’re risking your life. If the criminal is not armed and you are and you shoot, your life will be ruined, because killing someone over a theft is not in line with the republican values that are mine.

The private ownership of firearms is dangerous. I understand your exasperation for having been burglarized two times, I understand the fear that your wife and daughter may have but the answer is in the efficiency of the police and the efficiency of the judiciary process, the answer is not in having guns at home.

If Nicolas Sarkozy is the best hope the French have at this point, then the French have a way to go before their government will actually represent the will of the people.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Flagpole Sitta

A song by Harvey Danger

Watch the video and read the lyrics. This guy is on to something. I think he has divined the zeitgeist of this age.

i had visions, i was in them
i was looking into the mirror
to see a little bit clearer
rottenness and evil in me

fingertips have memories
mine can't forget the curves of your body
and when i feel a bit naughty
i run it up the flagpole and see who salutes(but no one ever does)

i'm not sick but i'm not well
and i'm so hot cause i'm in hell

been around the world and found
that only stupid people are breeding
the cretins cloning and feeding
and i don't even own a tv

put me in the hospital for nerves
and then they had to commit me
you told them all i was crazy
they cut off my legs now i'm an amputee, god damn you

i'm not sick but i'm not well
and i'm so hot cause i'm in hell
i'm not sick but i'm not well
and it's a sin to live so well

i wanna publish zines
and rage against machines
i wanna pierce my tongue
it doesn't hurt, it feels fine
the trivial sublime

i'd like to turn off time
and kill my mind
you kill my mind

paranoia paranoia
everybody's coming to get me
just say you never met me
i'm going underground with the moles
hear the voices in my head
i swear to god it sounds like they're snoring
but if you're bored then you're boring
the agony and the irony, they're killing me

i'm not sick but i'm not well
and i'm so hot cause i'm in hell
i'm not sick but i'm not well
and it's a sin to live so well

"We Will
Always
Have Paris"

Will we? Bogart and Bergman may have thought so. Increasingly, it is looking as if Paris may be just 10-20 years from becoming Dar al-Islam.

The Associated Press reports that French Police are now fighting against a "Permanent Intifada."

EPINAY-SUR-SEINE, France - On a routine call, three unwitting police officers fell into a trap. A car darted out to block their path, and dozens of hooded youths surged out of the darkness to attack them with stones, bats and tear gas before fleeing. One officer was hospitalized, and no arrests made.

The recent ambush was emblematic of what some officers say has become a near-perpetual and increasingly violent conflict between police and gangs in tough, largely immigrant French neighborhoods that were the scene of a three-week paroxysm of rioting last year.

One small police union claims officers are facing a "permanent intifada." Police injuries have risen in the year since the wave of violence.

On Sunday, a band of about 30 youths, some wearing masks, forced passengers out of a bus in a southern Paris suburb in broad daylight Sunday, set it on fire, then stoned firefighters who came to the rescue, police said. No one was injured. Two people were arrested, one of them a 13-year-old, according to LCI television.

In France, a high school teacher received death threats, forcing him into hiding, after he wrote a newspaper editorial in September saying Muslim fundamentalists are trying to muzzle Europe's democratic liberties.

Michel Thooris, head of the small Action Police union, claims that the new violence is taking on an Islamic fundamentalist tinge.

"Many youths, many arsonists, many vandals behind the violence do it to cries of 'Allah Akbar' (God is Great) when our police cars are stoned," he said in an interview.

I love that they say the violence is taking on a tinge of the Islamic. It has been that from the

beginning. The only difference is now the press is finding it difficult to not report the facts, because seemingly everyone else knows, except the reporters.

Forget the mainstream media. You need to read the blogs.

For instance, my friend Blueslord, who lives in Spain, and also speaks French, translated some articles and put together this great post about the French Riots. This all comes from her blog, Actual Jihad:

Jeremayakovka:

A French newspaper reports that last year's nationwide (chiefly Muslim) riots -- which spread like wildfire throughout France, laying waste to dozens of public buildings and businesses and 9,000 cars, trucks, and busses -- cost insurers 160,000,000 Euros (more than US$200,ooo,ooo). $200,000,000 for a nation whose GDP is approximately that of California! That's a huge bill to pay. Maybe it's time to think of such riots -- past, present, and future -- as "Hurricane Mohammed."

The interested insurance companies are holding the government responsible, which is a natural and necessary direction in which to point fingers. A generation and more of a plainly failed immigration policies has saddled France with a predominantly Muslim underclass that appears permanent and permanently unruly. Can the same French government be trusted to transform France's ethnic tinderboxes into anything socially useful? Barely.

In the meantime, we know, radical Islam worked wonders on the mind of one of France's native sons. How many more is it working on right now? Who in the end will save France from its demographic rot (and in turn save the rest of the West from this French rot)?

Last Friday, my friend Pastorius from CUANAS asked my translate a post by No Pasarán about the damages the riots have provoked. This is the result:

Since January 2006:

Burned Cars: 31614
Burned public goods: 4397.
Burned trash cans:20080.
Collective violence against security, health services and firemen: 4214
Projectile launcher (like grenades or something...): 6113
Real estate occupations (houses and apartments): 228
Urban furniture damaged (that would be stuff like park benches and bus shelters): 5959.

So France has denied clearance to 43 French Bag Handlers, due to suspicions they were connected with radical organizations.

Today French paper Le Monde reports that 4 "jeunes" have been placed on provisional detention because of the attack to a policeman in Épinay-sur-Seine. The charges are "tentative de meurtre aggravé sur un fonctionnaire de police avec préméditation, dégradation en réunion et association de malfaiteurs", that is, attempted murder of a police civil servant aggravated with premeditation, degradated reunion and asociation of wicked people. It also says that the "jeunes" menaced badly the agents and one of the detained has been interviewed by police force fifteen times, because of robbing and cannabis dealing (More here).

These comes after 3 police vars were blocked in Seine-saint-Denis: one of the policemen was sprayed with oil and hurt in the neck and in the face (via I like your style)The newspaper also informs that France has created a new adminsitrative infraction: "voluntary violence against policemen caused by weapons and in an organised band".

It adds Orléans have also suffered new violences, where a car of BAC's car has been caught by some "jeunes", after the condamnation of other two "jeunes" because of throwing projectiles to

policemen in the night between Wednesday and Thursday.

The Times also underlines that:

FLAMES lick around a burning car on a tiny telephone screen. Omar, 17, a veteran of France’s suburban riots, replayed the sequence with pride. “It was great. We did lots of them and then we went out and torched more the next day.”

Omar, whose parents immigrated from Mali, was savouring memories of the revolt that erupted 12 months ago from his home, the Chêne Pointu estate in Clichy-sous-Bois, in the eastern outskirts of Paris. “We’re ready for it again. In fact it hasn’t stopped,” he added.

[...] “The thing that has changed over the past month is that they now want to kill us,” said Bruno Beschizza, the leader of Synergie, a union to which 40 per cent of officers belong. Action Police, a hardline union, said: “We are in a civil war, orchestrated by radical Islamists.”

Car-burning has become so routine on the estates that it has been eclipsed in news coverage by the violence against police. Sebastian Roche, a sociologist who has published a book on the riots, said that torching a vehicle had become a standard amusement.

“There is an apprenticeship of destruction. Kids learn where the petrol tank is, how to make a petrol bomb,” he told The Times. ...

You can read the interesting post from The Belmont Club called The fire this time.

Libertad Digital (via En Defensa de Occidente) also reports that an obstetrician has been attacked by a Muslim because he did not want his wife to be treated by a man.

The French Obstetritians have issued a statement in which they say:

We will continue to have hospital services, in which women, whether women or men, will treat their patients, whatever their gender is [...] We defend the freedom of the women to determine their ideas about contraception, abortion, estirilization, without the opinion of their husbands [...] We are not going to issue certificates of virginity because of family's petitions [...] or to remake the himen, as we are asked for, because that is only a help for women's submission. Islam should adapt itself to modernity, not modernity to Islam.

Even if you are against abortion (as I am) I think this is necessary to be said. Because this kind of Islamist thugs are in essence hypocrites, who are not teaching people to act because of their conscience and convictions BUT because they are terrified of the consequences, whether they are imposed by their husbands, fathers, brothers, etc.

France is fearing the anniversary of last years' riots. (from Noisy Room.Net)

And lastly a video: Some youths are shooting a rocket on the street in Grigny where massive riots happened last year (via LGF).

I really fear the worst predictions are going to be fulfilled.

The New York Times
And The BBC
Forced To Eat Crow

In the past few days, both the New York Times and the BBC have been forced to own up and admit they are working to undermine the very nations which have made them a force in the world.

The New York Times now admits they should not have published articles revealing the SWIFT program that monitored wire transfers among terrorists organizations and their supporters.

They also now admit that no one's private data was misused, and that the program was NOT illegal, as they insisted it was at the time.

And, in another shocking development, the BBC has come clean and admitted what everyone already knew; they are disgustingly biased against traditional British values:

It was the day that a host of BBC executives and star presenters admitted what critics have been telling them for years: the BBC is dominated by trendy, Left-leaning liberals who are biased against Christianity and in favour of multiculturalism.

A leaked account of an ‘impartiality summit’ called by BBC chairman Michael Grade, is certain to lead to a new row about the BBC and its reporting on key issues, especially concerning Muslims and the war on terror.

It reveals that executives would let the Bible be thrown into a dustbin on a TV comedy show, but not the Koran, and that they would broadcast an interview with Osama Bin Laden if given the opportunity. Further, it discloses that the BBC’s ‘diversity tsar’, wants Muslim women newsreaders to be allowed to wear veils when on air.

At the secret meeting in London last month, which was hosted by veteran broadcaster Sue Lawley, BBC executives admitted the corporation is dominated by homosexuals and people from ethnic minorities, deliberately promotes multiculturalism, is anti-American, anti-countryside and more sensitive to the feelings of Muslims than Christians.

One veteran BBC executive said: ‘There was widespread acknowledgement that we may have gone too far in the direction of political correctness. Unfortunately, much of it is so deeply embedded in the BBC’s culture, that it is very hard to change it.’ ...

The full account of the meeting shows how senior BBC figures queued up to lambast their employer.

Political pundit Andrew Marr said: ‘The BBC is not impartial or neutral. It’s a publicly funded, urban organisation with an abnormally large number of young people, ethnic minorities and gay people. It has a liberal bias not so much a party-political bias. It is better expressed as a cultural liberal bias.’

Washington correspondent Justin Webb said that the BBC is so biased against America that deputy director general Mark Byford had secretly agreed to help him to ‘correct’, it in his reports. Webb added that the BBC treated America with scorn and derision and gave it ‘no moral weight’.

Former BBC business editor Jeff Randall said he complained to a ‘very senior news executive’, about the BBC’s pro-multicultural stance but was given the reply: ‘The BBC is not neutral in multiculturalism: it believes in it and it promotes it.’

Randall also told how he once wore Union Jack cufflinks to work but was rebuked with: ‘You can’t do that, that’s like the National Front!’

Ancient Find
Points To
The Unity
Of Judaism
And The
Early Followers
Of Christ

This is interesting, if true. Apparently, some people (I would hesitate to call them archaeologists) in the Holy Land have discovered a series with a symbol that is a combination of the Menorah and the Christian fish sign:

This is an ancient symbol that was found on Mount Zion. It is believed to have been created and used by the Jewish believers who called themselves Nazarenes in the first Messianic Church. The artifacts, etched in 8 separate ancient vessels, include the 3 leading symbols of of both Judaism and Christianity: the menorah at the top, a star of David in the middle, and a fish at the bottom. These Messianic Seals came from an ancient grotto located in the immediate vicinity of the Upper Room on Mount Zion. Clearly, this represents the continuing influence of Judaism and the Hebraic background of the early church of the 1st century.

This is the remarkable story as this archaeological find was uncovered:

Three companies (Olim Creative Products of Tiberias, News About Israel (NAI) of Jerusalem, and Christian Floral Delivery of Colorado) jointly announced the discovery of this ancient symbol, which has been copyrighted by NAI. It consists of three separate but integrated symbols: a menorah at the top, a star of David in the middle, and a fish at the bottom. In each of the renditions of the three-part symbol the star is created by interlacing the stand of the menorah with the fish. The Messianic Seal was found etched or inscribed on eight ancient artifacts.

The artifacts were presented to Ludwig Schneider, editor in chief of NAI's magazine, Israel Today, in 1990. They came from Tech Otecus, an elderly monk who lived as a hermit in the Old City of Jerusalem. Otecus said that in the 1960s he had personally excavated about 40 artifacts bearing the seal itself.

What was once the main entrance to the grotto is now covered with a jail-like heavy wire mesh enclosure. Its door, leading down into the ancient baptismal place, is tightly secured with a heavy chain and lock.

According to Schneider, the last remaining entry to the grotto was sealed shortly after he excitedly told the priests at the local monastery about the discovery of the Messianic Seal.Schneider photographed eight artifacts which were given to him by Otecus, and showed the pictures to the curator of the Israel Museum.

"When he had carefully studied my pictures," Schneider recalled, "the curator immediately promised me that these artifacts and their unique symbol were an important find. He told me that the museum had seen other artifacts bearing the same three-part symbol from some other sources he did not specify."

According to Fischer, at least two of the eight artifacts were obviously ceremonial pieces which may have well been used by James the Just, the brother of Jesus, who is said to be the first pastor of the church, or perhaps even by one or more of the Twelve Apostles.

