Don Singleton: 2006

Sunday, December 31, 2006

Islamists, Cornered in Somalia, Lose Local Support

NYT reported As fighting began to flare up today around Kismayo, the final redoubt for Somalia’s diminished Islamic movement, elders within the city demanded that the Islamists leave.

I bet they were tired of living under Sharia Law.

Mohammed Arab, a leader of the Ogaden sub-clan, said 36 elders of various clans and sub-clans met over the weekend with Islamist leaders and tried to persuade them that resisting the huge Ethiopian-backed force heading toward them would be futile. “We told them that they were going to lose,” Mr. Arab said, “and that our city would get destroyed.”

They must not have read 3:121 or they did not believe it would work for them.

Hundreds of Turks injured in Muslim animal sacrifice

IOL reported Hundreds of Turks spent the first day of the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha holiday in emergency wards today after stabbing themselves or suffering other injuries while sacrificing startled and agitated animals.

Unfortunately for the meat to be halal they apparently must cut its throat while it is conscious, and I suspect the animals don't care for that.

Muslims sacrifice cows, sheep, goats and bulls during the four-day religious holiday, a ritual commemorating the biblical account of God's provision of a ram for Abraham to sacrifice as he was about to kill his son. They share the meat with friends, family and neighbours and give part of it to the poor.

Part of it. I understood they were to give at least 2/3 of it to the poor.

In Turkey, at least 1,179 people - dubbed "amateur butchers" by the Turkish media - were treated at hospitals across the country, most suffering cuts to their hands and legs.

The holiday occurs every year. Haven't they got the hang of it yet?

Four people were severely injured when they were crushed under the weight of large animals that fell on top of them, it was reported. Another person was hurt when a crane, used to lift an animal, tumbled onto him.

Area Somalis want peace for homeland

StarTribune reported More than a thousand Somalis gathered in Minneapolis on Saturday to call for Ethiopian troops to withdraw immediately from Somalia.

I hope the Minneapolis police took note of who they were, and wil keep an eye on them.

Their protest capped a week in which transitional government troops retook Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, with the backing of Ethiopian infantrymen. The U.S. government "gave the green light" to Ethiopia to work in concert with the transitional federal government in Somalia, and that action was "totally wrong," said Hassan Mohamud.

Why is it wrong for the government of a country to work with a neighboring country, whose own citizens were threatened with attack by the Islamists, to put down the takeover of Somalia that the Islamists had done.

He is the president of the Somali Institute for Peace and Justice in Minneapolis, which organized Saturday's rally. "We ask the president of the United States, Mr. Bush, and his administration to stop supporting the terrorists. Ethiopian troops are terrorists,"

I suspect you are using the word terrorists to try to justify opposing them. They met on the field of battle, in conjunction with government troops, to push out a group of Islamists that had taken over. They did not set of f bombs to kill innocent civilians, or fly planes into buildings, or any of the other things that terrorists normally do.

Mohamud said to a cheering crowd. Lt. Rick Thomas of the Minneapolis Police Department estimated the crowd at about 1,500 people for a rally that ran for more than two hours.

I hope they keep an eye on these people.

Mohamud said he and other Somalis want the United States to support talks that can yield "peace and reconciliation."

That is what the Somalia ane Ethiopian government wants. Peace, but not with an imposed Sharia Law, and without threats to wage Jihad against Ethiopia.

Robert Spencer blogged If anyone in the American government had any courage, they would tackle this head-on, explaining that they opposed the Somali jihadists not only because they had ties to Al-Qaeda, but because Sharia government institutionalizes discrimination against women and religious minorities and denies freedom of conscience, and is in general an outrage to the dignity of the human person. In other words, they would engage the ideological challenge posed by the global jihad by asserting the superiority of the values of the modern West, and of the civilization built on Judeo-Christian values. But they don't dare.

Saturday, December 30, 2006

Muslims 'refuse anti-MRSA gel'

Some Muslims are undermining the battle to rid Britain’s hospitals of killer infections by refusing to wash their hands when visiting sick relatives.
We have those devices in hospitals here, but I have only seem hospital staff using them, but they use them everytime they leave a patients room. I am sure that if they put up signd asking visitors to use them, they would.
Dispensers containing anti-bacterial gel have been placed outside wards at hospitals all over Britain in a bid to get rid of superbugs like MRSA and PVL.
MRSA is Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. and PVL is Panton valentine leukocidin, MRSA strains can also contain genes that encode the PVL toxin, responsible for furunculosis, severe necrotizing pneumonia, and necrotic lesions of the skin and soft tissues. You definitely don't want to get either one, because they are resistent to most antibiotics, and they can do serious damage. Nor all of the staff in a hospital wear clothes. There are more than 30 species in the staph family of bacteria, and they can cause different kinds of illnesses. But most staph infections are caused by the species Staphylococcus aureus, and if you get one that has developed a resistance to most antibotics it is said to be MRSA.
It prevents people bringing in more infections. But some Muslims refuse to use the hand cleansers on religious grounds because they contain alcohol. Health watchdogs are so concerned they intend to meet with NHS bosses in the New Year to try and hammer out a solution.
If it is a hospital employee that refuses; fire them. If it is a visitor, tell them they can no longer visit.

Read More...

Summary only...

Friday, December 29, 2006

Saddam is dead

According to Fox News al Arabiya said Saddam has been hanged.

Best wishes to the Iraqi public, and have a Happy Eid Al-Adha

What’s the difference between Jihad and militancy?

AlJazerra reported The concept of Jihad has been misinterpreted by the Western media

So it is all Western media's fault

as what some refer to as “religious militancy”, in ther words, using weapons to fight for the cause of one’s religion, regardless of whether fighting is against a true enemy or not, and regardless of weather it’s justified and being carried out against the right target or not.

Were the people killed in the twin towers a true enemy? When did they attack al Qaeda?

But “religious militancy”, even if I’m opposed to it,

Are you or are you not opposed to it?

oesn’t arise from vacuum. Human history has many examples of people becoming extremists and carrying weapons to fight dictator rule or bad social circumstances. “Religious militancy” in my view, is the outcome of extremism, which had been attributed to many factors including poverty, suppression, dictator rule, injustice, unemployment… etc.

That sounds like what the Arab dictators, authoritarian or religious leaders are doing to their own people, but blaming the west so their own people do not overthrow them.

.... Another point I need to stress here is that while Jihad is linked to Muslims and Islam-militancy, extremism and terrorism on the other hand are not limited to Muslims, we have Jewish and Christian militant groups, terror organisations and extremists.

Such as?

Theodore Hertzl, a Jew, was the founder of terrorism in occupied Palestine.

He was the founder of Zionism and the desire for a Jewish state, but he was not a terrorist.

And we have the American Christian terrorist Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma bomber.

McVeigh never attempted to justify the OKC bombing according to Christian religious principles, and his actions were never endorsed by any Christian sect.

But those who wish to ruin the image and the world’s respect for Islam focus only on Muslim terrorists, as if the world’s followers of Islam are all terrorists.

There certainly are Muslims that are not terrorists, but today at least, all terrorists are Muslims.

Why President Bush is a Hero

Ed Koch, former Democratic mayor of NYC, wrote in RealClearPolitics President George W. Bush, vilified by many, supported by some, is a hero to me.

And to me

Why do I say that? It's not because I agree with the President's domestic agenda. It's not because I think he's done a perfect job in the White House. George Bush is a hero to me because he has courage. The President does what he believes to be in the best interest of the United States. He sticks with his beliefs, no matter how intense the criticism and invective that are directed against him every day.

Amen

The enormous defeat President Bush suffered with the loss of both Houses of Congress has not caused him to retreat from his position that the U.S. alone now stands between a radical Islamic takeover of many of the world's governments in the next 30 or more years. If that takeover occurs, we will suffer an enslavement that will threaten our personal freedoms and take much of the world back into the Dark Ages.

Ed, you may be the only Democrat that understands that fact. I wish you could convince others.

Our major ally in this war against the forces of darkness, Great Britain, is still being led by an outstanding prime minister, Tony Blair.

Even Tony seems somewhat confused, as we see here

However, Blair will soon be set out to pasture, which means Great Britain will leave our side and join France, Germany, Spain and other countries that foolishly believe they can tame the wolf at the door and convert it into a domestic pet that will live in peace with them. These dreamers naively believe that if we feed the wolves what they demand, they will go away. But that won't happen. Appeasement never works. The wolves always come back for more and more, and when we have nothing left to give, they come for us.

