Freedom is not free

Michelle Malkin\ blogged [This image is from the 2007 America's Heroes Reconnaissance Marines Calendar

Have you bought yours yet?

Actually I went to the site intending to order the calendar, and was surprised when I saw that most of the images were likely to appeal to Homosexuals. Perhaps women, but primarilly homosexuals, that want pictures of men with their shirts off. And the above image was not one of the 12. Then I read Michelle's post more closely, and saw The photo appears on the back page of the 2007 calendar. If the 12 pictures that made up the calendar were like this one, I would have bought one, but not one with male cheesecake.

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Gerry Studds

First openly gay congressman dies - Politics - MSNBC reported Former U.S. Rep. Gerry Studds, the first openly gay person elected to Congress,

And the first to actually have sex with a page, rather that sending pages suggestive emails after they left the page program, and having sex with a former page when he was 21. If you are a politician that wants to have sex with pages or interns, it is is important to be a Democrat, because they have no moral objection to their people taking advantage of their position to have sex with young people, even in the Oral Office.

died early Saturday at Boston Medical Center, several days after he collapsed while walking his dog, his husband said.

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Pakistan foils coup plot

Asia Times Online reported A plot to stage a coup against Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf soon after his recent return from the US has been uncovered, resulting in the arrest of more than 40 people. Most of those arrested are middle-ranking Pakistani Air Force officers, while civilian arrests include a son of a serving brigadier in the army. All of those arrested are Islamists, contacts in Rawalpindi, where the military is based, divulged to Asia Times

It is good that the coup was foiled, because otherwise we would not have to wait for Iran to finish their development to have an Islamic country that sees itself as the center of the Global Caliphate, that has nuclear weapons.

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Caliphate

Newsweek When President George W. Bush starts using fifty-cent words in press conferences, one has to wonder why, and on Wednesday, during his Rose Garden appearance, he used the word “caliphate” four times. The enemy, he said—by which he clearly meant the Islamic terrorist enemy—wants to “extend the caliphate,” “establish a caliphate,” and “spread their caliphate.” Caliphate? Really? Many people live long, fruitful lives without once using the word caliphate.

Before 9/11 I would have agreed with you, but since then we have learned about the desires of the Islamic Terrorists.

Almost no one, with the exception of our president and some of his advisers, uses it as a pejorative.... Simply put, the caliph is Islam’s deputy to the world

And the ultimate objective of the Calipate is world domination.

.... In fairness, Bush isn’t the first person in recent history to appropriate the word caliphate and use it as a weapon. Osama bin Laden did it himself, most notably three years ago, in his statement to the United Sates via Al-Jazeera. “Baghdad, the seat of the caliphate, will not fall to you, God willing,” he said

He should know better than Newsweek what his objectives are. Iran thinks it will be the center of the caliphate, Islamists in Pakistan think it will be. I suspect there are some in the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt that see Egypt as being the head of the global caliphate.

LGF blogged After asserting that there’s nothing negative about a “caliphate” (which is, of course, the Islamic domination of the world), the authors of this piece, amazingly, proceed to tell us that Osama bin Laden uses the term as a “weapon.” Well, I suppose that’s not technically a “pejorative.”

Reuters reported Activists of the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) vowed to establish a global caliphate, beginning with Pakistan. In a rally attended by thousands of activists of the banned group to commemorate the birth of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) on Friday, leaders of the SSP called for an Islamic theocracy in Pakistan. “The concept of nation state is an obstacle in the way of the establishment of Khilafat. We will start the establishment of Khilafat in Pakistan and then will do so across the world,” said Zaheerul Islam Abbasi, a former general who was sacked and arrested in 1995 for trying to topple the government of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

A commenter to Daniel Pipes said I posted two links relating to newspaper articles relating to the activity of radical Muslims in Australia. The message from these radicals is that they want to establish the caliphate and introduce the Sharia law.