One of the eight artifacts is a brick-sized block of well-worn local marble. This piece bears an etched version of the Messianic Seal with a Taw (the last letter in the ancient Hebrew alphabet that looks exactly like a sign of the cross) in the eye of the fish symbol, as well as the ancient Aramaic lettering proclaiming the use of this artifact as a stand to hold a vial of anointing oil.

The ancient Aramaic is transliterated as, "La Shemen Ruehon" (For the Oil of the Spirit). Another of the eight artifacts is a small, almost intact, vial which could well have sat on top of the marble stand.

Commenting on what he characterized as the "monumental importance" of this archaeological discovery, Fischer said, "Beyond the historical background of the Nazarenes, the first Jewish believers who founded the Jerusalem Church, the Messianic Seal itself proclaims to the world the pervasive Jewishness of Jesus Christ and the decidedly Jewish foundation and roots of the church founded in His name."

"The Messianic Seal of the Jerusalem Church," Fischer continued, "strikes at the very roots of anti-Semitism while proclaiming a compelling message that restores unity: Jew with Jew, and Jew with Gentile. The importance of this discovery cannot be minimized. The Messianic Seal is not only just the key to understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls, it can and should shake the foundations of the church and orthodox Judaism with its incredible message of unity and love. It breaks down barriers that have existed for millennia and points the way toward restoration."

Fuck The Washington Post!

This morning my friend Always On Watch sent me a link to an editorial in the Washington Post called "How I Came To Love The Veil". The article written by one Yvonne Ridley was a defense of the practice of wearing the burqa or niqab, from the perspective of a Western woman, converted to Islam.

I didn't choose to post on the subject, however, because across the page the Washington Post also ran an editorial, called "Clothes Aren't The Issue", discussing why Muslims believe it is ok to beat one's wife. I thought to myself, "Ok, so they are, at least, making an attempt to get the word out about the dangers of Islam."Man, was I wrong. I knew that I knew that name Yvonne Ridley from somewhere. It was so familiar.Thank God for Charles Johnson at Little Green Footballs:

For a special article on “Islam and Women,” the Washington Post today gives column space to an utterly deranged, hard-core Islamofascist sympathizer, Yvonne Ridley—without identifying her as anything but the “political editor of Islam TV.”

Ridley’s premise is that Islam respects women much more than the Western world.I think the mainstream media can’t possibly surprise me any more. Then they do something like this.

Yvonne Ridley is a member of George Galloway’s RESPECT party, and has written numerous essays defending Islamic terrorism. She described those murdered in last year’s terrorist attacks in Jordan as “collaborators.” She wrote, “I think I’d rather put up with a brother like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi any day than have a traitor or sell-out for a father, son or grandfather.”

She described Shamil Basaev, the mastermind of the massacre of Russian school children at Beslan, as “a Shaheed,” or martyr.

Contact the ombudsman of the Washington Post at 202-334-7582 or at ombudsman@washpost.com.

This is actually a perfect example of something the mainstream media does all the time, and that is attempt to deal with an issue by splitting the difference with evil. What they have done in the case of referring to a woman such as Ridley as some sort of expert is the equivalent setting up a debate on the policies of a Democratic Republic by referring to Thomas Jefferson on one side and Adolf Hitler on the other.

Yvonne Ridley does not deserve to be given a part in the national debate at all. If you think that is an extreme thing to say (after all, don't all human beings deserve to have their voice heard), then tell me if you think David Duke deserves to be a part of our national dialogue. Should the Washington Post runs editorials from him, and refer to him as a former candidate for the Senate?No, that would be dishonest, right? In fact, in this case, the Washington Post has moved beyond dishonesty, and into the territory of aiding and abetting evil.

I wonder how the people at the Washington Post would feel if they had to be confronted by the mothers and fathers of the dead children from the Beslan Massacre. Would they feel compfortable knowing that they had printed the words of such a woman as if she were to be treated as some sort of authority, rather than the insanely evil person she is?

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Washington D.C.
Taking
Greater
Interest In
Bible Prophecy

From Joel Rosenberg:

Rolling Stone's latest issue describes me as a "loony" who is secretly urging President Bush to bring about Armageddon. It's a theme the Washington Post pursued earlier this year, along with a number of left-wing bloggers. But any suggestion that I have some secret back channel into the Oval Office or have had any kind of influence on the President on this topic is simply not true.

Yes, I've briefly met the President a number of times over the years, and yes, I have signed copies of several of my novels for the President that were given to him by friends of mine. But no, I don't know him personally, I've never had a conversation with him about Bible prophecy, and I doubt he has had any time to read my books.

As I said on CNN Headline News last night, I have no evidence that President Bush is even interested in end times prophecies, much less guided by them. If he were, I suspect he would be far less chummy with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is forming a dangerous military alliance at the moment with Iran.

That said, I can report that as anxiety in Washington grows about the future of U.S. involvement in the Arab and Muslim world there seems to be a corresponding growing interest in, and curiosity about, the relationship between events in the Middle East and Bible prophecy.

Over the past 18 months, for example, I have found myself unexpectedly invited to speak about such things with staffers at the White House, with Members of Congress (of both parties) on Capitol Hill, with several dozen Congressional chiefs of staff, and with an array of officials from the CIA, State, Defense, and Homeland Security.

A number of Arab and Israeli officials -- including a senior advisor to the Prime Minister of Iraq -- have also met with me and expressed curiosity about what the Bible says about the future of their countries. Do all of the officials I meet with agree with these prophecies or my analysis of them? Certainly not. But with everything happening in our world today, they are intrigued, particularly by the idea that the Bible foretells the rise of a military alliance between Russia and Iran in the "last days."

Go read the rest.

In case you aren't aware of who Joel Rosenberg is, here's a little biographical information.

Friday, October 20, 2006

Fractals

Hat tip to
Eyes All Around.

In France
They Kiss
On Main Street

In France, the rioting never really stops. Here are the numbers since January 2006, which was about a month or so after the riots were said to have been over. (Thanks to my friend Blueslord the Anti-Jihad Pundit for translating this post from No Pasaran):

Since January 2006:
Burned Cars: 31614
Burned public goods: 4397.
Burned trash cans:20080.
Collective violence against security, health services and firemen: 4214
Projectile launcher (like grenades or something...): 6113
Real estate occupations (houses and apartments): 228
Urban furniture damaged (that would be stuff like park benches and bus shelters): 5959.

Diane Sawyer
Effusive About
Potemkin Village

Oh yes, Ms. Sawyer, look what we have here, Happy Children (hat tip to USS Neverdock):

On Thursday's World News on ABC, Diane Sawyer checked in from North Korea, but she proved little more than a conveyor belt for the repressive communist regime's propaganda. Talking to a North Korean Army General, she relayed how “he said to us, 'make it clear to everyone in the United States, if there is another nuclear test, the person responsible is George Bush,' because he said, 'the Bush administration is backing North Korea into a corner with its pressures and its sanctions.'" Sawyer helpfully added that “the General said to us, he does want peace. And he also said, again, reiterated, North Korea will not be the first to use a nuclear weapon.” How reassuring.

In a second segment, Sawyer was taken to a school which she favorably described as “a world away from the unruly individualism of any American school." She gushed: “Ask them about their country, and they can't say enough." A teenage girl declared, in English: “We are the happiest children in the world.” Sawyer ended her piece with video of her and the class singing "Do-Re-Mi" from the Sound of Music. Far from being embarrassed by Sawyer's obsequious approach, anchor Charles Gibson proposed: "A fascinating glimpse of North Korea."

Damn it, she must be a ditz. What a disgrace.

Kim Jong Il, the leader of North Korea rounds up his political enemies and kills them in gas chambers. He is starving his own citizens, there are estimates that the deaths may have run into the millions. I know this and Diane Sawyer doesn't?

Here is an article about the North Korean atrocities, if you want to learn:

The Gas Chamber Horror of North Korea from the Guardian.

Happy Halloween

A mock-up of a plane crash is displayed as part of a Halloween display in the garden of a home in Los Angeles October 20, 2006. Los Angeles police visited the scene after thinking the crash was real. The homeowner is an aircraft mechanic in training and the parts are from a real Gulfstream jet. REUTERS

Thursday, October 19, 2006

A Global appeal.. Perhaps you will help

I found this appeal over in the comments section at LGF. I'm not clear on who it is from, but they are requesting spiritual solidarity from the people of the world in response to the abuse they suffer under Islamic rule:

on saturday, light fest of south asians (diwali) is comming up. south asians,a tag under which wahabis usually hide in global news....

i want your help in burn a candle next to a poster highlighting islamic cruelity.... can we do this ? can we burn a new candle to connect islamic cruelity & light fest. many peoples will think how diwali is connected to Islamic cult.. here is the answer... http://www.sikh-hist...

SIKHS, hindus, jains, budhist everyone is victim of cruel muslims and now christians are falling under this sword... will history repeat itself... well it is repeating.....

shikh womens are belived to be strongest... here is what they have to face under islamic rule.. http://www.sikh-hist...

Hindu's accepted 700 yrs back a system called sati (dead man's widow immolates herself on her husband’s funeral pyre.) to get rid of ultimate respect islam gives them... that is of a sex slave. they decided to die, instead of getting raped..... http://news.bbc.co.u...

and now christian girls are doing this... http://www.asianews....

can we learn from each other... can we build this bridge... can we really can burn a candle on this day to tribute the history, so it does not repeat....?

A Map
Of
The
World's
Religions

Click on the map to enlarge.

Even when larger, though, it is still hard to see Israel, isn't it?

What does that say about Islam's worldwide hissyfit, which, of course, they often blame on Israel treatement of the Palestinians.

How Did The Ancients Build Stonehenge?

This guy will show you. Watch as this grandpa moves 16,000 pound blocks around with no help from anyone.

A Warning To America

Pamela, of Atlas Shrugs, has a very important video interview of Paul Belien, editor of the Brussels Journal. It is just a bit longer than 15 minutes. Belien discusses his theory that for Europe to survive the current demographic onslaught of Islam, it must rediscover the virtue of self-reliance, which has been destroyed by the Welfare State.

Check it out. I recommend it highly.

A Holocaust By Other Means

The movement for Palestinian nationalism is just another way to have a go at a Holocaust of Jewish people. If you don't believe it, then check out this post from Carl at Israel Matzav:

There has always been something flawed in the 'Palestinian' narrative. To put the end of the story first, the flaw is that the entire 'Palestinian' narrative has been invented by the Arab-Islamist world, with the complicity of most of the West, in order to maintain the hope of one day destroying the Jewish state and either replacing it with an Arab state or incorporating Israel into Syria and/or Jordan. The reason for this is to avenge the Arab-Islamist 'honor' and pride that were lost in the 1948 War of Independence (which they call the Naqba - tragedy), and because the Arab world will not tolerate one small, democratic country of Jews infidels in their midst.

The truth is that there are no 'Palestinian people' and that there is no such country or territory as 'Palestine.' The 'Palestinians' are a fiction that was created by the Arabs to oppose Zionism.

In order to maintain the fiction that there is a 'Palestinian' people who exist to lay claim to the land of Israel, it is necessary to keep Arabs who claim to have roots in 'Palestine' - and their progeny - imprisoned in refugee camps. Nearly sixty years after the War of Independence ended, the 'refugees' continue to multiply, languishing in 'camps' maintained by a corrupt United Nations-sponsored bureaucracy, that costs nearly half a billion dollars per year (aside from other international aid given to the 'Palestinians').

What I'm about to present to you is not the first smoking gun that will prove to you that everything I said above is true. It's at least the second. The first smoking gun I know of was a statement made to a Dutch newspaper in March 1977 by Zuhair Mohsen, then a leader of one of the PLO factions. In an interview with the Dutch newspaper Trouw, Mr. Mohsen explained the origin of the 'Palestinians.'

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan.Now, I have a second smoking gun for you. Elder of Ziyon reports that

Hamas is very upset that Canada is planning to accept 46 Palestinian Arab refugees who were stuck in Iraq. They hate the idea that Palestinian Arabs might settle any place that their lives would be better, because that lowers the pressure-cooker environment that Hamas is fostering to aim PalArab anger against Israel.

Apparently, Abbas is equally upset at a nation actually wanting to help individual Palestinian Arabs who were suffering in Iraq. He thinks it is better to keep them in camps in Jordan or Lebanon where they would have no real rights.

Now, lest you think that this is an isolated incident or that Elder of Ziyon has misinterpreted it, he presents the following translation of an Arabic editorial from 'Falasteen' (for those who go to the page, note the map that's front and center) which despite the poor auto-translation makes the argument quite clear and gives us our second smoking gun:

"It is better for Palestinian Arabs to be languishing in "refugee" camps with sewage running through the streets than to live in the West where they may lose their interest in destroying Israel."

Go read the rest.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

"That Was My Skull"

A scene from Fast Times At Ridgemont High, starring Sean Penn, because it's Dumb Day here at CUANAS.

I Would Like To Buy A Hamburger

A scene from the movie The Pink Panther, starring Steve Martin, because it's Dumb Day at CUANAS

Stimpy Being Stimpy

Because it's Dumb Day here at CUANAS.