They offer three choices: convert to their religion, live under their subjigation as second class citizens with no rights, or death.

Radical Islamists are very much aware that we have shown fear. For example, we have allowed the people of Darfur -- dark skinned Africans -- to be terrorized, killed, raped and taken as slaves by the supporters of the Sudanese government, radical Islamists. The countries surrounding Iraq -- Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan -- made up of Sunni Arabs, know that for them, the wolves who are the radical Shia are already at their door. The New York Times reported on December 13, 2006, "Saudi Arabia has told the Bush administration that it might provide financial backing to Iraqi Sunnis in any war against Iraq's Shiites if the United States pulls its troops out of Iraq, according to American and Arab diplomats...The Saudis have argued strenuously against an American pullout from Iraq, citing fears that Iraq's minority Sunni Arab population would be massacred...The Bush administration is also working on a way to form a coalition of Sunni Arab nations and a moderate Shiite government in Iraq, along with the United States and Europe, to stand against 'Iran, Syria and the terrorists."

This Saudi response will take place notwithstanding that until now, according to The Times, "The Saudis have been wary of supporting Sunnis in Iraq because their insurgency there has been led by extremists of Al Qaeda, who are opposed to the kingdom's monarchy. But if Iraq's sectarian war worsened, the Saudis would line up with Sunni tribal leaders." The Times article went on to state the opinion of an Arab expert, Nawaf Obaid, who was recently fired by the Saudi foreign minister after Obaid wrote an op ed in The Washington Post asserting that the Saudis were prepared in the event of an American pullout to engage in a "massive intervention to stop Iranian-backed Shiite militias from butchering Iraqi Sunnis." Obaid went on "suggest[ing] that Saudi Arabia could cut world oil prices in half...a move that would be devastating to Iran."

The Times reported, "Arab diplomats...said that Mr. Obaid's column reflected the view of the Saudi government." When writing about affairs of state in distant places, unless you are on the scene talking to knowledgeable participants, the most reliable sources to support conjecture with "facts" are the superb reporters of the great international newspapers like The New York Times.

Which is it, great international newspapers, or the New York Times? They are mutually exclusive.

Surely this turn of events in Saudi Arabia undoubtedly replicated in other Sunni-dominated countries -- Sunnis are 80 percent of the world's Muslim population. This will give support to my proposal, advanced nearly a year ago, that we tell our allies, regional and NATO, that we are getting out of Iraq unless they come in. That may well work, and they will come in, in large part and share the casualties of combat and the financial costs of war.

Doing what I suggest is far better than simply pulling out, which is the direction in which we are headed, notwithstanding the President's opposition. I think at the moment simply getting out and not making an attempt to bring our allies in is supported by a majority of Americans and would be supported by a majority of Democrats in the Congress. For me, staying is clearly preferable, provided we are not alone and are joined by our regional and NATO allies, aggressively taking on the difficult but necessary task of destroying radical Islam and its terrorist agenda if we don't want to see radical Islam destroy the Western world and moderate Arab states over the next generation, or as long as it takes for them to succeed.

Two other requirements are needed to bring the war in Iraq to a successful conclusion: first, require the Iraqi government to allow greater autonomy for the three regions -- Kurd, Sunni and Shia. The second requirement is that the national Iraqi government enact legislation that will divide all oil and natural gas revenues in a way similar to that of our own state of Alaska.

The Alaskan state government takes from those revenues all it will need to finance government and provide services and the balance is divided among the population of Alaska, in a profit sharing program. That would settle the major Sunni problem which has been being cut out of oil revenues because the country's oil is located only in Kurdish and Shiite areas. If the Iraqi government refuses our demands, our reply should be "Goodbye. You're on your own." This proposal was suggested to me by Mike Sheppard in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

We should say the same thing if the government will not let us take out al Sadr and his militia.

It won't be easy to implement this proposal. But President Bush has courage. Now is the time to use it.

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Lawsuits for Abuse of Islam and the Prophet

Arab News reported A two-day conference organized by the Makkah-based Muslim World League yesterday called for a consultative commission in order to take legal action against those who abuse Islam and its Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and Islamic sanctities, at local and international courts of justice, the Saudi Press Agency said.

You think Islam is being abused by a few cartoons? You should see what the secular press says about Christians. No one ever did a figure of Muhammad in a bottle of Urine, or a painting of his mother, covered with dung, and insisted that it was protected artistic expression, did they?

The conference titled “In Defense of the Prophet” called upon Islamic countries and governments to stand united to defend the Islamic faith and its Prophet. It denounced the smear campaigns to tarnish the image of the Prophet and urged Muslims to make all-out efforts to project the true picture of Islam and the great divine teachings of the Prophet.... Jamal Badawi, a Canadian-Muslim expert on Islam, spoke about the Prophet’s outstanding influence on human history. “There is no other personality who has made such a positive impact on history,”

What about Jesus Christ, who said Love your neighbor as yourself. or Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.. Compare that with the Qu'ran saying Surah 5:51 says O ye who believe! take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust. and Surah 9:29 which says Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, [Jews and Christians] until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.

he told the conference.

A Battle for Global Values

Tony Blair wrote on Foreign Affairs To me, the most remarkable thing about the Koran is how progressive it is.

To me, the most remarkable thing is how naive you are.

I write with great humility as a member of another faith. As an outsider, the Koran strikes me as a reforming book,

If you think it is a reforming book, you have just read the early suras, before Satan pretended to be the Angel Gabriel, and started feeding Muhammad the violent jihad verses.

trying to return Judaism and Christianity to their origins,

Muhammad did plagerize a lot of Judaism and Christianity, twisting things to his own objectives, but trying to lure Jews and Christians to convert to his new Islam religion.

much as reformers attempted to do with the Christian church centuries later.

What Islam needs is a reformation such as the Christian church went through, not a return to the Jihad of the 8th century.

The Koran is inclusive. It extols science and knowledge and abhors superstition. It is practical and far ahead of its time in attitudes toward marriage, women, and governance.

Oh yes, it is has very interesting attituedes toward women, like Surah 4:11 which says Allah (thus) directs you as regards your Children's (Inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females A woman only gets half the inheritance of a man, the word of two women counts as the word of one man in court, and in order to prove rape a woman must have four males to testify that she was raped, otherwise she may be charged with having sex ourside of marriage, and may be stoned to death.

Under its guidance, the spread of Islam and its dominance over previously Christian or pagan lands were breathtaking.

That is what you get when you have a religion that calls for it to be spread by the sword. Surah 19:4294 says Fight in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war .... If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya.[A special tax that Jews and Christians must pay to live in a Muslim country. Followers of other religions are just killed outright if they refuse to convert to Islam.] If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah's help and fight them.

Over centuries, Islam founded an empire and led the world in discovery, art, and culture.

Back in the Middle Ages that may be right, but what advances, other than killing, have they done in Modern Times. How many Nobel Prizes have been won by Muslims: 167 by Jews vs 4 by Arabs, and all four of them are considered traitors to Islam.

The standard-bearers of tolerance in the early Middle Ages were far more likely to be found in Muslim lands than in Christian ones.

This is not the Middle Ages, and we don't want to go back to those days.

But by the early twentieth century, after the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Enlightenment had swept over the Western world, the Muslim and Arab world was uncertain, insecure, and on the defensive. Some Muslim countries, such as Turkey, made a muscular move toward secularism. Others found themselves caught up in colonization, nascent nationalism, political oppression, and religious radicalism. Muslims began to see the sorry state of Muslim countries as symptomatic of the sorry state of Islam. Political radicals became religious radicals and vice versa.

Those in power tried to accommodate this Islamic radicalism by incorporating some of its leaders and some of its ideology. The result was nearly always disastrous. Religious radicalism was made respectable and political radicalism suppressed,

Wrong. With Islam religion and politics is the same. If one renounces Islam, and converts to another religion, he not only needs to worry about what God will do to him at judgement day, he needs to worry about the government killing him for being an apostate.

and so in the minds of many, the two came together to represent the need for change. They began to think that the way to restore the confidence and stability of Islam was through a combination of religious extremism and populist politics, with the enemies becoming "the West" and those Islamic leaders who cooperated with it.

Not exactly. Dictatorial and authoritative governments began telling their own citizens that the reason they were in such bad shape was all the fault of the West, so that the people would not revolt against their own oppresive governments, which were the real ones taking advantage of the people.

This extremism may have started with religious doctrine and thought. But soon, in offshoots of the Muslim Brotherhood, supported by Wahhabi extremists and disseminated in some of the madrasahs of the Middle East and Asia, an ideology was born and exported around the world.