Forem 18 News Service reported Hizb-ut-Tahir, which is widespread in Central Asia, has told Forum 18 that it aims to introduce a worldwide Caliphate and ban all faiths apart from Islam, Judaism and Christianity, all religious practice being regulated by Sharia law. Buddhism, Hinduism, the Hare Krishna faith and what the party sees as sects within Islam would all be banned. Hizb-ut-Tahir members also explained to Forum 18 that the party would give all non-Muslim states a choice between either joining the Caliphate under Sharia law, or paying a tax to the Caliphate. Failure to pay the tax would be punished by military attacks.

IslamistWatch says While Islamists have many goals, the ultimate one is establishing a worldwide Caliphate (Islamic state): to overthrow and destroy democratic governments accross the globe and replace them with a single Taliban-style Islamic fundamentalist theocracy. There would be one all-powerful head of state, the Caliph. Individuals would be governed by strict Shariah Law, religion would be for Allah alone, and personal liberty limited by Islamic jurisprudence.

Israel National News reported Sheikh Ismail Nawahda, preaching to Moslem masses on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on Friday, has brought it out into the open: the call to restore the Moslem Khalifate, or, "Genuine Islamic Rule." A plan for the "Return of the Khalifate" was published secretly in 2002 by a group called "The Guiding Helper Foundation." The group explained that it wished to "give direction to the educated Muslim populace in its increasing interest in the establishment of Islam as a practical system of rule." This past Friday, Feb. 24, however, the plan went public. Sheikh Nawahda called publicly for the renewal of the Islamic Khalifate, which would "unite all the Moslems in the world against the infidels."

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Wafa Sultan

Ynetnews reported Dr. Wafa Sultan recently became a legend. Her two interviews with al-Jazeera, in which she censured Islam and the way in which it inflicts ignorance and alienation on its followers, have made her into a phenomenon: an educated Muslim that demands that the Arab world take its head out of the sand

We need more like her.

.... Wafa lost her family, but won the world's acclaim, with a series of interviews, the most famous with al-Jazeera, in which she attacked fanatic Islam, and the alienation, misery and struggle against advancement that it imposes on its followers. She is a short woman, but hugely endowed with vision and courage. Warm and free of pretense, she remains aware of the importance of her message. "I think that in 300 years, the name Wafa Sultan will be remembered as someone who helped Islam come out of the Middle Ages," she told Ynet

From her lips, to God's ear.

.... Her own departure from the Middle Ages was triggered by the murder of her lecturer at the Halab Medical School in 1979. Members of the Muslim Brotherhood murdered eye doctor Prof. Yusef al Yusef because he was an Alawi (like the family of Syrian President Bashar Assad), yelling 'Allah Akbar',

Surat an-Nisa,093 (Quran 4.93) says "If a man kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, to abide therein (For ever): And the wrath and the curse of Allah are upon him, and a dreadful penalty is prepared for him."

shooting into the air, and driving off on a motorcycle. Dr. Sultan called this the turning point in her life. She started questioning her life and belief system, with her husband, whom she had met at the time. She stopped fasting and praying. Her husband wandered from embassy to embassy trying to get a visa. It took them ten years to get out of Syria.... Wafa told of an e-mail from a Moroccan mulla who said that he had bound her internet article into a book and told his 17 year old son that this was his new Quran.

At least it does not have the violent verses.

She receives e-mails from Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and even Saudi Arabia. She receives mails from Muslim women cheering her on. Sadly, they always use pseudonyms, because they are afraid. Earlier this week, she received an e-mail from a 23 year old Syrian student who wrote that the government had blocked her website but not her e-mails and asked her to send them via e-mail. "I know that I have a large influence on the Arab world," she said proudly.

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Dalai Lama says few Muslims "mischievous"

Yahoo! News reported The Dalai Lama said after meeting Pope Benedict on Friday that "a few mischievous Muslims" should not be allowed to give the Islamic faith a bad name

Shame on those mischievous little rascals

.... "Nowadays I often express that due to a few mischievous Muslims' acts we should not consider all Muslims as something bad.