Wynn
Accidentally
Damages Picasso

Boy, today is just chock full of great stupid stories. Check this out:

Pablo Picasso's "dream" painting has turned into a $139 million nightmare for Steve Wynn.
In an accident witnessed by a group that included Barbara Walters and screenwriters Nora Ephron and Nicholas Pileggi, Wynn accidentally poked a hole in Picasso's 74-year-old painting, "Le Reve," French for "The Dream."

A day earlier, Wynn had finalized a record $139 million deal for the painting of Picasso's mistress, Wynn told The New Yorker magazine

The accident occurred as a gesturing Wynn, who suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, an eye disease that affects peripheral vision, struck the painting with his right elbow, leaving a hole the size of a silver dollar in the left forearm of Marie-Theresa Walter, Picasso's 21-year-old mistress.

"Oh shit, look what I've done," Wynn said, according to Ephron, who gave her account in a blog published on Monday.

That sounds like something that would only happen in a Leslie Nielsen movie.

Bono? A Hypocrite?

Leave me alone. Can you not see I am smoking?

Well, he doesn't seem to want to pay his fair share of Irish taxes. You know, the taxes that go towards helping out Third World countries with their debt:

Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Bono, the rock star and campaigner against Third World debt, is asking the Irish government to contribute more to Africa. At the same time, he's reducing tax payments that could help fund that aid.

After Ireland said it would scrap a break that lets musicians and artists avoid paying taxes on royalties, Bono and his U2 bandmates earlier this year moved their music publishing company to the Netherlands. The Dublin group, which Forbes estimates earned $110 million in 2005, will pay about 5 percent tax on their royalties, less than half the Irish rate.

``Among the wealthiest people I suppose it's the norm,'' Jill Cassidy, 23, said on South King Street near a plaque marking the site of Dublin's Dandelion market, where U2 played some of its earliest concerts. ``In U2's position, it does come across as quite hypocritical.''

The tax move has tainted the image of Bono, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and U2 at home. Now promoting a new DVD, book and album, the band is fighting back. Lead guitarist David Evans, known as The Edge, earlier this month defended the publishing company's move as a sensible decision for a group that makes 90 percent of its money outside Ireland.

``Our business is a very complex business,'' Evans said Oct. 2 on Dublin radio station Newstalk, breaking the band's silence after weeks of public criticism. ``Of course we're trying to be tax-efficient. Who doesn't want to be tax-efficient?''

America's Top 10 Dumbest Congressmen

A non-Partisan review. Click here to read it.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers

Anytime she goes away ...

Summertime In England - Van Morrison

Can you meet me in the summertime in England, down by Avalon?

Leftists
For A Second
Holocaust

(Click on photo to enlarge) A quote from Gandhi displayed next to a photo of Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

An eye-opening article from writer Paul Bogdanor:

It would be difficult to imagine a clearer expression of genocidal hatred than the ideology of today’s jihadist armies. What is even harder to accept is that these bloodthirsty killers, with their graphic incitement to the massacre of millions of Jews, are admired and defended by legions of intellectuals, journalists, agitators and demonstrators on the anti-Zionist left.

All sane observers understand that the official program of Hamas, if implemented, would result in an epoch-making bloodbath. One broadcast by Hamas activists announced: “My message to the loathed Jews is that there is no god but Allah, we will chase you everywhere! We are a nation that drinks blood, and we know that there is no blood better than the blood of Jews.”

But in the organs of the Israel-hating left, we read that the Hamas election victory is “the best news from the Middle East for a long time” (The Guardian). We read that it is time “to reinforce Hamas resistance [to Zionist ideology]” and its “ethical cry to the world” (CounterPunch).

The goal of “reinforcing Hamas resistance” is quite widely shared in the anti-Zionist camp. Left-wing American activists in the International Solidarity Movement openly admit to collaborating with Hamas and Islamic Jihad. In the Israeli communist journal News From Within, Jennifer Loewenstein, who is currently ensconced in Oxford University, urges that “Hamas, its allies and solidarity activists abroad genuinely attempt to make a difference.” Editor Michel Warschawski anticipates that the Hamas regime will bring about “Palestinian unity in fighting the Occupation… It may provide new hopes and new confidence.”

Go read the whole thing. It's worth it.

And, if you have a hard time believing that the Left really means it when they support organizations like Hamas in their fight against Israel, here's an example where it is clear they are really willing to lay it on the line:

French May Fire On Israeli Overflights

After injecting themselves into the Lebanon crisis and making all kinds of promises they didn’t intend to keep, France and the United Nations have made it explicitly clear that they will not use force to disarm Hizballah, or to prevent weapons from being smuggled in from Syria.

But Israeli Air Force overflights, to keep watch over the terrorists? Now there’s something the French are willing to fight against: Peretz: French UNIFIL say will fire at IAF overflights. (Hat tip: Shiplord Kirel.)

Commanders of the French contingent of the United Nations force in Lebanon have warned that they might have to open fire if Israel Air Force warplanes continue their overflights in Lebanon, Defense Minister Amir Peretz told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday.

Peretz said that nevertheless, Israel would continue to patrol the skies over Lebanon as long as United Nations resolution 1701 remained unfilfilled, adding that such operations were critical for the country’s security, especially as the abducted IDF soldiers remain in Hezbollah custody and the transfer of arms continue.

Over the past few days, Peretz said, Israel had gathered clear evidence that Syria was transfering arms and ammunition to Lebanon, meaning that the embargo imposed by UN Resolution 1701 was not being completely enforced.

UN Human
Rights Council
Has Only
Discussed
One Issue
This Whole Year

The year is almost over, and so far the Council on Human Rights has only discussed, drumroll please, are you ready, just one issue, can you guess what it is?

Ahh, screw the drumroll:

For all its faults, the previous U.N. commission occasionally discussed and condemned the regimes most responsible for human rights crimes, such as those in Belarus and Burma. China used to feel compelled to burnish its record before the annual meeting. The new council, in contrast, has so far taken action on only one country, which has dominated the debate at both of its regular meetings and been the sole subject of two extraordinary sessions: Israel.

Western human rights groups sought to focus the council’s attention on Darfur, where genocide is occurring, and on Uzbekistan, where a dictator refuses to allow the investigation of a massacre by his security forces. Their efforts have been in vain.

Instead, the council has treated itself to report after report on the alleged crimes of the Jewish state; in all, there were six official “rapporteurs” on that subject in the latest session alone. One, Jean Ziegler, is supposed to report on “the right to food.” But he, too, delivered a diatribe on Israeli “crimes” in Lebanon.

This ludicrous diplomatic lynch mob has been directed by the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which accounts for 17 governments on the 47-member council and counts on the support of like-minded dictatorships such as Cuba and China.

Council rules allow an extraordinary session to be called at the behest of just one-third of the membership, making it easy for the Islamic association to orchestrate anti-Israel spectacles. Several Muslim governments that boast of a new commitment to democracy and human rights — including Jordan and Morocco — have readily joined in this willful sabotage of those values.

BBC Suing
To Suppress
Critical Report
On Middle East
Coverage

Even as they claim to be unbiased reporters of the news, the BBC doesn't want you to know what they're up to. Hmmm.

The BBC is using British taxpayer money to try to keep a report on their disgustingly biased Mideast coverage secret (from the London Telegraph):

The BBC has spent thousands of pounds of licence payers’ money trying to block the release of a report which is believed to be highly critical of its Middle East coverage.

The corporation is mounting a landmark High Court action to prevent the release of The Balen Report under the Freedom of Information Act, despite the fact that BBC reporters often use the Act to pursue their journalism.

The action will increase suspicions that the report, which is believed to run to 20,000 words, includes evidence of anti-Israeli bias in news programming.

The court case will have far reaching implications for the future working of the Act and the BBC. If the corporation loses, it will have to release thousands of pages of other documents that have been held back.

Like all public bodies, the BBC is obliged to release information about itself under the Act. However, along with Channel 4, Britain’s other public service broadcaster, it is allowed to hold back material that deals with the production of its art, entertainment and journalism.

The High Court action is the latest stage of a lengthy and expensive battle by Steven Sugar, a lawyer, to get access to the document, which was compiled by Malcolm Balen, a senior editorial adviser, in 2004.

Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner, who is responsible for the workings of the Act, agreed with the BBC that the document, which examines hundreds of hours of its radio and television broadcasts, could be held back. However, Mr Sugar appealed and, after a two-day hearing at which the BBC was represented by two barristers, the Information Tribunal found in his favour.

Mr Sugar said: “This is a serious report about a serious issue and has been compiled with public money. I lodged the request because I was concerned that the BBC’s reporting of the second intifada was seriously unbalanced against Israel, but I think there are other issues at stake now in the light of the BBC’s reaction.”

The BBC’s coverage of the Middle East has been frequently condemned for a perceived anti-Israeli bias.

In 2004, for example, Barbara Plett, a Middle East correspondent, was criticised for revealing in an episode of Radio 4’s From Our Own Correspondent that she had been moved to tears by the plight of the dying Yasser Arafat. MPs said it proved that the corporation was incapable of presenting a balanced account of issues in the Middle East.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

British Airways
Suspends
Christian Women
W/O Pay For
Wearing A Cross

Yes, and they did so even though their Muslim and Sikh employees are allowed to wear veils:

A committed Christian said today she planned to take legal action against her employers British Airways after the airline ruled that displaying her crucifix breached uniform rules.

Heathrow check-in worker Nadia Eweida was sent home after refusing to remove the crucifix which breached BA's dress code.

Her treatment by BA - which styles itself as the "world's favourite airline" - brought condemnation both from Christian groups and members of other faiths last night.

BA's chief executive Willie Walsh has upheld the action against Miss Eweida for failing to comply with "uniform regulations" despite himself coming under fire recently for failing to wear a tie.

Miss Eweida, who has an unblemished record during seven years at BA, is suing her employer for religious discrimination after being suspended from work without pay for two weeks.

The airline's uniform code states that staff must not wear visible jewellery or other 'adornments' while on duty without permission from management.

It makes exceptions for Muslim and Sikh minorities by allowing them to wear hijabs and turbans.

Under rules drawn up by BA's 'diversity team' and 'uniform committee', Sikh employees can even wear the traditional iron bangle - even though this would usually be classed as jewellery - while Muslim workers are also allowed prayer breaks during work time.

But Miss Eweida, 55, from Twickenham, insisted her cross, which is smaller than a ten pence piece, was not jewellery but an expression of her deep Christian faith.

She questioned why she was being forced to hide her religion when BA's Muslim and Sikh workers could express theirs.

Miss Eweida said last night: "I will not hide my belief in the Lord Jesus. British Airways permits Muslims to wear a headscarf, Sikhs to wear a turban and other faiths religious apparel.

"Only Christians are forbidden to express their faith. I am a loyal and conscientious employee of British Airways, but I stand up for the rights of all citizens."

Her case comes at a time of intense debate over the rights of individuals to express their belief - following Jack Straw's call for Muslim women to remove their veils.

Earlier this month it emerged BBC governors had agonised over whether newsreader Fiona Bruce should wear a small cross on a chain around her neck while on air in case it might cause offence by suggesting a religious affiliation.

Miss Eweida, a Coptic Christian whose father is Egyptian and mother English, was ordered to remove her cross or hide it beneath a company cravat by a duty manager at Heathrow's Terminal 4 last month.

Miss Eweida said: "BA refuses to recognise the wearing of a cross as a manifestation of the Christian faith, but rather defines it as a piece of decorative jewellery.

The airline has come under fire in the past for its adherence to political correctness.

A decade ago it attempted to ditch its traditional Union Flag tailfin in favour of an ethnic design - which provoked the anger of Baroness Thatcher.

Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, international director of the Christian charity the Barnabas Fund, said: "Discrimination against Christians is commonplace in Muslim-majority contexts, such as Egypt where Nadia's family roots are. "Now we see the same thing increasingly happening within the UK.

In Muslim countries Christians and Jews are given what is known as "Dhimmi" status. They pay special taxes (for protection) and limited rights in a court of law. Apparently, Britain has adopted such Dhimmi status for Christians already.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Paris -
The City
Of Lights

From Brussels Journal:

Yesterday night, a police officer was hospitalised after being hit in the face with a stone in the Parisian suburb of Epinay-sur-Seine. According to the police union, the officer and a colleague fell into an ambush and were surrounded by about 30 youths, some wearing masks. The youths blocked the police vehicle with their cars and sprayed the officers with tear gas. The two officers escaped after firing their pistols into the air.

Similar incidents occur regularly. Already 2,500 policemen have been wounded so far this year. The taboo of attacking officers on patrol has indeed been broken. It looks as if some want to kill at least one policeman during this year’s Ramadan. The French police also registered 10 to 12 anti-Jewish incidents per day in the past 30 days throughout the country.

"It's About Life"

Lots of good stuff at Little Green Footballs today, so I'll just provide some links.

Charles wonders why there has been so much whitewashing of Islam in the American media of late. An example is how the Wall Street Journal did an article on an Islamic charity called Life for Relief and Development. The article laments that the persecution they are suffering as Muslims, but doesn't mention that their offices were just raided by the FBI a couple weeks back.

Newsweek, meanwhile, is whitewashing Islam and mocking President Bush for using the word "Caliphate." It completely eludes me why his use of the word is cause for mockery. The Caliphate was the worldwide Islamic government of the Ummah (people of Allah). There was a Caliphate in existence under the Ottoman empire, and during several other periods in history. Osama Bin Laden has expressed his intent to reestablish the Caliphate and reconquer the land of Andalusia (Spain and Portugal).