Pamela Geller Oshry blogged Paul Belien at Brussels Journal points out this insanity from Blair here. And no this is not a joke. When Belien sent it to me, I thought Belien is saying this? OMG, they got to him, he must be in jail ....... something terrible has happened. Then I read further. This is Blair. He has lost it.

Aussie commented He clearly has been spending too much time around his loon wife, or maybe the Moon God worshippers put a curse on him and he is now possessed by Jins, either way its game over for Tony Blair. England hang on to your arse for you are about to lose it sooner than later. How could an obviously intelligent man be so unbelievably ignorant on the most basic of historical facts?

vonason commented Is he aware of the lies he is telling? "Restoring" the Torah to what it was before "the Jews perverted it" is one of Islam's greatest lies, and Blair has just endorsed it.

mts commented

Maybe he borrowed Prince Charles' "translation" of the koran. The one with only the pretty verses before mo's flight, not the nasty ones afterwards. And re: his knowledge of history... How come the muslim golden age is only golden at the beginning of its history, once it finished its conquest? As in born smart, and getting progressively dumb ever since. Not a golden age built up to by the muslims. I.e. one that was co-opted from the old Christian lands, one added to by the still majority at the time Christian populations serving as dhimmis. Only after they were converted was this light extinguished.

Heidi blogged He hasn’t read the Koran. It’s that simple. Tony Blair has NOT read the Koran. He’s trying to make it seem like he has, but there is no doubt in my mind that he has NOT - much like the majority of our American politicians today. And in the midst of an otherwise reasonable essay, he’s just proven himself to be incredibly misguided.

Tony Blair still doesn’t get it. A pure and progressive Islam has not been tragically hi-jacked by extremists. ISLAM IS EXTREME.

Yourish blogged That sound you heard was my jaw dropping to the floor. That Muslim empire that the Koran helped found? It was done by the sword. That claim that it was “far ahead of its time in attitudes toward marriage, women, and governance”? Bullshit. This is the book that states definitively that a woman’s testimony in court is worth only half that of a man’s. This is the book that allows a man to take four wives, but women may only have one husband.

Then there’s that whole “trying to return Judaism and Christianity to their origins.” Uh, hello, the Koran has absolutely nothing to do with “returning” Judaism to its “origins.” Judaism never got away from its origins. The Torah that we read in synagogue every Shabbat is virtually unchanged from the Torah that was read when Mohammed was wearing diapers. It’s the same Torah that Jesus studied as a child and adult. It has not changed in 2,700 years. How much closer to our origins do you think we need to be, Tony? Temple worship? Fine, just get rid of that mosque on the Temple Mount, and we’ll be happy to oblige.

I really hate it when people who are utterly ignorant of Judaism profess to tell us what Judaism is all about. And when it comes from the leader of a nation that sits on the UN Security Council—well, you just have to shake your head and wonder how any of his advisers could have read that and not said, “Er, Mr. Prime Minister, do you really want to put it quite like that?”

Islamist Forces in Somali City Vanish

NYT The Islamist forces who have controlled much of Somalia in recent months suddenly vanished from the streets of the capital,

The Ethopians fought back. The Islamists are cowards, that want to control things, but they want to do it by intimidation.

Mogadishu, residents said Wednesday night, just as thousands of rival troops massed 15 miles away. In the past few days,

I suspect some of the Islamists can count, and they did not want to fight thousands of rival troops, especially not troops with tanks, helicopter gunships, and jet fighters.

Ethiopian-backed forces, with tacit approval from the United States, have unleashed tanks, helicopter gunships and jet fighters on the Islamists, decimating their military and paving the way for the internationally recognized transitional government of Somalia to assert control.

And the Somali citizens, who had a taste of living under Sharia law, probably joined the Ethiopian troops to route the Islamists.

Even so, the Islamists, who have been regarded as a regional menace by Ethiopia and the United States, had repeatedly vowed to fight to the death for their religion

That is ok. I am sure that with the Ethopians and the Somali citizens both against them, they can find plenty of people ready to send them to meet Allah.

and their land, making their disappearance that much more unexpected.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

15 rules for understanding the Middle East

Timesunion printed "15 rules for understanding the Middle East." They all are interesting, but the ones that struck me as the most true are Rule 9: In Middle East tribal politics there is rarely a happy medium. When one side is weak, it will tell you, "I'm weak, how can I compromise?" And when it's strong, it will tell you, "I'm strong, why should I compromise?"

This presuposes they really understand what "compromise" means.

Rule 10: Mideast civil wars end in one of three ways: a) like the U.S. civil war, with one side vanquishing the other; b) like the Cyprus civil war, with a hard partition and a wall dividing the parties; or c) like the Lebanon civil war, with a soft partition under an iron fist (Syria) that keeps everyone in line. Saddam used to be the iron fist in Iraq. Now it is us. If we don't want to play that role, Iraq's civil war will end with A or B.

I am afraid you may be right, at least about that 20% of the country where most of the violence is.

Rule 11: The most underestimated emotion in Arab politics is humiliation. The Israeli-Arab conflict, for instance, is not just about borders. Israel's mere existence is a daily humiliation to Muslims, who can't understand how, if they have the superior religion, Israel can be so powerful.

Maybe the answer is their religion is not that superior. It has aspects plagerized from Judiasm and Chrisianity, but then Satan got involved, and convinced Muhammad that he was the angel Gabriel, and started teaching him about spreading the faith through conquest and forced conversion.

Al Jazeera's editor, Ahmed Sheikh, said it best when he recently told the Swiss weekly Die Weltwoche: "It gnaws at the people in the Middle East that such a small country as Israel, with only about 7 million inhabitants, can defeat the Arab nation with its 350 million. That hurts our collective ego.

Oh your poor ego.

The Palestinian problem is in the genes of every Arab. The West's problem is that it does not understand this."

Rule 12: Thus, the Israelis will always win, and the Palestinians will always make sure they never enjoy it. Everything else is just commentary.

That pretty well summarizes the facts.

Rule 13: Our first priority is democracy, but the Arabs' first priority is "justice."

And they define justice as "We want to win"

The oft-warring Arab tribes are all wounded souls, who really have been hurt by colonial powers, by Jewish settlements on Palestinian land,

What about Arab settlements on Jewish land

by Arab kings and dictators, and, most of all, by each other in endless tribal wars. For Iraq's long-abused Shiite majority, democracy is first and foremost a vehicle to get justice. Ditto the Kurds. For the minority Sunnis, democracy in Iraq is a vehicle of injustice. For us, democracy is all about protecting minority rights. For them, democracy is first about consolidating majority rights and getting justice.

Islamists in Somali call for help

ISLAM First reported A Somali Islamic Courts defence chief has for the first time called on foreign Muslim fighters to join his movement's war against Ethiopia.

The Ethiopians are kicking their butts, and they need all the help they can get.

"We're saying our country is open to Muslims worldwide. Let them fight in Somalia and wage jihad, and God willing, attack Addis Ababa," Yusuf Mohamed Siad, known as Inda'ade, said. "Today the war is being fought by land and air," Sheikh Mahmud Ibrahim Suley, an SICS official, told reporters in Mogadishu.

And they are getting their butts kicked both ways.

"We want anyone who can help remove the enemy to come in," he told a news conference in the Mogadishu, the Somali capital and an Islamic Courts stronghold. "Our Islamic fighters have taken control of Idale and are heading to other parts where Tigray (Ethiopian) invaders are now based, by the will of Allah, we will liberate our people and country from the Ethiopian invaders,"

And reimpose repressive Sharia Law.

Islamic Courts Information chief Abdurahim Ali Muddey said the AFP. "We are at war with Ethiopia, but not with the government,"

Yes, they don't want to be at war with the government, because they have airplanes that can attack them. They just want to oppress the people of Ethiopia.

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, the Islamic Courts leader said on Thursday. Somalia's Islamic courts on Monday, June 5, claimed victory over a US-backed warlord alliance after four months of fierce fighting in the capital Mogadishu that claimed the lives of hundreds as the interim government invited the courts to take part in dialogue. "The Joint Islamic Courts are not interested in a continuation of hostilities and will fully implement peace and security after the change has been made by the victory of the people with the support of Allah,"

In other words we will make peace if they let us win.

its chairman Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said in a statement cited by Agence France-Presse (AFP). He said fighters loyal to the Islamic courts have seized the capital Mogadishu from the US-backed Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT).