I agree the Islamofascists do not represent all Muslims, but there are more than just a few behaving badly, and it is a lot worse than mischief.

That is very unfair," the Dalai Lama told a news conference organized by a Rome university hosting him for a seminar. "A few mischievous people you can find among fellows from all religions -- among Muslims and Christians and Jews and Buddhists. To generalize is not correct," he said.

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The View with a Clue

Michelle Malkin revamped The View and reversed the formula (three conservatives and one liberal instead of three liberals and one conservative), turned down the screeching, and demonstrated real diversity on TV. Hot Air TV presents The View with a Clue:

Now this is really what we need. Imagine how the Libs, who hate having the Conservative viewpoint receive any publicity, like having one of their main shows redone in a much better format.

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Vive la France!

Michael J.W. Stickings blogged You have to love the French.

No I don't I still think they are cowards who would stab their mother in the back if they had an incentive to do so.

Well, I do, anyway, and I'm serious. They've just passed a law making it illegal to deny the Turkish genocide perpetrated against the Armenians from 1915 to 1917.

They did this intentionally to tick the Turks off, because they fear Turkey becoming the first Muslim country in the EU. What they don't realize is that if they don't get ahold of their problems with the Muslims inside of France, France may become the first Muslim country in the EU

The American Congress can't even pass a resolution admitting that this historical fact did indeed take place,

Since when it is Congress's job to pass resolutions announcing events taking place, particulary events that took place 90 years ago

because they're too cowardly and beholden to Turkish commercial interests

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Nobel for anti-poverty pioneers

BBC News Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank have been awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.

What is wrong in the Nobel Peace Prize committee? This is one of the first times I have seen the Nobel Peace Price go to someone that really deserved it.

Mr Yunus, an economist, founded the bank, which is one of the pioneers of micro-credit lending schemes for the poor in Bangladesh. The bank is renowned for lending money to the least well-off, especially women, so that they can launch their own businesses.

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Schoolgirl arrested for refusing to study with non-English pupils

Daily Mail reported A teenage schoolgirl was arrested by police for racism after refusing to sit with a group of Asian students because some of them did not speak English.... Codie was attending a GCSE science class at Harrop Fold High School in Worsley, Greater Manchester, when the incident happened. The teenager had not been in school the day before due to a hospital appointment and had missed the start of a project, so the teacher allocated her a group to sit with.

So it was not her fault she was not there at the start of a project.

"She said I had to sit there with five Asian pupils," said Codie yesterday. "Only one could speak English, so she had to tell that one what to do so she could explain in their language. Then she sat me with them and said 'Discuss'." According to Codie, the five - four boys and a girl - then began talking in a language she didn't understand, thought to be Urdu, so she went to speak to the teacher.

A reasonable act, because she was not able to participate in the discussion.

"I said 'I'm not being funny, but can I change groups because I can't understand them?' But she started shouting and screaming, saying 'It's racist, you're going to get done by the police'."

It sounds like the teacher is crazy.

Codie said she went outside to calm down where another teacher found her and, after speaking to her class teacher, put her in isolation for the rest of the day. A complaint was made to a police officer based full-time at the school,

Who made the complaint?

and more than a week after the incident on September 26 she was taken to Swinton police station and placed under arrest. "They told me to take my laces out of my shoes and remove my jewellery, and I had my fingerprints and photograph taken," said Codie. "It was awful." After questioning on suspicion of committing a section five racial public order offence, her mother Nicola says she was placed in a bare cell for three-and-a-half hours then released without charge.

This is ridiculous.

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Muslims offended by 5th Avenue Apple store

ZDNet reported A Middle East research organization reports that Apple's flagship retail store on 5th Avenue in midtown Manhattan (between 58th and 59th) is offensive to Muslims

Muslims sure seem to get offended easily. Could this be because they don't really believe in their religion.

.... The reason? Because the building resembles the Ka'ba in Mecca (pictured below), is called "Apple Mecca," (by whom?), is open 24 hours a day like the Ka'ba, and "contains bars selling alcoholic beverages."