So, what is so funny? Who the eff knows, huh?

Finally, here's an excerpt from an interview with Salman Rushdie, wherein he does anything but whitewash Islam. Rushdie tells the truth as he sees it:

“If tomorrow the Israel/Palestine issue was resolved to the total happiness of all parties, it would not diminish the amount of terrorism coming out of al-Qa’ida by one jot. It’s not what they’re after,” he adds, his foot tapping against mine as he leans forward. “Yes, it’s a recruiting tool, rhetorically. Many people see there’s an injustice there, and it helps them to get people into the gang, but it’s not what they want.

What they want is to change the nature of human life on earth into the image of the Taliban. If you want the whole earth to look like Taliban Afghanistan, then you’re on the same side as them. If you don’t want that, you’re not. They do not represent the quest for human justice. That, I think, is one of the great mistakes of the left.”

Within this Talibanist morality, there is room for great slabs of delusion and hypocrisy. In Shalimar the Clown, Rushdie shows sparingly how the jihadi fighters of Afghanistan have sex with adolescent boys, and the next day chop to pieces men they have dubbed “homosexual”.

“One of the great untold stories of al-Qa’ida is that they are all these men who f-ck little boys. They all have these disciples who they’re ostensibly training in the way of the warrior, but they’re also enjoying. For a while, then they go off - and they have their wives and families at home. It’s like Classical Greece.” Does he think Osama bin Laden has done it? “I wouldn’t like to say,” he says tactfully. “He’s an Arab, he’s not an Afghan. But Mullah Omar, he’s another story...”

He senses soft racism in the refusal to see Islamic fundamentalists for what they are. When looking at the Christian fundamentalists of the United States, most people see an autonomous movement of superstitious madmen. But when they look at their Islamic equivalents, they assume they cannot mean what they say.

“One of the things that’s commonly said by Islamists is that it’s acceptable to bomb a disco, because a disco is a place where people are behaving in a disgusting way. Go away and die - that’s all bin Laden wants you to do. It’s not just about Iraq, it’s about ham sandwiches and kissing in public places and sex with girls you’re not married to.” He pauses. “It’s about life.”

South Park

The latest South Park mocks 9/11 conspiracy theorists. It is totally hilarious.

You can go here to watch it.

Here's a statement from the conspiracy theorists themselves in reaction to being mocked:

The undeniable, indisputable and ugly political reality of our times is that the US intelligence apparatus simply cannot be completely separated from the networks of its supposed enemies. That is the story, and by itself it is cause for impeachment and treason trials for our top officials. But although this is “known”, and has been known for decades, this potentially explosive information has been managed and de-emphasized by the information brokers in society to the point it’s become “old news”. Its treasonous particulars have never become common knowledge among mainstream folks. This dark truth of complicity is buried in the collective unconscious of the society, just like the repressed material individuals bury because it is too painful to confront.

When questions about the 9/11 attacks get raised, the repressed material returns in the form of pointed questions by certain members of society. And while there can be reasonable disagreement about the extent of complicity, there will always be those who will not be able to even face the possibility (or figure it makes more sense to simply ridicule it for fun and profit).

South Park’s conclusion that “a bunch of pissed-off Muslims” did 9/11 ultimately says very little. The key word is “did”: if Al-Qaeda was responsible, does that mean the US could not also be? Of course not, yet nowhere is this possibility seriously considered by them or by recent critics of 9/11 skepticism.

The creators of South Park, a show I like, are now two-time offenders, as they copped out in “Team America” as well. There too, the US was depicted as a bumbling, ignorant yet well-intentioned behemoth that was ruining the world through sheer incompetence and stupidity. It was Kim Jong-Il who was truly evil, you see.

There's probably a whole 'nother episode in that statement. Can't wait to see what the Hardly Boys have to say about that.

Friday, October 13, 2006

Hollywood Discovers The "Faith-Based Community"

And while the mainline Christian churches are forgetting about their faith (see the post below), Twentieth Century Fox films seems to be discovering the faithful:

LOS ANGELES - Cecil B. DeMille would be proud. After all, this is the legendary showman who once said, "Give me any two pages of the Bible and I'll give you a picture." This week, 20th Century Fox launched a new "faith-based division," called FoxFaith. It's first film, "One Night with the King," is pure DeMille: Love! Adventure! Palace intrigue! And, by the way, also Holy Writ. The film, opening Friday, is based on a novel about Queen Esther, who saves the Jews of Persia and marries King Xerxes.

This may be just another step in Hollywood's new dance with the "faith-based" community, but given that Fox executives estimate that audience at more than 80 million, the rest of Tinseltown is paying close attention.

Fox's new division, housed under the home entertainment department, is targeting both theatrical and DVD releases at the Christian audience. But it is not a production house, says senior vice president Steve Feldstein and, taking a page from the DeMille bible, neither is FoxFaith in business to teach theology. "We are not here to proselytize, we are making entertainment."

Go read the whole thing.

Liberal Christianity Is Paying For Its Sins

Liberal Christian churches see a continuing decline in attendance. From the Los Angeles Times:

The accelerating fragmentation of the strife-torn Episcopal Church USA, in which several parishes and even a few dioceses are opting out of the church, isn't simply about gay bishops, the blessing of same-sex unions or the election of a woman as presiding bishop. It also is about the meltdown of liberal Christianity.

Embraced by the leadership of all the mainline Protestant denominations, as well as large segments of American Catholicism, liberal Christianity has been hailed by its boosters for 40 years as the future of the Christian church.

Instead, as all but a few die-hards now admit, all the mainline churches and movements within churches that have blurred doctrine and softened moral precepts are demographically declining and, in the case of the Episcopal Church, disintegrating.

It is not entirely coincidental that at about the same time that Episcopalians, at their general convention in Columbus, Ohio, were thumbing their noses at a directive from the worldwide Anglican Communion that they "repent" of confirming the openly gay Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire three years ago, the Presbyterian Church USA, at its general assembly in Birmingham, Ala., was turning itself into the laughingstock of the blogosphere by tacitly approving alternative designations for the supposedly sexist Christian Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Among the suggested names were "Mother, Child and Womb" and "Rock, Redeemer and Friend." Moved by the spirit of the Presbyterian revisionists, Beliefnet blogger Rod Dreher held a "Name That Trinity" contest. Entries included "Rock, Scissors and Paper" and "Larry, Curly and Moe."

Following the Episcopalian lead, the Presbyterians also voted to give local congregations the freedom to ordain openly cohabiting gay and lesbian ministers and endorsed the legalization of medical marijuana. (The latter may be a good idea, but it is hard to see how it falls under the theological purview of a Christian denomination.) The Presbyterian Church USA is famous for its 1993 conference, cosponsored with the United Methodist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and other mainline churches, in which participants "reimagined" God as "Our Maker Sophia" and held a feminist-inspired "milk and honey" ritual designed to replace traditional bread-and-wine Communion.

As if to one-up the Presbyterians in jettisoning age-old elements of Christian belief, the Episcopalians at Columbus overwhelmingly refused even to consider a resolution affirming that Jesus Christ is Lord. When a Christian church cannot bring itself to endorse a bedrock Christian theological statement repeatedly found in the New Testament, it is not a serious Christian church. It's a Church of What's Happening Now, conferring a feel-good imprimatur on whatever the liberal elements of secular society deem permissible or politically correct.

Go read the whole thing.

Mark, at the great blog A New Dark Age Is Dawning, points out that the Episcopal Diocese is considering quitting the idea of marriage altogether (from the Boston Globe):

In a novel approach to the tensions that have accompanied the same-sex marriage debate in many religious denominations, the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts this month will consider getting out of the marriage business.

A group of local Episcopal priests, saying that the gay marriage debate has intensified their longtime concern about acting as agents of the state by officiating at marriages, is proposing that the Episcopal Church adopt a new approach. Any couples qualified to get married under state law could be married by a justice of the peace, and then, if they want a religious imprimatur for their marriage, they could come to the Episcopal Church seeking a blessing from a priest.

The approach, radical for the United States, is commonly practiced in Europe. The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, which covers the eastern part of the state, has scheduled a vote in three weeks , at its 221st annual convention. A similar proposal was tabled at the Episcopal Church's general convention this summer; in Massachusetts, it is thought to have a better chance of passage because the clergy is more liberal.

Episcopal priests in Massachusetts have been particularly engaged in the issue of gay marriage, because the diocese here has been strongly supportive of gay rights, but the national church's regulations define marriage as a heterosexual institution. The local bishop, M. Thomas Shaw , a supporter of same-sex marriage, has decreed that local Episcopal priests cannot sign the marriage licenses of same-sex couples, but can bless those couples after they are legally married by clergy of another denomination or by a civil official.

``I feel this is a way to equalize an inequity in what Episcopal clergy can do for gay folks and straight folks," said the Rev. Margaret (Mally) E. Lloyd , rector of Christ Church in Plymouth. Lloyd is one of five Episcopal priests sponsoring the resolution.

Freedom

From Brussels Journal:

Freedom works. Freedom is a gift from God Almighty, and we have a responsibility to protect it.

Christians face a temptation to power when we are fortunate enough to have a majority of support in Congress. But government can never advance a faith that is freely given, and it is corrosive to even try. Just look at Europe, where decades of nanny-state activism – including taxpayer support for churches and for religious political parties – have severely eroded the faith. In America today, too many of our Christian leaders fail to recognize the temptation to power and the danger it holds for our society and our faith.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Everything Is Everything

Lauryn Hill is the Marvin Gaye of this generation.

Higher Ground

Stevie Wonder - Has my man ever hit a wrong note?

Down By The Water

An anti-abortion video from Pim's Ghost?

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Lucky Man

A song by The Verve

Why Are
Western
Feminists
Silent
About Islam?

(hat tip to KG at Crusader Rabbit)

America Supplies
A Disproportianate
Amount Of
The World's Jobs

I am now also writing for a blog called The Astute Bloggers. The focus over there is on politics. Many of the topics we deal with there are outside of the focus of CUANAS or Infidel Bloggers Alliance. Reliapundit, the man who started The Astute Bloggers has been one of my favorite bloggers for quite some time now, so when he asked me to join up, I saw it as an honor, and immediately replied in the affirmative.

Here is one of my AB posts.

The London Independent laments America's surpassing of the 300 million mark in population:

The population of the United States will pass 300 million today, or tomorrow. No one knows exactly where, no one know precisely when. It is a milestone for sure but is this a cause for celebration or anxiety?

... many experts say passing the 300 million milestone should be a wake-up call that demands a reappraisal of the extraordinary, unparalleled rate of consumption by the world's largest economy and its third largest by population. As an economic model for the rest of the world to follow - in particular the rapidly developing economies of China and India - it is unsustainable, they say.

On a global scale the average US citizen uses far more than his or her fair share of the planet's resources ... The US - with five per cent of the world's population - uses 23 per cent of its energy, 15 per cent of its meat and 28 per cent of its paper.

If America consumes 23% of the world's energy, that means we buy 23% of the world's energy. Which, in turn, means that 23% of the people employed in the world's energy economy are employed because America bought their product or service.

This is also true in respect to the world's meat economy, and the world's paper economy, and - no doubt it is true of the world's tech economy, automobile economy, plastic goods economy, toy economy, luxury boat economy, and every economic sector across the spectrum (with the possible exception of the buzzing prayer mat).

This means the workers of the world really do have reason to unite ... in praise of America.

Go read The Astute Bloggers.

The Re-Primitivization of The Planet

Mark Steyn is interviewed in National Review this morning. Here's a quote:

Robert D. Kaplan refers to the failing parts of the map as “Indian territory,” which is a cute joke but misses the point, in that it presupposes that these rogue states will naturally be brought within the bounds of the civilized world. The opposite is happening. We’re seeing the reprimitivization of parts of the planet, but with a wrinkle: Primitive basket-case nothing states that can’t feed their own people are now nuclear powers. There’ll be a lot more of that in the years ahead.

Steyn has a new book out called America Alone. I intend to go down to Barnes & Noble today to buy it.

Please, Give Me
The Mark Of
The Beast

According to a poll, many young shoppers in Britain like the idea of having a microchip implanted in their skin which would allow them to buy and sell:

Some customers are willing to have microchip implants as a means of paying in stores, a report out today says.

Teenagers are more open to the idea of having a high-tech shopping experience, the Tomorrow's Shopping World report suggests.

Around 8 per cent of 13 to 19-year-olds were open to the idea of microchip implants while 16 per cent wanted trolleys to be fitted with SatNav systems.

This compared to just 5 per cent and 12 per cent respectively for adults asked the same questions. Two thirds of teenagers and 62 per cent of adults questioned for grocery think tank IGD's report wanted self-scanning systems at shop check-outs.

Some 7 per cent of people in both age groups were willing to use biometric iris or retina recognition payment systems.

Yeah, my vote goes to the retina scan, thank you very much.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

What Would
Charles Martel
Do?

Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Tours, when Charles Martel led an army to defeat the Muslim invaders and drive them from the territories which are now called France and Germany. Check this out:

TOURS, France – Frederic Guesdon won the 100th edition of the Paris-Tours classic on Sunday. The picturesque valley where cyclists whooshed uphill toward their prize no longer bears the scars of the ferocious Battle of Tours. But in this valley, Oct. 10, A.D. 732, Frankish chieftains and Gallic forces led by Charles Martel defended their homeland from Abd-er-Rahman and his Muslim raiders.