The Culture War Is About the Authority of a Book

I never really thought of it this way, but Dennis Prager nailed it when he wrote in Human Events

If you want to predict on which side an American will line up in the Culture War wracking America, virtually all you have to do is get an answer to this question: Does the person believe in the divinity and authority of the Five Books of Moses, the first five books of the Bible, known as the Torah? .... That is why one speaks of Judeo-Christian values, but not of Judeo-Christian theology. Torah-believing Jews and Torah-believing Christians have very different theological beliefs, but they agree on almost all values issues -- largely because they share a belief in the divinity of the same text.... That a belief or lack of belief in the divinity of a book dating back over 2,500 years is at the center of the Culture War in America and between religious America and secular Europe is almost unbelievable. But it not only explains these divisions; it also explains the hatred that much of the Left has for Jewish, Protestant, Catholic and Mormon Bible-believers.
And it explains why Jews, Protestants, Catholics, and Mormons can disagree on specific points of theology, yet can ban together in support of Judeo-Christian moral issues, because they stem from what God said in the Torah.
For the Left, such beliefs are irrational, absurd and immoral. Which is exactly how most conservatives regard most leftist beliefs, such as: there is nothing inherently superior in a child being raised by a mother and father rather than by two fathers or two mothers; men and women are not basically different, but only socially influenced to be different; Marxism was scientific; that the Soviet Union was not an evil empire; it was immoral for Israel to bomb Saddam Hussein's nuclear reactor; morality is relative to the individual or society; there is no moral judgment to be made about a woman aborting a healthy human fetus solely because she doesn't want a baby at this time; material poverty, not moral poverty, causes violent crime, etc.

The Boom Outside Baghdad

Amir Taheri wrote in New York Post When the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank reported two years ago that the Iraqi economy was heading for a boom, skeptics dismissed it as misplaced optimism. Now, however, even some of those who opposed the toppling of Saddam Hussein admit that many Iraqis share that optimism. Newsweek has just hailed the emergence of a booming market economy in Iraq as "the mother of all surprises," noting that "Iraqis are more optimistic about the future than most Americans are."

That is because Americans have been reading the doom and gloom stories in the MSM, including Newsweek, while Iraqis don't get Newsweek or the New York Times (except of course for the terrorists that get the NYT for the secrets it prints)

The reason, of course, is that Iraqis know what is going on in their country while Americans are fed a diet of exclusively negative reporting from Iraq.

The growing dynamism of the Iraqi economy is reflected in the steady increase in the value of the national currency, the dinar, against the three currencies in direct competition with it in the Iraqi marketplace: the Iranian rial, the Kuwaiti dinar and the U.S. dollar, since January 2006.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Democrats Embrace Faith

NYT reported As Democrats turn toward the 2008 presidential race, a novice evangelical political operative is emerging as a rising star in the party, drawing both applause and alarm for her courtship of theological conservatives in the midterm elections.

Dems know they need the religious vote, but the Secular Humanists in control of the party shutter at the thought of embracing faith. They wonder, is it possible to fool the faithful, like they have fooled the blacks. pretending they are really looking out for their interests, when in reality they dont care a whit about them.

Party strategists and nonpartisan pollsters credit the operative, Mara Vanderslice, and her 2-year-old consulting firm, Common Good Strategies, with helping a handful of Democratic candidates make deep inroads among white evangelical and churchgoing Roman Catholic voters in Kansas, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Death sentence for Saddam upheld

The court rejected an appeal by Saddam Hussein's lawyers and confirmed that he would be hanged,
At least he is lucky. Iraq uses a gallows, so it should break his neck, killing him immediately. In Iran when they hang someone they tie the rope around his neck, and lift him up with a crane, so he suffocates to death as the rope strangles him.
court spokesman Raed Juhi told the BBC. The appeal was launched after an Iraqi court sentenced Saddam Hussein to death on 5 November for the 1982 killings of 148 Shias in the town Dujail. Under Iraqi law, Saddam Hussein must be executed within 30 days.
And in any event it must happen before April 28, or it may be impossible to execute him at all
"It cannot exceed 30 days. As from tomorrow [Wednesday] the sentence could be carried out at any time," appeals court judge Arif Shaheen told a news conference in Baghdad.

Read More...

Summary only...

Continuation of Jihad

FOCUS Information Agency reported An activist of the international terrorist network Al Qaeda who claims that he managed to escape from US air base in Afghanistan in 2005, summoned the Muslims to continue their “holly war against the West”, Reuters reports. The statement of the man who presented himself as Abu Ahia al Libi had been published in an Islamic website. He summoned the Muslims to remain vigilant and not to refuse from their fight”. “There is no other way besides jihad.

Actually there is. You could prove the oft stated expression the Islam is a Religion of Peace, and try peace.

To stop the holly war means to humiliate ourselves and to become weak.

You have already humiliated yourself, and you are weak. If you were strong, you would fight the Americans on the battlefield, rather than killing innocent Afgans, and setting of IEDs to blow people up.

The war should continue”, al Libi stated.

Taliban vows to continue jihad

Canada.com reported The jihad against NATO forces will continue despite the apparent success of Operation Baaz Tsuka a spokesman for the Taliban said Tuesday. "The Jihad will be going on until we kick them out of Afghanistan," said Qari Yousaf Ahmadi in an interview with The Canadian Press by satellite phone. "The non-Muslims came and occupied our country."

Gee, I wonder what could have possesed them to do that? It could not have had anything to do with your support of al Qaeda, who launched an attack from bases in Afganistan that took down two buildings and killed 3,000 people on 9/11, could it?

NATO forces launched Operation Baaz Tsuka with the goal of eliminating what it calls "tier-one Taliban" from the Panjwaii and Zhare districts. It is believed roughly three-quarters of Taliban fighters, still located in the area, are only in it for the money

And there is a lot of that from the heroin trade.

and could be convinced to put down their weapons and return to their villages. A number of villages in the Panjwaii and Zhare districts have been secured by Canadian and NATO forces with few fireworks so far. A number of U.S.-led air strikes has taken its toll on the Taliban with a number of commanders being killed.

A Bipartisan Fix for Retirees

Jeff Sessions wrote in WaPo In the aftermath of their November election victory, Democratic leaders have pledged to work on a bipartisan basis to solve the problems facing our nation. In that spirit, I suggest that Democrats and Republicans can successfully work together to create personal savings accounts for all Americans outside the Social Security system, an idea that politicians from both political parties have supported for years

Why just outside Social Security. Why not allow a worker to put as much as he wants in the account, and let a matching amount of his Social Security Taxes join it.

Veil liberates me

A veil-wearing Muslim convert today claimed the way she chooses to dress makes her feel "liberated" as she delivered an alternative Christmas message.
She must be butt ugly.
Khadija, the great-granddaughter of a suffragette, rejected claims that the niqab that covers her face is a mark of separation.
It certainly is not a mark of inclusion.

Read More...

Summary only...

Monday, December 25, 2006

A U.S. Marine’s Christmas

‘Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone,
In a one-bedroom house made of plaster and stone.
I had come down the chimney, with presents to give
and to see just who in this home did live.

As I looked all about, a strange sight I did see,
no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.
No stocking by the fire, just boots filled with sand.
On the wall hung pictures of a far distant land.

With medals and badges, awards of all kind,
a sobering thought soon came to my mind.
For this house was different, unlike any I’d seen.
This was the home of a U.S. Marine.

I’d heard stories about them, I had to see more,
so I walked down the hall and pushed open the door.
And there he lay sleeping, silent, alone,
Curled up on the floor in his one-bedroom home.

He seemed so gentle, his face so serene,
Not how I pictured a U.S. Marine.
Was this the hero, of whom I’d just read?
Curled up in his poncho, a floor for his bed?

His head was clean-shaven, his weathered face tan.
I soon understood, this was more than a man.
For I realized the families that I saw that night,
owed their lives to these men, who were willing to fight.

Soon around the Nation, the children would play,
And grown-ups would celebrate on a bright Christmas day.
They all enjoyed freedom, each month and all year,
because of Marines like this one lying here.

I couldn’t help wonder how many lay alone,
on a cold Christmas Eve, in a land far from home.
Just the very thought brought a tear to my eye.
I dropped to my knees and I started to cry.

He must have awoken, for I heard a rough voice,
“Santa, don’t cry, this life is my choice
I fight for freedom, I don’t ask for more.
My life is my God, my country, my Corps.”

With that he rolled over, drifted off into sleep,
I couldn’t control it, I continued to weep.