Ka'ba means cube. It is the first place Allah was worshiped. From the outside it does not look very exciting.

Is it very exciting inside?

It is made of concrete blocks. Inside it is decorated with texts from the Qu'ran.

I was just at the Fifth Avenue Apple store in NYC and don't remember them serving alcohol. The report appears to have misunderstood the intent of the "Genius Bar" and the "iPod bar." The group which "explores the Middle East through the region's media" only appears to have two valid facts in their complaint - that the Apple store is in the shape of a cube and that it's open 24 hours a day.

The Muslims can fix that. Change the shape of the Ka'ba, and close it, say on George W Bush's Birthday.

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Lancet study

Bryan blogged The Lancet study would have us believe that 2.5% of Iraq has been killed by the war in the past three years. It would have us believe that more Iraqis have died as a result of a mid-sized insurgency than Americans died in World War II. Or the Civil War. Or Germans, who died in World War II, fighting against the combined might of the USSR, the British Empire and the United States, at a time when Germany was reduced to conscripting young boys and old men to resist those armies as they approached Berlin. This study, in other words, is nonsense on stilts. And further, where are the bodies?

The bodies are the same place they got these numbers, in their imagination.

Iraq the Model blogged When the statistics announced by hospitals and military here, or even by the UN, did not satisfy their lust for more deaths, they resorted to mathematics to get a fake number that satisfies their sadistic urges.

When I read the report I can only feel apathy and inhumanity from those who did the count towards the victims and towards our suffering as a whole. I can tell they were so pleased when the equations their twisted minds designed led to those numbers and nothing can convince me that they did their so called research out of compassion or care.

To me their motives are clear, all they want is to prove that our struggle for freedom was the wrong thing to do. And they shamelessly use lies to do this…when they did not find the death they wanted to see on the ground, they faked it on paper! They disgust me…

They also seek to affect the US Election coming next month. They did something similar in 2004.

This fake research is an insult to every man, woman and child who lost their lives. Behind every drop of blood is a noble story of sacrifice for a just cause that is struggling for living safe in freedom and prosperity.

Locomotive Breath blogged The Lancet report is not based on an actual body count but on a random sampling of 1,800 Iraqi households in 47 areas across the country.

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Fence Meets Wall of Skepticism

WaPo Legislation passed by Congress mandating the fencing of 700 miles of the U.S. border with Mexico has sparked opposition from an array of land managers, businesspeople, law enforcement officials, environmentalists and U.S. Border Patrol agents as a one-size-fits-all policy response to the nettlesome task of securing the nation's borders. Critics said the fence does not take into account the extraordinarily varied geography of the 2,000-mile-long border,

True. 700 miles is not enough, we need three times that much.

which cuts through Mexican and U.S. cities separated by a sidewalk, vast scrubland and deserts, rivers, irrigation canals and miles of mountainous terrain. They also say it seems to ignore advances in border security that don't involve construction of a 15-foot-high double fence

And are much easier to breach, so that farmers can get the cheap labor they want.

and to play down what are expected to be significant costs to maintain the new barrier. And, they say, the estimated $2 billion price tag and the mandate that it be completed by 2008 overlook 10 years of legal and logistical difficulties the federal government has faced to finish a comparatively tiny fence of 14 miles dividing San Diego and Tijuana. "This is the feel-good approach to immigration control," said Wayne Cornelius, an expert on immigration issues at the University of California at San Diego. "The only pain is experienced by the migrants themselves

The migrants will not be hurt if they don't try to breach the fence. They need to stand in line to come in legally. And if we need more workers, we should adopt something like the Canadian plan where they bring in workers for up to 10 months, but who must go back then, and the people asking to bring them in, provide a airline ticket to send them home at the start.

It doesn't hurt U.S. consumers; it doesn't hurt U.S. businesses. It only hurts taxpayers if they pay attention to spending on border enforcement."