Nearby in the same river valley, Ségolène Royal moves closer to becoming the first woman president of France. A contender for the French Socialist Party's nomination, Royal makes her home in the now peaceful city of Poitiers where Martel dealt the decisive blow to the invading Moors. If elected president, Royal will face the reality of Muslim jihad 2007.

Historians calculate that the Umayyad Caliphate – that met its match at the Battle of Tours – was the mightiest military power on earth in the year 732. That the defeat occurred during Ramadan, the Islamic holy days, still rankles many Muslims.

A Muslim website devoted to the restoration of the Caliphate, or Islamic empire, features a recollection of the Battle of Tours for this week of Ramadan,
Clearly Allah (swt) has blessed the believers with many victories in the past in the blessed month of Ramadhan…The conquests deeper into France were continued by Abdur Rahman, who even captured Bordeaux, Lyon, Sens and finally Tours. But it was at Tours where a reversal of fortune began for the Muslims. In Ramadhan 732 CE the Islamic army was defeated by the Frankish army led by Charles Martel. The causes for the Muslims defeat here though could be linked to glaring internal problems including emerging rivalries between Berber and Arab factions and the immense booty they were carrying from earlier successes in southern France, which limited their manoeuvrability.

The Web-savvy Muslim who hosts this site may have drawn his conclusion from Arab chroniclers of the time:

Near the river Owar (Loire River) the two great hosts of the two languages and the two creeds were set in array against each other. The hearts of Abderrahman, his captains and his men were filled with wrath and pride, and they were the first to begin to fight. The Muslim horsemen dashed fierce and frequent forward against the battalions of the Franks, who resisted manfully, and many fell dead on either side, until the going down of the sun. Night parted the two armies: but in the grey of the morning the Muslims returned to the battle. Their cavaliers had soon hewn their way into the center of the Christian host. But many of the Muslims were fearful for the safety of the spoil which they had stored in their tents, and a false cry arose in their ranks that some of the enemy were plundering the camp; whereupon several squadrons of the Muslim horsemen rode off to protect their tents.

Cyber chatter recalling crucial battles of 1,300 years ago has grown with the recent declassification of al-Qaida documents, including those recovered after the June 2006 air strike that killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. That document indicates that al-Qaida senses its failures are compounding, that they are losing ground against the U.S. and allied forces in the War on Terror.

Iraqi National Security Adviser Muwaffaq al-Rabi released a letter from an al-Qaida leader to al-Zarqawi on Sept. 18.

The document contains strong expressions of anxiety and doubt: "The path is long and difficult … the enemy isn't easy, for he is great and numerous, and he can take quite a bit of punishment" and, al-Qaida fighters are "weak, and we ask God that He strengthen them and mend their fractures."

Fractures exist across the spectrum of Islamic groups. Muslim proponents of a restoration of the Khilafah (Caliphate) urge solidarity among the branches of Islam. Particular focus falls upon the Sunni sect that has called for the reestablishment of Islamic law as the rule of all Muslim nations.

Kemal Ataturk established modern (secular) Turkey in 1924 when he abolished Islamic law as the law of the nation. As Turkey prepares to receive Pope Benedict XVI for his scheduled November visit, radical Islamic groups ratchet up the rhetoric against any meaningful dialog with the "Crusaders." Christian victories in Europe, such as the Battle of Lepanto (October 7) and the Battle of Tours (October 10th) still rub raw the visions of Caliphate held by modern jihadis.

Niall Ferguson, an Oxford trained historian, notes that his predecessor of 1794, historian Edward Gibbon, author of "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" observed that had Charles Martel lost the Battle of Tours, minarets would some day loom over Oxford University. Ferguson laments that the prediction will, oddly, come true. The opening of a massive Saudi financed Islamic Studies center will open in Oxford in 2007. Its minaret is 108 feet high.

While Muslim radicals urge their followers to purify themselves so that Allah will give them victory over the world and reestablish the Caliphate, some modern-minded Christians dismiss the idea that God "takes sides." In Portsmouth, N.H., a weekly church bulletin scorns the idea that the Christian victory at the Battle of Lepanto was due to heaven's intervention: "The notion that God is clearly on one side or another in wars and political struggles strikes many contemporary people, including most Christians, as dangerous." Another cleric suggested that what was more dangerous was a "Man of God who did not believe God gave Joshua the city of Jericho, or defended the Christians at the Battle of Tours."

Ninth century scribes interpreted the victory at Tours as divine intervention. They are the source for the moniker "Martel" meaning "The Hammer" – a play on the name of the Biblical Judas Maccabeus (The "Hammerer") whose victory over the Syrians was attributed to God.
In the third century St. Gatien brought Christianity to the river valley of modern-day Tours and Poitiers. By the fourth century St. Martin of Tours had gathered Christian leaders into an important religious center. In 732 Charles Martel repulsed the Muslims from Poitiers – as his grandson, Charlemagne, would do again a generation afterwards.

The Franks drove the Muslims to the sea and destroyed all evidence of their existence in what is Modern France and Germany.

A proud day for the remnant kingdoms of the Celts. And these were not savages. Charles began the slow reconstruction of Western Europe, after the dismemberment of the Roman Empire.

The Anti-American
Hypocrisy
Of YouTube

At YouTube, the video of David Zucker’s hilarious (and completely inoffensive, except to the ideologically obsessed) advertisement has been marked as “inappropriate content.”

But the fictional assassination of George W. Bush? No problem: YouTube - Death of a President.

Really, go watch both of the videos. You'll be astounded.

Arizona 9/11
Memorial Commission
Wanted
To Memorialize
The Hijackers

Yes, it's true. Click here to watch the video.

Soccer Fans Form
Human Swastika
At Soccer Game

Click hear to see and read.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Beethoven Concerto No. 5 - The "Emperor" Concerto
featuring Glenn Gould on Piano

Former Terrorist
Turned Christian
Speaks Out On CNN

Socialism Is A Ponzi Scheme

A government report in Spain determines that Spain will need 4 million new immigrants by the year 2020:

BARCELONA — Spain will need at least 4 million more immigrants - between 16 and 64 – by 2020, according to a study. The report, prepared by the regional government of Catalonia, looked ahead to the situation in 2020. It said the nation's relatively low birth rate was not sufficient to provide Spain with the workers it would need in the coming decades.

Project coordinator Josep Oliver, a professor of applied economics at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, said this was the minimum number of immigrants needed to keep the economy growing at the pace of the past decade.

The report also said a minimum level of social and educational policies should be maintained to ensure that as many native Spaniards as possible enter the labour force.

Oliver said immigration was "unavoidable and necessary" because "if no one else enters, there will be a significant aging of the population," and, as a result, a lack of workers, so "if we do not have them here, they will come from outside".

In calculating the number of immigrants needed, researchers factored in annual workforce growth of 2-3 percent and gross domestic product growth of 3 percent annually. "Workplaces produce the call effect" since "we need immigrants," but if a large wave of immigrants arrives it could create a "worrisome clash, given the problems seen with integration in other European countries," Oliver said.

Realistically, a country only needs to employ its own working age people. If everyone has jobs, then they can feed their families, clothe and house their families, and that's what we expect out of an economy.

So then theoretically, wouldn't an economy with fewer people be easier to run? I mean, if you have fewer people then you have fewer people to employ, right? It doesn't really matter how big the pie is as long as there is enough to go around.

No, but that isn't true in a socialist economy, where a large percentage of people are living off government welfare programs of various kinds. Such an economy requires ever more workers to pay taxes in order to fund the ever growing social programs.Here's a little blurb on Ponzi Schemes from Wikipedia:

A Ponzi scheme usually offers abnormally high short-term returns in order to entice new investors. The high returns that a Ponzi scheme advertises (and pays) require an ever-increasing flow of money from investors in order to keep the scheme going.

The system is doomed to collapse because there are little or no underlying earnings from the money received by the promoter.

Yes, and the socialist governments of Europe are going to collapse as well, if Europeans do not wake up and start voting for leaders who will cut taxes and welfare rolls.

Ponzi schemes are against the law for good reason. They leave the lives of innocent, naive people in ruins. I wonder how long history must progess before the people awake and government run Ponzi schemes are outlawed.

What Is
The Pope Trying
To Accomplish?

The Pope has made some changes to the text of the speech which so offended the Muslim world:

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI has taken another step to placate anger in the Islamic world over his remarks on holy war, making additions to his original text affirming that a quotation from a 14th century Byzantine emperor was not his personal opinion.

The Sept. 12 speech that set off protests around the Muslim world said the pope intended to "supply a subsequent version of this text, complete with footnotes." He has done that in recent days, with the English version released on the Vatican's Web site Monday.

The original speech, given at Germany's Regensburg University where he once taught, quoted the emperor as saying: "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

The original said the emperor's remark was made "somewhat brusquely." In the new version, it says it was made with "a brusqueness that we find unacceptable."

Benedict added in a footnote: "In the Muslim world, this quotation has unfortunately been taken as an expression of my personal position, thus arousing understandable indignation. I hope that the reader of my text can see immediately that this sentence does not express my personal view of the Quran, for which I have the respect due to the holy book of a great religion."

He said he cited the text as part of an examination of the "relationship between faith and reason."

Once again, this is another non-apology apology. The Pope's is saying the brusqeness was unacceptable not that the Byzantine Emperor's assertion was unacceptable.

One has to wonder if the Pope intends to repeatedly provoke the Muslim world. If he really intended to see that the anger would die down, wouldn't it be better for him to just shut up and let it blow over?

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Lover You Should Have Come Over

"My kingdom for a kiss upon her shoulder ..."

An amazing performance by Jeff Buckley. Note how his silly antics before the song contrast with the intensity of his performance. Jeff threw himself into the Mississippi river shortly after this.

I think it is clear that he was a man who had trouble abiding the depth of emotions he felt. His music was a way to confront his inner self. But, music is not everything.

Everybody Here Wants You

A very sexy song by Jeff Buckley

Blaming The Jews - Hate In Islam, Part I

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Led Zeppelin - Dazed And Confused

The greatest of all time.

Let's Stop Whining And Win This War

I have been hearing an awful lot of pessimism and outright defeatism from people of late. These opinions are not being expressed by lefties. Lefties don't even acknowledge that we are in a war. No, instead this pessimism and defeatism is being expressed by people who understand what we are up against; a worldwide Jihad being waged by Muslim extremists.

Now, let's be honest, there are only two state actors in this war, Iran and Saudi Arabia. We may quibble and determine there are more, but, I think we can all agree, the state actors are not our concern. We are not worried that Iran is going to invade the United States, or any other Western country for that matter.

We are worried about two possibilities, 1) that Islamic terrorists are going to pull off a large scale terrorist attack (nuclear, chemical, or biological) which will cripple the West, and 2) that the West will be outbred and flooded with Muslims.

So, we are concerned that individuals (not states) are going to successfully destroy the Western world. Think about that. Think about how stupid that is. If individual idiots from the medieval world of Islamonazism have the potential to hurt the Western world badly, then why is it that we don't believe that individual infidels also have the ability to hurt the Muslim world badly?

In fact, when it comes right down to it, why is it that we don't acknowledge the fact that we, as individuals have the ability to completely obliterate the Muslim world?

The reason we don't acknowledge this fact is because we are waiting for our leaders to do it for us. And, thus far, our leaders are not showing the determination needed to actually win this war. But, how stupid is it that we are willing to live or die depending upon what our leaders decide to do for us?

The Western project (that is the history of the Western world) has been dedicated towards greater freedom and greater individuality. We have learned that we the people can determine our own will, our own lives, our own government. We are the boss.

We need to stop thinking about how others are going to take care of our problems for us. Such a mindset is not American, and it is not adult, and it is not individualist, and ultimately, it is not Western.

We need to determine what we will do to win this war, if we are left to do it ourselves.

Friday, October 06, 2006

Frank Sinatra - Stardust

Frank Sinatra was The Man in the early days. This is the Frank Sinatra everyone fell in love with. A beautiful tenor voice, the chiseled looks, the sheepish, boyish face. He had it all.

I still think his best work was the concept album (recorded about a decade later) In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning, but this video will show you Frank when his voice was at its purest.

Abbas Tells Condi, Palestinian Authority
Will Recognize Israel
Says Opposite On Palestinian Authority TV

This is the kind of duplicitous game the Palestinians have been playing for years now. They tell the West they want peace, but meanwhile they foment hatred and war in the hearts of their people.

They don't want peace. They want to destroy Israel. That's why the official charters of both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas both call for the destruction of Israel. They make it clear enough, why is it that the American government and the United Nations don't believe them when they say it? Why is it that the governments of the world believe the sweet silly songs of peace, when the anthems of war are so much more brutal and clear?

Well, check this out:

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said this week he would ‘fire Hamas’ if the terror group won’t recognize Israel, but sang a different tune on PA TV.

Abbas convinced U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that he is sincere in his commitment to force the PA government to formally acknowledge the Jewish State’s right to exist, said the Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) Thursday.

On PA TV, however, Abbas said “It is not required of Hamas, or of Fatah, or of the Popular Front to recognize Israel.” Abbas is the head of the Fatah party and terror organization, which is currently the minority faction in the PA legislature.

“I do not demand of Hamas nor any other to recognize Israel,” said Abbas in Arabic, “but from the government that works with Israelis in day to day life, yes.”