I watched him for hours, so silent and still.
I noticed he shivered from the cold night’s chill.
So I took off my jacket, the one made of red,
and covered this Marine from his toes to his head.
Then I put on his T-shirt of scarlet and gold,
with an eagle, globe and anchor emblazoned so bold.
And although it barely fit me, I began to swell with pride,
and for one shining moment, I was Marine Corps deep inside.

I didn’t want to leave him so quiet in the night,
this guardian of honor so willing to fight.
But half asleep he rolled over, and in a voice clean and pure,
said “Carry on, Santa, it’s Christmas Day, all secure.”
One look at my watch and I knew he was right,
Merry Christmas my friend, Semper Fi and goodnight.

A Different Christmas poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

PLEASE...
Would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S.service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq

A Letter From Jesus

Well, as you know, it's almost time for my birthday again. Last year, they had a really big party for me and it seems like they will again this year. After all they have been shopping and preparing for it for months now, and there have been announcements and advertisements almost every day about how soon it's coming! They really do go overboard about it, but it's nice to know that at least one day of the year some people are thinking about me a little.

You know, it's been many years now since they first started celebrating my birthday. Back then they seemed to realize and appreciate how much fun it is for the little children. Just the same, it seems that most folks are missing the point of it all. Like last year, for example, when my birthday came around, they threw a big party, but can you believe it? I wasn't even invited! Imagine! The guest of honor, and they forgot all about me.

They had begun preparing for the festivities months in advance, but when the big day came, I was left out in the cold! Well, it happened so many times in recent years, I wasn't even surprised. Even though I wasn't invited, I thought I'd just quietly slip in anyway. So I came in and stood off to the side. Everyone was drinking, laughing, and having a great time when all of a sudden in came this fat fellow in a bright red suit, wearing a phoney white beard shouting, "Ho Ho Ho!". He looked like he had more than enough to drink.

When he collapsed into a big armchair, all of the children went running over to him excitedly yelling, "Santa! Santa!" I mean, you'd have thought he was the guest of honor and the whole holiday was just for him. Then he began telling them the most ridiculous story you ever heard! That he lives at the North pole with a crew of dwarfs and that every year on my birthday he rides in his sleigh pulled by a bunch of flying reindeer, delivering presents to children all over the world! I mean there wasn't a word of truth in anything that he said. Imagine telling such poor, little, impressionable kids such far fetched fables! Finally I just had to leave. I walked out the door. It was no surprise that no one even noticed that I had gone.

As I walked down the street, I felt about as lonely and forlorn as a stray dog. I could not remember the last time I felt that low. Maybe you don't think I cry? The little manger scene you put in the corner of your living room is really touching! It's good that people commemorate my birthday like that. Did you know that nowadays, in some countries, the authorities won't even allow manger scenes placed in parks, streets, or public places anymore? Not to mention their schools! I'm not talking about Communist countries! I'm talking about the good, old USA. Imagine! What could be more innocent than a manger scene to remind people of my birthday? Yet it's banned! They've passed laws against it to make it illegal. What is this world coming to?

Another thing that amazes me is how, on my birthday, instead of giving me presents, most people give gifts to each other! And to top it off, it's usually the kind of stuff you don't even need! Let me ask you, wouldn't you find it odd if when your birthday came along, all your friends decided to celebrate by giving gifts to each other, and not giving you a thing? Someone once told me, "Well, it's because you're not around like most people are, so how can we give you a present?" You know my answer to that one?: "Then give gifts of food and clothing to the poor, give help to those who need it. Go visit the lonely! Any gift you give a needy fellow man, I'll count it as if you gave it to me personally." (And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Matthew 25:40).

Well, sad to say, things are getting worse every year. You can just imagine my shock a few years ago when I began seeing them taking the title out of my birthday greeting and replacing it with an 'X'? What an insult! Think of it! Xmas!... What if I wrote you a birthday card and said Happy Birthday X! You'd probably never talk to me again! That is just about how I feel. What more could they do to push me out of the picture on my own birthday? It reminds me of what happened to a friend of mine recently, a sweet, elderly fellow. He is from the poorer side of town, and he's been trying unsuccessfully for years to join the church. It was a very exclusive church for the proper kind of folks, and they just did not think he was good enough to be a member. I found him one time sitting on the church steps with his head in his hands . I asked him what was wrong. He told me about it. I put my arm around his shoulder and told him I knew just how he felt. I've been wanting to enter that same church for 20 years and they've never let me in either.

Well, there is an end to even my patience. So I'm going to let you in on a secret. Now this is something I have been planning on doing for quite sometime. I'll have my own party! How about that? It's going to be the most fantastic feast you could possibly imagine! It might not happen this year, but I'm sending out the invitations now. I know you'll want to come. There is going to be room for billions, for everyone who wants to come! Some really famous old timers and celebrities are gonna be there and I'll reserve you a seat of honor right with them. So hold on to your hat because when everything is ready, I'm going to spring it as a big surprise! Many people are going to be left out in the cold because they didn't answer my invitation. Let me know right away if you'd like to come. I'll reserve a place for you and write your name in Large Golden Letters in my Great Big Guest Book!

All My Love, Your Friend,
Jesus

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Clinton, Obama Clearing The Field

WaPo reported Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), trading on star power, the capacity to raise tens of millions of dollars with relative ease and an ability to dominate media attention, are rewriting the script of the 2008 Democratic presidential campaign, driving potential rivals to the sidelines and casting a huge shadow over all others who may run.

Actually Clinton is still in the field because of all of the money she raised but did not spend on her senatorial campaign, and it is the MSM's hyping of Obama that is creating him as a top candidate, and it is the MSM that does not want any other Democrats to join the frey, and start criticizing either Clinton or Obama.

What once shaped up as a sizable field of Democratic candidates is now shrinking. Sen. Evan Bayh (Ind.) announced on Dec. 16 that he would not seek the Democratic nomination, a surprising decision that came just days after he witnessed firsthand the megawatt voltage of Obama's drawing power in New Hampshire. As Bayh drew small crowds on his seventh trip to the Granite State, Obama enjoyed sold-out audiences and saturation coverage on his first.

The election is TWO YEARS AWAY. We just finished the 2006 election. Can't we have a breather for at least a year?

Differences of opinion on Islam

Robert Spencer tells The Truth About Muhammad, and it reveals a lot that Islam Apologist Karen Armstrong skips over. For example if we look at what Karen Armstrong wrote in Guardian Unlimited

In 632, after five years of fearful warfare, the city of Mecca in the Arabian Hijaz voluntarily opened its gates to the Muslim army. No blood was shed and nobody was forced to convert to Islam

Well he certainly killed a lot more just prior to taking over the Ka'bah when he killed a bunch of Jews at the Khaybar Oasis, and afterward when he attacked a force led by Malik ibn 'Awf at the Hunayn wadi, or in the Tabuk raid when he killed a bunch of Christians, but when he took over Mecca he did have a list of Abostates to be killed, even if they sought sanctuary in the Ka'bah itself. Abdullah bin Sa'd was one of these, and he rejected Islam twice, and only accepted Islam the third time, just before he was about to be killed.

Karen said

For centuries Muslims cherished the figure of Jesus, who is honoured in the Qur'an as one of the greatest of the prophets and, in the formative years of Islam, became a constituent part of the emergent Muslim identity.

It is true that Muhammad included a number of Jewish Prophets in his new religion, and called them Muslims (which is interesting because they lived long before Muhammad was born, and he also included Jesus, but says he demotes Christ to being just a Prophet (since why would God send another Prophet after He sent His Son to die for the world's sins), and then he expected Christians to embrace his twisted version of their faith. And the fact that Islam includes Jewish and Christian "Prophets" did not keep him from killing tribes of Jews or Christians when they did not agree that his reinterpretation of their faith was valid, and they refused to renounce their faith and become Muslims. As CrunchyCapsicum commented on the Guardian Site (December 23, 2006 04:59 AM)

The Baha'i Faith stands to Islam much as Islam stands to Christianity (i.e. they claim Muhammad as a prophet, reinterpret him a bit, add a couple of extra prophets). How do you suppose Muslims react to this? They react in just the way that Christians react to Muslims' claim that Jesus was a prophet (and not the son of God). So it's not the case (as you suggest it is) that Christians have been less tolerant than Muslims in relation to one religion's claim to have incorporated the insights of another. Christians have no reason to be tolerant of Islam, nor Muslims of Baha'i - it's not complimentary, but condescending, to tell someone that central features of their religious beliefs are a confused version of your own. If you tell someone that, you should not be surprised when they don't "return the compliment".