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Across Europe, Worries on Islam Spread to Center

NYT reported Europe appears to be crossing an invisible line regarding its Muslim minorities: more people in the political mainstream are arguing that Islam cannot be reconciled with European values.

European values? The violent version espoused by the Islamofascists cannot be reconciled with Civilization.

“You saw what happened with the pope,” said Patrick Gonman, 43, the owner of Raga, a funky wine bar in downtown Antwerp, 25 miles from here. “He said Islam is an aggressive religion. And the next day they kill a nun somewhere and make his point. “Rationality is gone.”

And you just noticed that?

.... The line between open criticism of another group or religion and bigotry can be a thin one, and many Muslims worry that it is being crossed more and more.

One way to counter that is not to get so violent anytime anyone says anything against Islam.

Whatever the motivations, “the reality is that views on both sides are becoming more extreme,” said Imam Wahid Pedersen, a prominent Dane who is a convert to Islam. “It has become politically correct to attack Islam, and this is making it hard for moderates on both sides to remain reasonable.” Mr. Pedersen fears that onetime moderates are baiting Muslims, the very people they say should integrate into Europe.

They don't want to integrate into Europe. They want to live in their own areas, until enough additional Muslims join them, or are born (because their birth rate is much higher than that of Europe), that they become in the majority, and then they will take over, through the democratic process.

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Al Gore Stars In TV Ad Supporting Prop 87

nbc4.tv reported A pro-Proposition 87 commercial featuring former Vice President Al Gore -- his first television advertisement since he last ran for office -- was unveiled Monday at a Palm Springs hotel.

Looks like Gore is lonesome for the spotlight.

Prop. 87's "Energy Security" commercial "explains our dangerous dependence on oil and the impact it has on our environment and national security," according to a statement issued by Wesley Cole, chairman of ExperienceGREEN, an environmental media company based in Palm Springs. Prop. 87 aims to reduce the state's petroleum usage by 25 percent over 10 years. By taxing big oil companies, Prop. 87 would raise $4 billion to encourage the development of alternative fuels and technology over the next decade.

Increasing the cost to consumers, decreasing domestic production, increasing the importing of foreign oil, and if the government is going to direct where the $4B is spent, wasting at least $3B.

Opponents of the proposition say the oil companies would pass the cost along to consumers and that taxing California production would diminish output and increase imports.

Precisely

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What is your IQ?

A friend just sent me this

A man walked into a very high-tech bar. As he sat down on a stool, he noticed that the bartender was a robot.

The robot clicked to attention and asked, "Sir, what will you have?"

The man thought a moment then replied, "A martini please."

The robot clicked a couple of times and mixed the best martini the man had ever had.

The robot then asked, "Sir, what is your IQ?"

The man answered "Oh, about 164."

The robot then proceeded to discuss the 'theory of relativity', 'inter-stellar space travel', 'the latest medical break throughs', etc........

The man was most impressed. He left the bar but thought he would try a different tact.

He returned and took a seat. Again the robot clicked and asked what he would have? "A Martini please."

Again it was superb! The robot again asked "What is your IQ sir?"

This time the man answered, "Oh about 100".

So the robot started discussing NASCAR racing, the latest basketball scores, and what to expect the Dodgers to do this week end.

The guy had to try it one more time. So he left, returned and took a stool.... Again a martini, and the question, "What is your IQ?"

This time the man drawled out " Uh.... bout 50".

The robot clicked then leaned close and very slowly asked, "A-r-e......... y-o-u-r......... p-e-o-p-l-e.......... g-o-i-n-g...........t-o........ n-o-m-i-n-a-t-e.......... H-i-l-l-a-r-y-?????"

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Scary campaign advertisement

The DRUDGE REPORT has obtained an exclusive copy of a "scary" campaign advertisement created by Hollywood producer and director David Zucker that was intended to be used by GOP organizations in the closing weeks of the 2006 campaign.

However, the advertisement was deemed "too hot" by GOP strategists all across Washington, DC who have refused to use it!