Rice said she was impressed with the PA leader’s political acumen after their meeting this week. “We have great admiration for you and your leadership,” she said, and committed the U.S. to “redouble efforts” to help PA Arabs.

I don't believe Condoleeza Rice is so stupid as to not be hip to the game Abbas is playing. For God's sake, I got hip to it several years ago, and I have never taken a political science class in my life. How could I be more sophisticated than our Secretary of State?

The answer is, I'm not. The answer is, she is lying to herself, and thus, to us as well. She wants to believe that peace can be created through an open dialogue. That is not true, however, when the dialogue is as forked as a snakes tongue.

British Muslims
Are Angry
Because MP
Criticizes
Women
Wearing Veil

From Little Green Footballs:

Former British foreign secretary Jack Straw’s remark that he feels uncomfortable talking to women wearing masks has provoked a growing storm of seething from British Muslim advocacy groups: Straw walks into race row over Muslim women’s veil.

One of the radical front groups leading the seething is the “Islamic Human Rights Commission,” whose leader, Massoud Shadjareh, recently draped himself in a Hizballah flag and called on Muslims to support the terrorist group, asking for “financial, logistical and informational support.”

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Paradise

Everything about Sade says, "Less is more."

Muslims
Have Declared
War On Us,
Says French
Police Union

Wait, they called them Muslims, not "youths"? Things must be getting really bad.

Unfortunately, yes, they are.

As you read this article, remember the words of British Muslim, Abu Izzadeen, to Interior Secretary John Reid. He said, "How dare you come to a Muslim area."

It's no surprise the police in France are encountering the same attitude.From the London Telegraph:

Radical Muslims in France's housing estates are waging an undeclared "intifada" against the police, with violent clashes injuring an average of 14 officers each day.

As the interior ministry said that nearly 2,500 officers had been wounded this year, a police union declared that its members were "in a state of civil war" with Muslims in the most depressed "banlieue" estates which are heavily populated by unemployed youths of north African origin.

It said the situation was so grave that it had asked the government to provide police with armoured cars to protect officers in the estates, which are becoming no-go zones.

The number of attacks has risen by a third in two years. Police representatives told the newspaper Le Figaro that the "taboo" of attacking officers on patrol has been broken.

Instead, officers – especially those patrolling in pairs or small groups – faced attacks as soon as they tried to arrest locals.

Michel Thoomis, the secretary general of the hardline Action Police trade union, has written to Mr Sarkozy warning of an "intifada" on the estates and demanding that officers be given armoured cars in the most dangerous areas.

He said yesterday: "We are in a state of civil war, orchestrated by radical Islamists. This is not a question of urban violence any more, it is an intifada, with stones and Molotov cocktails.

"You no longer see two or three youths confronting police, you see whole tower blocks emptying into the streets to set their 'comrades' free when they are arrested."

My friend Blueslord from Actual Jihad has translated an article on this subject from the French paper Le Figaro. Here's a short snippet:

"Violent acts are rising in an exponential proportion", says a speaker from the Police. "If this tendency continues, we will have 15% of the policemen hurt in a year".

They are suffering a higher number of casualties than Americans are in Iraq. The total number of casualties in Iraq per year is approximately 6,800, which represents about 4.5% of total American forces.

These statistics show that it isn't much of an exaggeration to say this is a "war".

Go read the rest and see the picture over at Actual Jihad.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Ocean Wave Remix

A little European Jazz here, featuring John Surman on Saxophone and Jack DeJohnette on Drums. A rather beautiful video as well.

I'll Follow You Into The Dark

Here's a chilling video by a band called Death Cab For Cutie. The song is called I'll Follow You Into The Dark, which is an expression of profound love in the face of death. The video has an existential dread reminiscent of the best of David Lynch. This is an example of the popular art form of the music video ascending into the realm of great art.

Europe
Rejects
Its
Own
Enlightenment

Europe, the cradle of modern civilization is turning its back on Voltaire and John Locke:

The new enemies of Reason are not the enraged democrats who executed Socrates, the Christian zealots who persecuted philosophers of heliocentricity, or the Nazis who burned books. No, they are a pampered and scared Western public that caves to barbarism — dwarves who sit on the shoulders of dead giants, and believe that their present exalted position is somehow related to their own cowardly sense of accommodation.

What would a Socrates, Galileo, Descartes, or Locke believe of the present decay in Europe — that all their bold and courageous thinking, won at such a great cost, would have devolved into such cheap surrender to fanaticism? Just think: Put on an opera in today’s Germany, and have it shut down, not by Nazis, Communists, or kings, but by the simple fear of Islamic fanatics.

Write a novel deemed critical of the Prophet Mohammed, as did Salman Rushdie, and face years of ostracism and death threats — in the heart of Europe no less. Compose a film, as did Theo Van Gogh, and find your throat cut in “liberal” Holland. Or better yet, sketch a cartoon in postmodern Denmark, and then go into hiding. Quote an ancient treatise, as did the pope, and learn your entire Church may come under assault, and the magnificent stones of the Vatican offer no refuge.

There are three lessons to be drawn from these examples. In almost every case, the criticism of the artist or intellectual was based either on his supposed lack of sensitivity or of artistic excellence. Van Gogh was, of course, obnoxious and his films puerile. The pope was woefully ignorant of public relations. The cartoons in Denmark were amateurish and unnecessary. Rushdie was an overrated novelist, whose chickens of trashing the West he sought refuge in finally came home to roost. The latest Hans Neuenfels adaptation of Mozart’s Idomeneo was silly.

But isn’t that precisely the point?

It is easy to defend artists when they produce works of genius that do not offend popular sensibilities — Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa or Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws — but not so when an artist offends with neither taste nor talent.

Note also the constant subtext in this new self-censorship: fear of radical Islam and its gruesome appendages of beheadings, suicide bombings, improvised explosive devices, barbaric fatwas, riotous youth, petrodollar-acquired nuclear weapons, oil boycotts and price hikes, and fist-chanting mobs. In contrast, almost daily in Europe, “brave” artists caricature Christians and Americans with impunity. Why? For a long list of reasons, among them most surely the assurance that they can do this without being killed.

Such cowards puff out their chests when trashing an ill Oriana Fallaci or Ariel Sharon or beleaguered George W. Bush in the most demonic of tones, but prove sunken and sullen when threatened by a Dr Zawahri or a grand mufti of some obscure mosque.

There are several very powerful institutions in modern society. There is the media, there is big business, there is the government, and there is religion.

Can you imagine how stupid a person would sound if they were to say, "We need to be more sensitive to those in big business, so let's tone down the criticism."

That would be absurd, right? And, ultimately, it would be very dangerous, because if we were not allowed to criticize big business, then big business would be able to run amok, using and abusing natural and human resources unchecked.

Same thing with the government. We must be allowed to criticize those who govern us. The national political debate which takes place on talk radio, in the blogs, and other media, is an integral part of enacting policy. We get to vote every few years, but our leaders here our voice and come to know our will through the daily political debate.

So, how is it that we, even for a second, would entertain the notion that we must be sensitive and refrain from criticizing religion?

It is arguable that religion actually exerts more power and influence across the world, and the United States, than does any other institution. How could we possibly allow such power to go unchecked by public criticism?

The answer is, we can't.

Sometimes You Just Gotta Love Your Enemies

Fatah member, Abu Ahmed, says Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' ultimate goal is to destroy the state of Israel. How? Read on:

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' stated recognition of Israel's right to exist is part of a "political calculation" aimed at ultimately destroying the Jewish state, a terror group leader and member of Abbas' Fatah party told WND in an interview.

The leader said the Fatah party does not recognize Israel and that any final accord that doesn't include flooding the Jewish state with millions of Palestinians will not be supported by the Fatah party and will lead to Palestinian civil war.

"The base of our Fatah movement keeps dreaming of Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jaffa and Akko," said Abu Ahmed, Fatah member and leader of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in the northern Gaza Strip. "There is no change in our position. Abbas recognizes Israel because of pressure that the Zionists and the Americans are exercising on him. We understand this is part of his obligations and political calculations."

The Brigades is the declared "military wing" of Abbas' Fatah party. Together with the Islamic Jihad terror group, the Brigades has taken responsibility for every suicide bombing inside Israel the past two years, including an attack in Tel Aviv this past April that killed an American teenager and nine Israelis. The Brigades also has carried out scores of deadly shooting and rocket attacks against Israeli civilians in recent months.

Brigades leaders are members of Fatah. The terror group's founder, Marwan Barghouti, is an elected Fatah official and is largely considered one of the most popular Fatah figures. Several top Brigades members serve in Abbas' Force 17 personal security detail.

Abu Ahmed explained Fatah itself has never officially recognized Israel.

"It is the PLO, which is a separate entity, that recognized Israel,and this was a step, a tactical step that had as its goal to bring the resistance and the revolution closer to the lands of Palestine," Abu Ahmed said.

The PLO was the official governing body of the Palestinians until the A was formed following the Oslo Accords. Subsequent Israeli-Palestinian agreements were signed officially by the Fatah-led PA but not by Fatah as a party.

Still, Fatah leaders, including Abbas, have made scores of statements recognizing the Jewish state.

But Abu Ahmed commented, "There is an opportunistic class at the head of the Fatah leadership that for personal and political interests says it accepts the existence of Israel. There is no change in our official position. Fatah as a movement never recognized Israel. It is the PLO who did so for the reasons I mentioned."

The US State Department considers the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades a terror organization.

A State Department spokesman yesterday told WND the Brigades is "separate" from Abbas' Fatah party. But Abu Ahmed explained his Brigades group is "one and the same" with the Fatah party.

"We are members of Fatah, and there are normal organic relations between us and the Fatah. We are in the Al Aqsa Brigades because we are Fatah members. We participate in all political decisions making of the Fatah movement."

Abu Ahmed said Brigades members consider Abbas their legitimate leader and answer ultimately to the PA president.

"Of course we are loyal to Abbas. He is our elected leader. We would of course prefer if his policy toward Israel was different, but we understand his obligations and calculations, and we do not consider ourselves limited by these calculations," the terror leader said.

Abu Ahmed explained the difference between Hamas and Fatah is that the Fatah party "is ready to discuss a political arrangement for the Jews."

But he said any arrangement must include the "right of return" of millions of Palestinians to Israel.

"We demand (any agreement with Israel) be based upon the principles that the great majority of our people support and first of all the right of return to the refugees, which mean that there cannot be any recognition of the Zionist entity.

"If any Palestinian government will dare sign a deal without this it means that this government has decided to throw away the fate and destiny of more than four million Palestinian refugees, and we cannot accept this."

The "right of return" is widely seen by Israelis as a ploy to flood Israel with millions of Palestinians, thus threatening the country's Jewish character.

Israel has a population of about 6.9 million; about 5.3 million are Jewish; nearly 1.3 million are Arab. The Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank claim a population of 3.8, but recent studies found the current Palestinian population may be inflated by up to 50 percent, with some major cities even being counted twice.

Abu Ahmed pointed to recent opinion polls showing upwards of 70 percent of the Palestinian public does not support Israel's right to exist.

He warned if the PA concludes an agreement with Israel that does not include the "right of return," it will result in civil war.

"We will fight such a government that would make an agreement (without the 'right of return'), even if this may lead to a civil war. We are of course not interested in such a war but we want to ensure that any political process does not give up any of our holy principles," Abu Ahmed said.

You gotta love your enemies when they tell the truth. So, thank you very much, Abu.

Abu is right to say that Fatah has never recognized Israel's right to exist. In fact, the official United Nations web page of the Palestinian Authority still, to this day, contains the PLO Charter, which calls for the destruction of Israel.

It's only through the work of the media that anyone in this world has the idea that there is a real "partner for peace" at work in the Palestinian government.

Why does the media not tell the truth on this subject? The best I can guess is they must operate by the belief that we must not give up. We must always keep channels of communication open. That we must always continue "dialoguing." Well, that's fine, unless, your enemy repeatedly tells you he wants to kill you. At that point, it's probably time to step away from the negotiation table, and you know, maybe go get a gun, or something.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Fire On The Moon
The BellRays

In my ongoing attempt to prove that the BellRays are one of the best bands in rock n' roll history, I bring you the video for Fire On The Moon.

Supreme Court Says
It's Ok
To Have
Children Recite
Islamic
Prayers
In School

The hell it is! I can tell you that if my children are ever asked to do this, I will yank them out of class so fast the Principal's head will spin right off her body.

Isn't it bizarre that the Supreme Court is bound and determined that children are not allowed to pray in school when there is the possibility that those prayers may be Christian prayers, but if they are Islamic prayers, then it is a-ok?

It appears that Justice is a crap shoot in our country at this point.

Here's the article from the San Francisco Chronicle:

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal Monday by evangelical Christian students and their parents who said a Contra Costa County school district engaged in unconstitutional religious indoctrination when it taught students about Islam by having them recite language from prayers.

The court, without comment, left intact a ruling by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco last November in favor of the Byron Union School District in eastern Contra Costa.

The suit challenged the content of a seventh-grade history course at Excelsior Middle School in Byron in the fall of 2001. The teacher, using an instructional guide, told students they would adopt roles as Muslims for three weeks to help them learn what Muslims believe.

She encouraged them to use Muslim names, recited prayers in class, had them memorize and recite a passage from the Quran and made them give up something for a day, such as television or candy, to simulate fasting during the month of Ramadan. The final exam asked students for a critique of elements of Muslim culture.