Karen said

When the New Testament writers - Paul, Matthew, Mark and Luke - call Jesus the "Son of God", they do not mean that he was God.

He is not God. He is the Son of God. Christianity is a Monotheistic faith. There is only one God, whether you call him God or Allah, but Christ is his Son.

They use the term in its Jewish sense: in the Hebrew Bible, this title was bestowed upon an ordinary mortal - a king, a priest or a prophet - who had been given a special task by God and enjoyed unusual intimacy with him.

The Qu'ran says Surah 5:51 says The Jews call 'Uzair a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah's curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth! Note the difference. The Jews call 'Uzair a son of Allah, which is the honorific Karen refers to, while even the Qu'ran admits the Christians call Christ the son of Allah.

Karen also said

Jesus would also play a prominent role beside Muhammad in the eschatological drama of the last days.

I can't find the exact quote from the Qu'ran, but as I recall it has Jesus coming back as Muhammad's assistant. The Son of God, coming back as an assistant to a self styled Prophet that twisted references to both Jewish and Christian theology. And if we listen to Bukhari

Volume 3, Book 34, Number 425: says Allah's Apostle said, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, son of Mary (Jesus) will shortly descend amongst you people (Muslims) as a just ruler and will break the Cross and kill the pig and abolish the Jizya (a tax taken from the non-Muslims, who are in the protection, of the Muslim government). Then there will be abundance of money and no-body will accept charitable gifts.

So what he is saying is that when Christ returns, he will "break the Cross" (kill all Christians) and kill the pig (kill all the Jews). Well if all the Christians and Jews are gone, there will be no need for the Jizya, which is a tax Christians and Jews have to pay to live under Muslims and yet retain their own faith. I prefer to believe the Biblical version.

Karen said

In other stories, Jesus articulated specifically Muslim concerns. He was a great model for Muslim ascetics, preaching poverty, humility and patience.

Yet never did he say

Surah 19:4294 Fight in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war .... If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah's help and fight them. or as Surah 5:51 says O ye who believe! take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust.

Sorry Karen, I am staying with my faith in God, and I believe I will enter Heaven because I have accepted his Son Jesus Christ as my personal saviour, so I don't need to strap on an explosive vest and kill innocents to get into Heaven.

Another athiest up in smoke

Yahoo! News reported A man used flammable liquid to light himself on fire, apparently to protest a San Joaquin Valley school district's decision to change the names of winter and spring breaks to Christmas and Easter vacation.

This moonbat may not have liked the change, but I appreciate what the Kern High School Board of Trustees did.

The man, who was not immediately identified, on Friday also set fire to a Christmas tree, an American flag and a revolutionary flag replica, said Fire Captain Garth Milam.

Shiites resist isolating Sadr

Los Angeles Times reported One of Iraq's most influential Shiite clerics rejected a U.S.-backed proposal to isolate Shiite extremists in the national government, saying the country should govern itself with the help of anti-U.S. firebrand Muqtada Sadr, according to politicians who spoke with the cleric Saturday.

I wish Sistani would publically appear and say what he really thinks. He only speaks through other people, and they twist what he said to what they want.

Shiite politicians met with Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani in this Shiite holy city, and then said they had thrown their support behind Sadr, who demands a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq rather than the temporary increase under consideration in Washington.

If al Sadr is to be left alone, we should pull out; if they will let us go after him, we should stay and do it.

"The Sadr movement is part of Iraqi affairs," said Haider Abadi, a leader of Shiite Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's Islamic Dawa Party. "We won't allow others to interfere to weaken any Iraqi political movement." Ali Adeeb, another member of the Dawa Party, said Shiite leaders, including the prime minister, would resist U.S. efforts to sideline Sadr and his Al Mahdi army.

The Shia like the ethnic cleansing that Sadr is doing, killing Sunnis in Baghdad, turning it into a strictly Shia city. But if that is going to continue, we should pull out.

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Shiite Cleric Won't Support Coalition

ABC News: reported Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric withheld support Saturday for a U.S.-backed plan to build a coalition across sectarian lines, Shiite lawmakers said,

Surprise! Surprise! The need for a coalition is so that Maliki is not dependent on al Sadr, so we can target al Sadr, and al Sadr does not like that.

jeopardizing hopes that such a show of political unity could help stem the country's deadly violence.

Absolutely, and an alliance of Sunni, Shia, and Kurds will show they that stability can be gained by bi-partisan alliances.

Members of the United Iraqi Alliance, the Shiite coalition that dominates parliament, met with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf after traveling to the holy city over the past few days. Al-Sistani holds no political post and rarely emerges from his home and adjacent office, but he has strong influence over Shiite politics. Some members of the Shiite alliance have sought a coalition that would include Kurds and Sunnis, and sideline Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric whose militia is blamed for much of Iraq's sectarian violence. Lawmakers who attended the meeting with al-Sistani said the cleric opposed any move that would divide Shiites.

Since Al-Sistani endorsed such an alliance earlier, I wonder if al Sadr threatened him, or if the lawmaker speaking for him is one of al Sadrs.

Poll says religion does more harm than good

Guardian Unlimited More people in Britain think religion causes harm than believe it does good, according to a Guardian/ICM poll published today. It shows that an overwhelming majority see religion as a cause of division and tension - greatly outnumbering the smaller majority who also believe that it can be a force for good.

I can understand that in a country where the King declared imune from following the orders of the [Catholic] Church, and set up his own church [Church of England], but if they want to avoid being taken over by the Muslims they have let into the country, they better embrace some Christian religion, because Muslims hate non-believers even more than they hate Christians.

The poll also reveals that non-believers outnumber believers in Britain by almost two to one. It paints a picture of a sceptical nation with massive doubts about the effect religion has on society: 82% of those questioned say they see religion as a cause of division and tension between people. Only 16% disagree. The findings are at odds with attempts by some religious leaders to define the country as one made up of many faith communities.

Insurgents offer U.S. 30-day truce for withdrawal

KBCI-TV reported The purported leader of an al-Qaida-linked militant group offered U.S. troops a one-month truce for withdrawing from Iraq without being attacked, according to a speech posted on an Islamic Web site Friday.

Don't count on it.

The leader of Islamic State of Iraq, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, also called on former officers in Saddam Hussein's disbanded army to join his militia, promising to provide them with a salary and house so long as they could recite three ''suras,'' or groups of verses, of the Quran.

To get the house, all you have to do is oick the one you want, and kill it's current occupants.

The 20-minute audio tape appeared on an Islamic Web site known for displaying militant groups' statements. In Washington, a senior U.S. intelligence official said the CIA was reviewing the tape to determine its authenticity. The ''Islamic State of Iraq'' declared itself in October. It is believed to be an umbrella group for militant organizations, including al-Qaida in Iraq. Addressing the United States, al-Baghdadi said: ''We order you to withdrew your troops immediately, using troop carriers and aircraft, and taking only your personal weapons. Don't withdraw any heavy weapons.

We want them for war booty. And to protect us from Iran.

Instead you should hand over those and your military bases to the holy warriors of the Islamic State.''

Spending freeze targets pet projects for members of Congress

McClatchy Washington Bureau reported Democratic leaders in the new Congress plan to strip funding for thousands of pet projects for individual members, a big display of fiscal discipline they say will help cut deficits and curb spending abuses. As soon as they take control on Jan. 4, Democrats plan to impose a one-year moratorium on all special projects,

Why a one year moratorium. If they are bad, there should be a permanent moratorium. A one year moratorium just means you are killing Republican pork, to later replace it with Democratic pork. Make the moratorium permanent, and you will achieve real deficit cutting and elimination of spending abuses. Then if you will also eliminate forced spending on Democratic pet projects, you will go a long way to doing what the Republicans should have done, but did not do, cutting the size of government.

known as earmarks, effectively killing those that were tucked into unfinished spending bills by the Republican-led Congress.

Hispanic groups call for moratorium on work raids

Yahoo! News U.S. Hispanic groups and activists on Thursday called for a moratorium on workplace raids to round up illegal immigrants, saying they were reminiscent of Nazi crackdowns on Jews in the 1930s.

Actually the Jews were there legally, these raids are to get people who are not here legally. Just because you made it across the border does not mean you are entitled to a job, and to use stolen or forged social security cards to get those jobs.

They accused the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement of "racial profiling," or selective enforcement against Hispanics, for arresting 1,300 workers on immigration violations in December 12 raids at meatpacking plants in six states. "We are demanding an end to these immigration raids, where they are targeting brown faces.