Here's my critique of Muslim culture. It is an evil, death worshipping culture. They brag about how they hate life, while we love it. Check out this post from my buddy Reliapundit:

“All those who hate me love death” – [YHVH], Proverbs 8:36“We love death. The US loves life. That is the difference between us two.” – Osama bin Laden, November 2001

I think Osama's quote - especially juxtaposed with the quote fro the Bible - proves that the jihadists are - in their own words, and in comparison with the essence of Judeo-Christian/Western ethos - the essence of evil. Pure, unadulterated, diabolical evil. Utterly false prophets. Poole at TAT has more; RTWT. The New Testament has more, too:

Jesus spoke about creeds - false creeds and false prophets. What he said is very instructional:
You will know them by their fruits.

"Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits." - Matthew 7:6-20

Meanwhile a 12 year old girl named Amber Magnusson, at a school
in Prince George's County, was told by her Principal that she is not allowed to read the Bible under a tree at recess. From the Washington Post:

Amber Mangum was a frequent reader during lunch breaks at her Prince George's County middle school, silently soaking up the adventures of Harry Potter and other tales in the spare minutes before afternoon classes. The habit was never viewed as a problem -- not, a lawsuit alleges, until the book she was reading was the Bible.

A vice principal at Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School in Laurel last month ordered Amber, then 12, to stop reading the Bible or face punishment, according to a lawsuit filed Friday by Amber's mother. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, alleges that the vice principal's actions violated the girl's civil rights.

"Amber's a new Christian, and she's trying to learn all she can," said Maryann Mangum, the girl's mother. "She reads her Bible and she goes to Sunday school. . . . It really upset me when she was not allowed to read it on her own time."

Mangum said her daughter was reading her Bible on Sept. 14 when Vice Principal Jeanetta Rainey approached. According to Mangum and the lawsuit, Rainey told Amber that reading the Bible violated school policy and that she would face discipline if she continued to do so.

I wonder how the Supreme Court will rule on that.

What is going on in our country?

I'm telling you, the Christian Church is going to have to start getting real serious about protecting the traditional freedoms and rights of Western Civilization. There is a creeping Islamification and Leftist ideological assault on that which we believe in.

The Seething And Gnashing Of Teeth
Islam Confronts The Modern World

Heaven forbid, someone threw a paperback copy of the Koran in a toilet at a college in Manhattan. Of course, that means the whole world comes to a crashing halt, and everyone looks around, breatlessly, wondering if and when Muslims are going to starting rioting and burning things to the ground.

CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic Relations, what relations, by the way?) is hopping mad:

NEW YORK (AP) - A lower Manhattan college is investigating how a paperback copy of the Quran from the campus library ended up in a public toilet, school officials said Tuesday.
The discovery at Pace University was among three separate incidents in the past two weeks involving vandalism with racial or religious overtones. In the other two, racial slurs were scrawled on a student’s car parked at a satellite campus in Westchester County and on a bathroom wall at the downtown campus.

University President David A. Caputo said the incidents did not appear to be related. But he called them “deeply disturbing” and invited faculty and students to discuss them Tuesday afternoon at a meeting.

“One of our university’s greatest strengths is its diversity,” Caputo wrote in a letter describing the incidents. “However, when speech is hurtful towards a class of people or incites violence, we must condemn it and take measures to stop it.” The school’s security force was trying to identify the vandals so they could be disciplined, Caputo said.

Charles, at Little Green Footballs, notes:

The Council on American Islamic Relations, before any facts are known, is already screaming “Islamophobia!” and demanding that the incident be treated as a crime.

Here's the CAIR press release:

CAIR-NY TO TAKE PART IN MTG ON QURAN DESECRATION
(NEW YORK, NY, 10/3/06) - On Tuesday, October 3, the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) will participate in a town hall meeting at Pace University to discuss a recent incident in which a Quran, Islam’s revealed text, was found in the toilet in a campus men’s room. CAIR-NY is calling on the university to treat the incident as a possible hate crime.

WHAT: Town Hall Meeting at Pace University WHEN: Tuesday, October 3, 2006, 3:30 p.m. WHERE: Schimmel Center, Pace University (NYC campus)
CAIR-NY sees this incident as evidence of the growing phenomenon of Islamophobia in the United States and will encourage Pace University to hold more town hall meetings for the student population in order to create a better understanding of Islam.
CONTACT: Afsheen Shamsi, CAIR-NY Communications Director

So, some uncowed Infidel wrote CAIR a letter telling them what he thinks of their "Town Hall Meeting"

This has got to be some kind of satire.

You’re actually organizing a town hall meeting to discuss this incident?

You guys are waaaay too thin-skinned. Only pinheads, dhimmis and your acolytes will attend this meeting voluntarily.

Wait a minute, I take that back. I would attend for the entertainment value alone! The whining and moaning and seething and gnashing of teeth should be well worth the price of admission!!

Someone say “Hey” to Doug for me.

Michael James
South Forty, Texas

An Atlas reader has a point about CAIR's agenda:

I am starting to believe, and you may keep an eye on this, that CAIR is using these events to proselytize, preach, and deliver Islam to the public. They are using these events to become the Jehovah's Witnesses of ‘diversity.’ The may even be creating the events, who knows.

Everytime something happens CAIR is there to condemn, and then say we need to come into and on campus, school, workforce and teach ‘diversity’ and let people be aware of what ‘Islam’ is.

Their ‘diversity’ training has nothing about diversity in it.

This is the PC way of preaching for Islam. I pointed out recently CAIRS Islamic sermon called ‘Educators Guide, Understanding Your Muslim Student’ here. It is a sermon and is being delivered everywhere, after every time CAIR has it's feelings hurt. If someone went through this same ‘Guide’ and substituted the words ‘Jesus’ instead of Mohammed the ACLU would be all over it.

Yeah, and that's a sermon I don't need, and honestly, I don't think we need anymore Muslims in the world than we already have. If you think about it, there isn't an Islamic country in the world that has freedom of religion, or a real idea of freedom of speech. Non-Islamic countries run the gamut from being free and productive to totalitarian and abusive. But, there is no variance when it comes to Islamic countries. They are all abusive.

The Economist discusses the United Nations Human Devolopment Report on the Arab World:

The barrier to better Arab performance is not a lack of resources, concludes the report, but the lamentable shortage of three essentials: freedom, knowledge and womanpower. Not having enough of these amounts to what the authors call the region's three “deficits”. It is these deficits, they argue, that hold the frustrated Arabs back from reaching their potential—and allow the rest of the world both to despise and to fear a deadly combination of wealth and backwardness.

•Freedom. This deficit, in the UNDP's interpretation, explains many of the fundamental things that are wrong with the Arab world: the survival of absolute autocracies; the holding of bogus elections; confusion between the executive and the judiciary (the report points out the close linguistic link between the two in Arabic); constraints on the media and on civil society; and a patriarchal, intolerant, sometimes suffocating social environment.

The area is rich in all the outward trappings of democracy. Elections are held and human-rights conventions are signed. But the great wave of democratisation that has opened up so much of the world over the past 15 years seems to have left the Arabs untouched. Democracy is occasionally offered, but as a concession, not as a right.

Freedom of expression and freedom of association are both sharply limited. The report quotes Freedom House, an American-based monitor of political and civil rights, in recording that no Arab country has genuinely free media, and only three have “partly free”. The rest are not free.

The most delicate issue of all, again carefully skirted by the authors of the report, is the part that Islam plays in delaying and impeding the Arab world's advance towards the ever-receding renaissance that its intellectuals crave. One of the report's signed articles explains Islam's support for justice, peace, tolerance, equilibrium and all good things besides. But most secularists believe that the pervasive Islamisation of society, which in several Arab countries has largely replaced the frightening militancy of the 1980s and early 1990s, has played a significant part in stifling constructive Arab thought.

From their schooldays onwards, Arabs are instructed that they should not defy tradition, that they should respect authority, that truth should be sought in the text and not in experience. Fear of fawda (chaos) and fitna (schism) are deeply engrained in much Arab-Islamic teaching. “The role of thought”, wrote a Syrian intellectual “is to explain and transmit...and not to search and question.”

Why would we want more of such in our world. We need to work to lesson the influence of Islam wherever it is found.

Monday, October 02, 2006

Words Just Get In The Way

Here's a video by Richard Ashcroft, one of my favorite singer/songwriters, and a Brit who gets it.

Check out where he goes in the middle of the song.

He ain't da' man, but he know da' Man.

The Bellrays

I'm going to try to prove to you, in the coming days, that The Bellrays are the greatest unsung rock band of our generation.

Check out this video from some dumb latenight TV show.

Kiss Me

An absolutely adorable video from Sixpence None The Richer.

Two Americans
Win Nobel Prize
For Learning
How To
Shut Off
The Genes
That Kill

Americans, Andrew Fire and Craig Mello, win the Nobel for their work in RNA Interference:

Americans Andrew Z. Fire and Craig C. Mello won the Nobel Prize in medicine Monday for discovering a powerful way to turn off the effect of specific genes, opening a potential new avenue for fighting diseases as diverse as cancer and AIDS.

The process, called RNA interference, also is being studied for treating such conditions as hepatitis virus infection and heart disease. It already widely used in basic science as a method to study the function of genes.

RNA interference occurs naturally in plants, animals and humans. The Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, which awarded the $1.4 million prize, said it is important for regulating the activity of genes and helps defend against viral infection.

"This year's Nobel laureates have discovered a fundamental mechanism for controlling the flow of genetic information," the institute said.

Erna Moller, a member of the Nobel committee, said their research helped shed new light on a complicated process that had confused researchers for years.

"It was like opening the blinds in the morning," she said. "Suddenly you can see everything clearly."

Genes produce their effect by sending molecules called messenger RNA to the protein-making machinery of a cell. In RNA interference, certain molecules trigger the destruction of RNA from a particular gene, so that no protein is produced. Thus the gene is effectively silenced.

For instance, a gene causing high blood cholesterol levels was recently shown to be silenced in animals through RNA interference.

Can you imagine what human life will be like when most negative physical conditions can be treated this way. Put this kind of discovery together with the already burgeoning future of bionic limbs and chip implants, and human beings may become close to indestructible.

No More
Exploding
Mohammeds

In the early 700's A.D., the Muslims (known as the Moors) invaded the Iberian Peninsula, an area that included Portugal and Spain (which were then under Christian rule), and conquered the territory, renaming it al-Andalusia. The area was under Islamic control from that time, until 1492, when the Spaniards finally expelled the Moors, an event known to history as La Reconquista.

La Reconquista is still celebrated to this day in cities across Spain. Many of these cities burn Mohammed in effigy, or stuff a likeness of Mohammed with fireworks, which make him "explode" when set off.

This year, however, things are different. Why? Well, because the Moors are back, and the Spaniards are afraid:

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish villages are toning down traditional fiestas in which revelers blow up dummies representing the Prophet Mohammed for fear of offending Muslims, the newspaper El Pais reported on Monday.

One eastern Spanish village, Bocairent, decided to abandon the custom of packing the head of a dummy representing Mohammed with fireworks after seeing the angry response by Muslims to a Danish newspaper’s publication last year of cartoons of him.

El Pais found that several other villages in the Valencia region had also modified similar fiestas this year. It carried out the investigation after a Berlin opera house decided last week to cancel performances of Mozart’s “Idomeneo” because the production included a scene depicting Mohammed’s severed head.

Bocairent’s mayor, Antonio Valdes, said blowing up the Mohammed dummy was offensive. “It just wasn’t necessary, and, as it could hurt some people’s feelings, we decided not to do it,” he said.

This is one of the saddest examples of the creeping Muslim re-colonialization of Europe. The Spanish may tell themselves they are merely being considerate of the feelings of their Islamic brothers, but their is no reciprocal consideration for the feelings of Spaniards.

In our modern era, the Moors don't have to enter our countries with swords and horses. They can come over on commercial airliners, get citizenship, and outbreed us, threatening us the whole time, and making it clear they intend to turn our countries into Islamic states.

And, we allow it.

Sunday, October 01, 2006

River Man

Song by Nick Drake

Muslims
Don't
Surf

Drawing by
Mrs. Pastorius
The Everhot.

Well, I'm sure some do, but probably not the guys who want to kill us. Those guys just don't have any groove, let's face it.

This post actually has nothing to do with Muslims, but I couldn't help think of the famous line from Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, "Charlie don't surf."

I have always admired surfers because, having been an avid boogie boarder throughout a good deal of my life, I recognize the level of danger involved, the level of fear that needs to be overcome, the sanctified air of man and wave, the peacefulness and the terror ...

Anyway, I was reading an old Roger Ebert review of the 2003 movie, Riding Giants, and it was so cool I just had to post it here:

For 15 years, Jeff Clark surfed alone. He paddled through 45 minutes of wave and chop to reach Mavericks, "a veritable graveyard of jagged rocks" in the Pacific off San Francisco. There he found the most challenging surfing he had ever seen or heard about. For all those years other surfers didn't join him; the area was too remote, and they were focused on Southern California and Hawaii.

Well, you wonder, how dangerous could the "graveyard" be if Clark survived it solo for 15 years? Then word of Mavericks gets around, and legendary surfers from Hawaii's North Shore come to visit. One of the sport's champions, Mark Foo, is killed after wiping out on a medium wave. One theory is that the tether to his board got caught on rocks and he drowned. Another surfer thinks he felt or sensed somebody under the water who shouldn't have been there. Exactly one year later, during a memorial to Foo, another surfer is drowned.