They are targeting people who are here illegally; if most of them have brown faces, that is because there are a lot of illegals with those characteristics

That is major, major racial profiling, and that cannot be tolerated," said Rosa Rosales, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, at a news conference.

Racial profiling would be if they stopped everyone with a brown face on the street, not if they go to an employeer and said we see in your reports that a lot of your employees have invalid or stolen social security numbers; let us see those people, whatever color their faces are.

"This unfortunately reminds me of when Hitler began rounding up the Jews for no reason and locking them up," Democratic Party activist Carla Vela said. "Now they're coming for the Latinos, who will they come for next?"

Anyone who is here illegally

Friday, December 22, 2006

Zawahiri Tape

ICT reported rhe Full Transcript of Zawahiri Tape December 20, 2006: .... The first thing that I wish to talk about is the passing of 89 years since the Balfour Declaration, in which someone who didn’t own the Holy Land of Palestine gave it to someone who didn’t deserve it…

Muslims got most, if not all, of their lanf through conquest. If this is ok for them, why not for Britain.

That historical event which we must not allow to pass from memory, and which we must transmit from generation to generation, in order that we be aware of the extent of the animosity of Britain and the Crusader West in general to the Muslim Ummah…

The animosity of Britain to Islam which stretches over centuries: isn’t it the one who used to occupy most Islamic lands? Isn’t it the one who moved Abd al-Aziz Al Sa’ud and al-Husayn ibn Ali to stab the Ottoman state in its back? And isn’t it the one who handed over to the Jews one of the holiest places of Islam?

Their claim to Jerusalem is that Mohammed once dreamed about it; God a href="http://www.jewfaq.org/israel.htm">promised it/a> to the Jews

.... And the second of these facts is that the recovery of every land which was once a land of Islam is the personal duty of every Muslim. Therefore, as Muslims, we cannot possibly concede to Israel so much as a hand-span of Palestine, and there is no difference as far as we are concerned between Palestine 1948 and Palestine 1967: all of it is Palestine and all of it belongs to the Muslims,

Well so much for "the Roadmap" and "Land for Peace"

and all the international resolutions which bit off chunks of it and allowed the presence of Israel on it – from the partition resolution to Resolution 1701 – are null and void, non-binding resolutions, which aren’t worth so much as a mosquito’s wing on the scales of Islam.... The United Nations is an organization hostile to Islam.

Then why does the US continually have to veto one sided resolutions in favor of Muslims aqnd against Israel

Its charter is based on the rule of other than the Shari’ah

Thank God

and obligates all UN members, including the governments of the Islamic countries, to recognize Israel, because it – like them – is a member of the UN. And it also obligates them to recognize Russia’s occupation of Chechnya and the Muslim Caucasus, China’s occupation of East Turkistan, Spain’s occupation of Ceuta and Melilla and the occupation of other Muslim lands by non-Muslim governments which are part of the UN. And furthermore, the UN is the one who established the Jewish presence in Palestine, the Crusader presence in Afghanistan, and the Crusader occupation of Iraq, and it is the international false witness which runs the rigged elections in Afghanistan and Iraq, and it is the one who today is attempting to enable the Crusaders to invade Darfur under cover of the UN.

Islamist Doctors

The MEMRI Blog reported A 17 year old boy was admitted to a hospital with extreme pain and swelling in the groin. When sent for an ultrasound, a veiled woman radiologist Dr. K. Aribag refused to administer the test and told the patient to return the next day. The young man was disappointed for a second time when the second doctor turned out to be another veiled female doctor who also refused to treat him, due to the Islamic ban on touching a man's body. Finally, after the Chief Physician was involved and a male radiologist was found, the young man underwent an emergency surgery, but lost a testical due to the delays.

Considering how Muslims must have their women veiled so that they don't go beserk and rape them, maybe the lower amount of testosterone will make this lad somewhat human.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Speech by Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri

SITE Institute reports The speech opens with a discussion of Palestine, Zawahiri reminding of Israel’s establishment and stating that the animosity of the British to Islam stretches over decades.

Britain used to rule of much of the land, and they were not defeated, they just decided to grant them independence.

He then turns to attempts by the UN and “America’s man in Palestine,” Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian National Authority, to broker peace agreements with Israel and cease dispute with Hamas, and argues that elections based on secular constitutions or resolutions accepting Israel will not liberate “one sand-grain” of Palestine.

It will if the Palestinians decide they want peace.

Jihad, then, is the sole means to effect the desired change.

Dead Palestinians.

He states: “It is our duty to reject and cast off these resolutions and wage war on them, instead of taking indecisive stances towards them, and saying that we shall respect them and acknowledge them as a fact of life, and other such terms which lead to the forfeiture of the Muslims’ rights”.

In other words they have a right to perpetual warfare, but not to peace???

Zawahiri also discusses the five years which have passed since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, arguing that coalition forces have faced a torrent of Mujahideen and Taliban fighters supported by Pashtun tribes, and America will soon fail in this prospect just as the Soviet Union two decades ago.

Perhaps, but we seem to be doing pretty good at this time.

He states: “And the Islamic Emirate shall return to Kabul soon - Allah willing - following the Crusader pullout, and its popularity has not merely increased in Afghanistan, but also in neighboring countries. And these are facts known to all”.

Especially those smoking hashish.

To the Democrats in America, Zawahiri states that they did not win and the Republicans did not lose; rather, it is the Mujahideen who have won,

How many seats in the House and how many in the Senate did the Mujahideen win?

and the American forces and their allies those who lost. Zawahiri addresses the American people and reminds that their security will not be assured unless such is realized in Palestine,

Which they can have any time they realize that peace is better than war.

and adds that they only realize the failure of the current administration when the Mujahideen slaughtered their soldiers. The Mujahideen, he indicates, will not stop inflicting losses upon their enemy until American and “Crusader” forces leave Muslim lands and cease supporting their rulers. Zawahiri then advocates that America seek to negotiate with the “real powers” in the Islamic world for their departure.

You are crazier than the Presient of Iran.

It is a new era and period in world history, Zawahiri announces; a period of Khalid Islambouli, Abdullah Azzam, Muhammad Atta, Muhammad Siddique Khan, and Shehzad Tanwir.

Harkening to the speech’s subject, Zawahiri directly tells the Muslim Nation that they have a decision in which they may live on the margins of the New World Order, or rely upon Allah and embrace Islam, doing jihad for His Sake.

In other words they can live in peace, side beside the state of Israel, and learn what a good friend Israel can be, or they can continue to try to kill Jews, and find they are losing many more of their people for every Jew they kill.

Scholars who advocate Muslims to take a moderate and progressive position are condemned

To live in peace on this earth, and they will probably find they will do better in the next world than if they spent their time on this world killing everyone that disagreed with them.

and those who obligate Muslim women in France to remove their hijab and those who obligate the Muslim in Britain to “obey Elizabeth” are not suitable, in Zawahiri opinion, to take the reins of leadership or authority. The Palestinian women of Beit Hanoun who surrounded the besieged mosque are deemed more courageous, resolution, and honorable than the “religion-selling traitors” in Iraq and Afghanistan, Cairo, Riyadh, Amman, and Sana’a.

Why won't Carter debate his book?

Alan Dershowitz wrote in The Boston Globe You can always tell when a public figure has written an indefensible book: when he refuses to debate it in the court of public opinion. And you can always tell when he's a hypocrite to boot: when he says he wrote a book in order to stimulate a debate, and then he refuses to participate in any such debate.

He wants others to do the debating. He does not know enough to debate.

I'm talking about former president Jimmy Carter and his new book "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid." Carter's book has been condemned as "moronic" (Slate), "anti-historical" (The Washington Post), "laughable" (San Francisco Chronicle), and riddled with errors and bias in reviews across the country. Many of the reviews have been written by non-Jewish as well as Jewish critics, and not by "representatives of Jewish organizations" as Carter has claimed. Carter has gone even beyond the errors of his book in interviews, in which he has said that the situation in Israel is worse than the crimes committed in Apartheid South Africa. When asked whether he believed that Israel's "persecution" of Palestinians was "[e]ven worse . . . than a place like Rwanda," Carter answered, "Yes. I think -- yes."

When Larry King referred to my review several times to challenge Carter, Carter first said I hadn't read the book and then blustered, "You know, I think it's a waste of my time and yours to quote professor Dershowitz. He's so obviously biased, Larry, and it's not worth my time to waste it on commenting on him." (He never did answer King's questions.)

He only wants to debate people that don't know anything.

The next week Carter wrote a series of op-eds bemoaning the reception his book had received. He wrote that his "most troubling experience" had been "the rejection of [his] offers to speak" at "university campuses with high Jewish enrollment." The fact is that Brandeis President Jehuda Reinharz had invited Carter to come to Brandeis to debate me, and Carter refused. The reason Carter gave was this: "There is no need to for me to debate somebody who, in my opinion, knows nothing about the situation in Palestine."

And you do? Did you know know what Arafat was like?

As Carter knows, I've been to Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, many times -- certainly more times than Carter has been there -- and I've written three books dealing with the subject of Middle Eastern history, politics, and the peace process. The real reason Carter won't debate me is that I would correct his factual errors. It's not that I know too little; it's that I know too much.

Maybe you can debate him on building houses for Habitat for Humanities.

Nor is Carter the unbiased observer of the Middle East that he claims to be. He has accepted money and an award from Sheik Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan , saying in 2001: "This award has special significance for me because it is named for my personal friend, Sheik Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan." This is the same Zayed, the long-time ruler of the United Arab Emirates, whose $2.5 million gift to the Harvard Divinity School was returned in 2004 due to Zayed's rampant Jew-hatred. Zayed's personal foundation, the Zayed Center, claims that it was Zionists, rather than Nazis, who "were the people who killed the Jews in Europe" during the Holocaust. It has held lectures on the blood libel and conspiracy theories about Jews and America perpetrating Sept. 11. Carter's acceptance of money from this biased group casts real doubt on his objectivity and creates an obvious conflict of interest.

But he is a good friend because he gave Carter money.

Carter's refusal to debate wouldn't be so strange if it weren't for the fact that he claims that he wrote the book precisely so as to start debate over the issue of the Israel-Palestine peace process. If that were really true, Carter would be thrilled to have the opportunity to debate. Authors should be accountable for their ideas and their facts. Books shouldn't be like chapel, delivered from on high and believed on faith.

Mohammed overtakes George in list of most popular names

Telegraph reported Mohammed, and its most common alternative spelling Muhammad, are now more popular babies' names in England and Wales than George, reflecting the diverse ethnic mix of the population.

And you wonder why this is happening? Care to buy a clue?

London Braces for Attack

The Blotter reportedBritish intelligence and law enforcement officials have passed on a grim assessment to their U.S. counterparts, "It will be a miracle if there isn't a terror attack over the holidays in London," a senior American law enforcement official tells ABCNews.com.

You guys have let way too many Muslims into your country, and have not encouraged them to assimilate into British society.

British police have been quietly carrying out a series of key arrests as they continue to track at least six active "plots" tied to what they call "al Qaeda of England."

Do more of them, even if people scream about multiculturism. That does not mean that one foreign culture should be allowed to change established British culture.

Officials said they could not cite any specific date or target but said al Qaeda had planned previous operations during the Christmas holidays that had been disrupted. "It is not a matter of if there will be an attack, but how bad the attack will be," an intelligence official told ABCNews.com. Authorities say they are seeking at least 18 suspected suicide bombers.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Sixth Month in Prison for Fatima and Child

Arab News reported Fatima, the 34-year-old woman who was divorced in absentia against her will from her husband by a judge at the request of her half-brothers, has entered her sixth month of incarceration at a prison in Dammam. The husband, Mansour Al-Timani, 37, says prison officials have impeded his ability to communicate with the woman that he still considers his wife.

The couple was divorced without even knowing about the situation because her two half brothers objected to the marriage, and now she is in jail, not because of anything she has done, but because the law requires she have a male guardian, and she refuses to go back to her half brothers that forced the divorce. Isn't Sharia Law wonderful.

In October, prison officials insisted that Mansour take custody of the older of the two children, two-year-old Noha. She was allowed to keep her 11-month-old son, Salman, in prison with her. “Since that time the connection between me and (Fatima) by telephone has totally been cut off,” said Mansour.

They won't let the husband call his wife, because the half brothers manipulate the divorce that the couple did not want.

The official that answered the phone at the prison, who would not provide his name, said that since the two are officially divorced, Mansour no longer has the right to call by telephone. “Communicating with prisoners has certain channels and procedures,” said the voice on the other end of the line. Mansour said he is allowed 15 minutes with his wife when he visits in person on Saturdays so that the children — one with the mother in prison and the other with the father outside — can spend time with both parents.

Interesting they let him see her, but not talk to her on the phone.

Fatima in fact has the freedom to return to the custody of her family (women of any age are legally required to have a mahram, or male guardian) but she has refused saying she would only walk out of prison into the arms of the man she still considers her husband.

The rights of a woman under Islam.

On July 20, 2005, Justice Ibrahim Al-Farraj divorced the couple in their absence in the northern city of Al-Jouf at the request of two of Fatima’s half-brothers. They claim that Mansour hid his tribal affiliation when he sought permission from the now-deceased father to marry the woman, a charge Mansour denies and is irrelevant because under Shariah, tribal affiliation is not a consideration for a legitimate marriage.

The couple were not only divorced in absentia after nearly three years of marriage, but were not informed immediately of the decision. They were arrested later in Jeddah (where they had fled after learning of the ruling, hoping to find help from an official here). Mansour was later released, but Fatima refused to return to the custody of her family and therefore languishes in prison. Meanwhile, Justice Al-Farraj hasn’t been seen at his court since early November. The Ministry of Justice would not comment on whether the judge is under suspension or being investigated for his ruling that has angered the public — the court’s decision was even ridiculed in the popular television comedy serial “Tash.” Fatima’s lawyer, Abdul Rahman Al-Lahem, said his appeal against the divorce ruling, submitted Oct. 7, is still pending. “I know that the cassation court has ordered the file from the court in Al-Jouf for review... That’s a good move,” said Al-Lahem. Until the next step in a judicial process that has taken over a year is made, the husband and wife have nothing to do but wait: She in prison and he outside.

Police killer suspect fled Britain in a veil

Times Online A man who was being hunted for the murder of a policewoman is understood to have escaped from Britain by disguising himself as a veiled Muslim woman. Mustaf Jama, a prime suspect in the fatal shooting of PC Sharon Beshenivsky, assumed his sister’s identity — wearing the niqab and using her passport — to evade supposedly stringent checks at Heathrow, according to police sources.

And people wonder why Britons are opposed to people wearing the nijab, and particularly having it be used in a photo on their id. You cannot tell who it is, even the sex of the person is unclear.

The use of the niqab, which leaves only a narrow slit for the eyes, highlights flaws in British airport security. At the time, Jama was Britain’s most wanted man, while Heathrow was on a heightened state of alert after the 7/7 terrorist atrocities in London five months previously

Top Shiite Cleric Is Said to Favor a Coalition for Iraq

NYT reported Iraq’s most venerated Shiite cleric has tentatively approved an American-backed coalition of Shiite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish parties that aims to isolate extremists, particularly the powerful Shiite militia leader Moktada al-Sadr, Iraqi and Western officials say.

Good for him. He should have been able to control al-Sadr himself, if al-Sadr had truly been doing it for religious reasons, but he was doing it for power, and I applaud what Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has said.

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein the cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has been the spiritual custodian of Shiite political dominance in Iraq, corralling the fractious Shiite parties into an alliance to rule the country. But Ayatollah Sistani has grown increasingly distressed as the Shiite-led government has proved incapable of taming the violence and improving public services, Shiite officials say. He now appears to be backing away from his demand that the Shiite bloc play the dominant political role and that it hold together at all costs, Iraqi and Western officials say.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Iraq Insurgents Starve Capital of Electricity

NYT reported Over the past six months, Baghdad has been all but isolated electrically, Iraqi officials say, as insurgents have effectively won their battle to bring down critical high-voltage lines and cut off the capital from the major power plants to the north, south and west.

We need to tell the Iraqis, hey, it is your fellow Iraqis that are doing this to you. If you want it to stop, you need to turn them in.

Sadr Army is called top threat in Iraq

Los Angeles Times reported Armed militiamen affiliated with radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr pose the gravest danger to the security and stability of Iraq, surpassing Sunni Arab insurgents and Al Qaeda terrorists, a new Defense Department report to Congress says.

I agree. We need to convince Maliki to let us put a bullet in that black turbaned idiot, and if he will not, we need to pack up and go home, and let him get wiped out in the violence Sadr is causing.

The finding represents the military's strongest characterization of the danger posed by Sadr and is among the conclusions of a quarterly report to Congress that chronicles the instability in Iraq and record level of sectarian violence.

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