The documentary "Riding Giants" shows surfers gathered to discuss and mourn the lost men. It does not show Jeff Clark during those previous 15 years because, of course, he was alone. And what a species of aloneness it was, to plunge into the cold ocean and swim out 45 minutes for a few seconds of exhilaration at the risk of your life. Clark and his kind live at the intersection of courage, madness, skill and obsession.

Consider Laird Hamilton, the current golden boy of the sport, who has cashed in with endorsement contracts, modeling assignments and magazine covers. But no, I am not comparing him unfavorably to Clark, because Hamilton is also a superb athlete and a driven man. Hanging around as a kid with Hawaii's big wave riders of the 1960s, he introduced his divorced mom to one of them, who became his stepfather and tutor; Laird grew up to become surfing's first superstar.

What Hamilton has done is go farther from land than any rider had thought to go, seeking "remote offshore reefs capable of producing unimaginable waves." At first this involved paddling two hours and then waiting up to two hours for a wave. Then Hamilton invents "towing surfing," in which a jet ski tows him out to the far reefs, and slingshots him onto waves moving so fast it is impossible to access them any other way.

The jet ski driver's other job is to pick up Hamilton again after the ride, or be prepared to rescue him. The current thriller "Open Water" shows a couple lost at sea after being left behind on a scuba-diving tour. For Hamilton, being lost at sea is a possibility several times a day. "Riding Giants" was directed by Stacy Peralta, whose "Dogtown and Z-Boys" (2002) documented the invention and culture of Southern California skateboarding. In both films his archival work is the key; he seems to have access to limitless historical footage, sometimes in home movie form; we see Hamilton at the dawn of towing surfing, when at first it was scorned and then embraced by the sport's champions.

In August 2000, Hamilton goes to Tahiti in search of a legendary wave so big it is "a freak of hydroponics." He finds it and rides it, and we see him precariously balanced on its terrifying immensity in what the movie calls "the most significant ride in surfing history." Other surfers, providing voiceover commentary, say the wave's characteristics were so different from ordinary waves that Hamilton had to improvise new techniques, some of them violating years of surfing theory and instinct, right there on the wave.

What a long time it seems since that summer of 1967, when I sat in a Chicago beer garden with the suntanned and cheerful Bruce Brown. He'd just made a documentary named "Endless Summer," and was touring the country with it, at the moment when surfing was exploding (there were 5,000 surfers in 1959, 2 million today). For Brown, surfing was a lark. With a $50,000 budget, he followed two surfers on an odyssey that led to Senegal, Ghana, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti and Hawaii. They were searching for the "perfect wave," and found it off Durban, South Africa: "A 4-foot curl that gave rides of 15 minutes and came in so steadily it looked like it was made by a machine."

A 4-foot curl? Hamilton and his contemporaries challenge waves of 60 or 70 feet. "Endless Summer" charts a world of beaches and babes, brews and Beach Boys songs, and surfers who live to "get stoked." In "Riding Giants" the sport is more like an endless winter -- solitary and dangerous. Even as Brown was making "Endless Summer," modern surfing was being invented by pioneers like Greg Noll of Hawaii, who ventured 15 miles up the coast from Honolulu to Waimea Bay. It was thought to be unsurfable; a surfer asks himself, "can the human body survive the wipeout?" It could. The discovery of the North Shore of Oahu, the movie says, "was surfing's equivalent of Columbus discovering the New World."

More vintage footage. The "storm of the century" descends upon Hawaii, and Noll, known as "The Bull," determines to surf it. His chances of surviving are rated at 50/50 by the movie, at zero by any reasonable person watching it. He survived. It was "the biggest wave ever ridden" -- until, perhaps, the monster that Hamilton found off Tahiti, too big to be measured.After Bruce Brown finds his Perfect Wave in "Endless Summer," he marvels: "The odds against a wave like this are 20 million to one!" The odds that Laird Hamilton could get stoked on a 4-foot curl are higher than that. Before seeing "Riding Giants," my ideas about surfing were formed by the Gidget movies, "Endless Summer," the Beach Boys, Elvis and lots of TV commercials. "Surfin' Safari" was actually running through my head on the way into the screening.

"Riding Giants" is about altogether another reality. The overarching fact about these surfers is the degree of their obsession. They live to ride, and grow depressed when there are no waves. They haunt the edge of the sea like the mariners Melville describes on the first pages of Moby Dick. They seek the rush of those moments when they balance on top of a wave's fury and feel themselves in precarious harmony with the ungovernable force of the ocean. They are cold and tired, battered by waves, thrown against rocks, visited by sharks, held under so long they believe they are drowning -- and over and over, year after year, they go back into the sea to do it again.

The Secret Of The Scarlet Thread

A little Talmudic mysticism for you, here on a Sunday evening, and, of course, the beginning of Yom Kippur (Thanks to Olivia for sending this over to me):

The Talmud, a gigantic library of ancient Rabbinic commentary, is composed of the Mishnah, a legal commentary on the Torah codified around 120 AD, and the Gemara, a commentary on the Mishnah, which was finalized around 400 - 500AD. A multitude, if not a majority, of the traditions recorded in these texts, however, existed in the time of Yeshua, and represent major influential currents in the theology of Judaism in the Second Temple period. As such, the Talmud is absolutely indispensable to the study of the New Testament. In recent years, a flurry of modern scholarship, both Jewish and Christian, has rapidly developed in this field, and numerous articles and books have been published on the subject. Contained within the Talmud, and even throughout the entire scope of Rabbinic literature, a large number of striking parallels to the New Testament emerge, illuminating the ancient understanding of the teachings of Yeshua of Nazareth, and opening a window into the text of the Gospels and writings of Shaul of Tarsus. In the midst of this connection between the Talmud and the New Testament, a scarlet thread has ignited a new facet of an ancient debate.

The controversial scarlet thread figures prominently in the center of miraculous events that took place in the Second Temple. The Talmud records the Yom Kippur Temple ritual concerning the thread, and the miracles surrounding it:

"R. Nahman b. Isaac said it was the tongue of scarlet’, as it has been taught: ‘Originally they used to fasten the thread of scarlet on the door of the [Temple] court on the outside.28 If it turned white the people used to rejoice,29 and if it did not turn white they were sad. They therefore made a rule that it should be fastened to the door of the court on the inside. People, however, still peeped in and saw, and if it turned white they rejoiced and if it did not turn white they were sad. They therefore made a rule that half of it should be fastened to the rock and half between the horns of the goat that was sent [to the wilderness]’. . . . If you assume It was R. Johanan b. Zaccai [who made the rule], was there in the days of R. Johanan b. Zaccai a thread of scarlet [which turned white]? Has it not been taught: ‘R. Johanan b. Zaccai lived altogether a hundred and twenty years. For forty years he was in business, forty years he studied, and forty years he taught’, and it has further been taught: ‘For forty years before the destruction of the Temple the thread of scarlet never turned white but it remained red’. Further, the statement of the Mishnah is, ‘After the destruction of the Temple R. Johanan b. Zaccai made a rule’. [What says] the other [to this]? — During those forty years that he studied his status was that of a disciple sitting before his teacher, and he would offer a suggestion and make good his reasons."

Footnotes:
(28) After the High Priest had performed the service on the Day of Atonement. V. Yoma, 67a.(29) This being a sign that their sins had been forgiven.Rosh HaShanah 31b, Babylonian Talmud, Soncino Press Edition

Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day in all of Judaism, and was central to the kapparah (covering) of the sins of Israel. The scarlet thread, as explained in the above passage, miraculously turned white if Adonai accepted the sacrifice, thus indicating that He forgave the sins of the people. If the thread did not turn white, then they were sad, as their sins were not forgiven.

This section in the Talmud divides this time into three periods of 40 years, coinciding with the life of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai. A similar division of years is applied to Moshe, and Rabbi Akiva. Leading up to the last set of forty years when the scarlet thread ceased altogether, the miracle only sporadically occurred. What is extremely significant, or "coincidental", is that the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Yeshua of Nazareth, whom a first-century apocalyptic sect of Judaism believed was the Messiah, was crucified circa 30 AD. The "coincidence" and controversy is now obvious, the scarlet thread finally ceased turning white around the time Yeshua was crucified.

Rabbi Tovia Singer, of Outreach Judaism, an anti-missionary group, has attempted to refute this understanding of the text. He attempts to make a point about hypocrisy of "Hebrew Christians" who disparage the Oral Torah, and then change positions when it fits their agenda.

In regard to the importance, or "coincidence" regarding the scarlet thread, Rabbi Singer, argues against the connection to Yeshua's crucifixion noting how Christians have "misused" this Talmud quote, and taken it out of context. Recounting a story of a pastor who "excitedly" expounded this section of the Talmud to his congregation, who were so "spellbound" their faces turned pale, he asserts,

"Had any one of the parishioners in the audience gone to the local library and examined this entire section of the Talmud, they would have quickly realized that this quote had been misapplied and misused."Tovia Singer, Outreach Judaism, "Why Did the Red Ribbon on the Head of the Scapegoat turn White in 30 C.E.?"

Years ago, when I first became aware of this text, I was aware of this possibility, so I actually looked Rosh HaShanah 31b up in a local Jewish temple. I then purchased Tractate Sanhedrin, and then eventually the entire Talmud. Rabbi Singer's statement is totally inaccurate. There is NOTHING in the surrounding areas of this texts that indicate it has in any way been misused. As we did to Rosh HaShanah 31b above, we will quote the entire section relevant to the scarlet thread, and then let the reader decide:

"Our Rabbis taught: Throughout the forty years that Simeon the Righteous ministered, the lot [‘For the Lord’] would always come up in the right hand; from that time on, it would come up now in the right hand, now in the left. And [during the same time] the crimson-coloured strap12 would become white. From that time on it would at times become white, at others not. Also: Throughout those forty years the westernmost light13 was shining, from that time on, it was now shining, now failing; also the fire of the pile of wood kept burning strong,14 so that the priests did not have to bring to the pile any other wood besides the two logs,15 in order to fulfill the command about providing the wood unintermittently; from that time on, it would occasionally keep burning strongly, at other times not, so that the priests could not do without bringing throughout the day wood for the pile [on the altar]. . . . Our Rabbis taught: During the last forty years before the destruction of the Temple the lot [‘For the Lord’] did not come up in the right hand; nor did the crimson-coloured strap become white; nor did the westernmost light shine; and the doors of the Hekal would open by themselves, until R. Johanan b. Zakkai rebuked them, saying: Hekal, Hekal, why wilt thou be the alarmer thyself?5 I know about thee that thou wilt be destroyed, for Zechariah ben Ido has already prophesied concerning thee:6 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.7

12) Which was tied between the horns of the bullock. If that became white, it signified that the Holy One, blessed be He, had forgiven Israel's sin. Cf. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow (Isa. I, 18, Rashi).
Yoma 39b, Babylonian Talmud, Soncino Press Edition

Contrary to Singer's assertion, there is nothing in the above selection that would lead any of the "parishioners" to think differently about the way their pastor "excitedly expounded" it. It is important to note that the miracle of the thread turning white was a sporadic occurrence, yet something still happened to cause the miracle to cease completely 40 years before the destruction of the Temple.

There is more, much, much more. Go read it for yourself.

I often wonder why Jews and Christians are so convinced that we practice a different religion, and then, I read things like this, and I recognize that until the Last Days when the blinders are taken off both the Jews, and my fellow Christians, none of us are going to be able to resolve these differences.

Until then, I'm going to sit here and tell you, I know for sure that we worship the same God, and that He is simply working His plan for our separate groups, in separate ways. Too bad the result of us not understanding His plan is that we too often condemn each other.

Today, being Yom Kippur the day when we are supposed to confess our sins to the Lord, and ask for His forgiveness, I propose we ask to be forgiven for condemning each other at times when we simply don't understand each other.

Now, in our world, more than ever, we Christians need the Jews, and the Jews need us Christians. I hope we will work together.

I know it's the wrong Holiday to say this, but, what have such considerations ever stopped me before? Next year, in Jerusalem.

And, let me leave you with some words from George Bush (via Atlas Shrugs):

"Yom Kippur is a solemn time to express thanksgiving that the Almighty remembers the names of all His children," said a White House statement issued in the name of the president and First Lady.

"During this blessed Day of Atonement, Jewish people gather in synagogues, consider their deeds and actions and celebrate as the sound of the Shofar proclaims the forgiveness and mercy shown by the Creator of life.

"As the High Holy Days come to an end, the Jewish people in America and around the world remind us of the gift of religious freedom and the blessings of God's steadfast love. On Yom Kippur and throughout the year, your deep commitment to faith helps make the world a more hopeful and peaceful place."

The Chicken
Or
The Egg?

I think my nine year old daughter has solved the age old conundrum.

"Dad, which came first the chicken or the egg?" she asked.

I rolled my eyes inwardly thinking, "Or no, now I have to play some sort of meaningless word game with her, or maybe this is gonna be some dumb joke, or something."

"The chicken," I answered, deciding to bravely plunge ahead anyway.

"Right," she exclaimed. "I thought about it. It has to be the chicken, because if it was the egg, it would have died, because it wouldn't have had anyone to keep it warm."

There you go. There is definately both logic and wisdom in that answer.

Problem solved.

CUANAS