In the ad, Zucker, producer of SCARY MOVIE 4, recreates former Clinton Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's 2000 visit to North Korea. During the visit, Secretary Albright presented North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il with a basketball autographed by former NBA superstar Michael Jordan.

An actress playing Secretary Albright is shown presenting Kim Jong Il with the Michael Jordan basketball, painting the walls of Osama bin Laden's Afghanistan cave and turning a blind eye to suicide bombers. In one scene her skirt rips as she changes the tire of a Middle Eastern dictator's limousine.

One GOP strategist said "jaws dropped" when the ad was first viewed. "Nobody could believe Zucker thought any political organization could use this ad. It makes a point, but it's way over the top."

I agree it is over the top, but it is a very funny ad.

Zucker is the producer and director of comedies such as "Airplane" and "The Naked Gun." In 2004, Zucker, a longtime Democrat, embraced the Republican Party based on concerns he had about national security issues and voted for President George W. Bush.

Hat tip to John Stephenson

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Ayatollah Revolts In Iran

Renegade Ayatollah Boroujerdi called for Iran’s government to be separated from the Clerics and become purely secular. Alan Peters blogged All phones in the area of the Ayatollah's house have been disconnected and his numbers, which worked till just now have a recording saying "they never existed".... Shots were being fired around the Ayatollah's home at Sard (cold) Park, Avesta Avenue, Sard Street #9 close to Freedom Square. Fires are springing up in the region at major intersections. Ambulance sirens scream futiley as Tehran citizens pour toward that address blocking streets to prevent Security forces from getting close but also blocking the paramedics and ambulances

Things do not look good for Ayatollah Boroujerdi, but this split between the Mullahs is something the CIA should try to exploit.

.... Ayatollah Boroujerdi, blockaded on the roof of his home, has used the phone contact broadcast with KRSI to declare that anyone in the Security forces who respects him as their spiritual source should lay down their arms and not harm anyone.
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Other Ayatollahs like Mehdi Haeri have come on live to urge the people not to set gas stations on fire or do other damage as these sugestions phoned into KRSI come from the Security forces agents.

Ayatollah Haeri added that fasting during this crisis in the month of Ramadan is not required, giving the example of the urgency of a house catching on fire compared to a lower urgency of fasting. He insisted that religion and politics has to be separate and that the populace should support the brve efforts of Ayatollah Boroujerdi.

I am happy that he is supporting him, but giving the people permission to eat during Ramadan is not exactly the sort of support he needs.

Meanwhile Mohssein Ejai, Minister of Information and Security (MOIS), has promised Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that he will bring him Ayatollah Boroujerdi's severed head before dawn

That would probably put an end to this conflict with the bad guys winning.

.... His father was so respected by the late Shah of Iran that when questions about religion arose for which the Shah wanted advice, the monarch would drive down to the holy city of Qom to speak to the Ayatollah instead of ordering him to Tehran.

Unfortunately an endorsement by the late Shah does not carry much weight among those the deposed him.

The younger Ayatollah Boroujerdi recently declared that the national Administrative Government of Iran should be separated from the Clerics and become purely secular. Religion and Politics must be separated he said, live on KRSI.

Separation of Mosque and State. But if the Mullah's don't have the power of the state to force people to do things, how many would remain practicing Muslims, and how many would adopt a Secular Humanist position.

The current Islamic regime's reaction was to issue death warrant for him falsely claiming apostasy by him because he was said by them to have claimed to be the 12th Imam, who disappeared down a well 1300 years ago

Sounds like he was heading for Hell.

and will return to redeem the world.... Several of those wounded and finding refuge in Ayatollah Boroujerdi's house were women. One an Armenian woman, not a Moslem, called on minorities and specially Armenians, to rush to the Ayatollah's support and to come into the streets. Another woman, a baby in her arms, a club in her hand was seen standing guard at Ayatollah Boroujerdi's ready to face anything the regime would throw at her. Including confiscating the bread and food that those at the residence required to break their Ramadan fast.

Calls by Tehranis demanded Ahmad Hossein Khomeini, the Islamic regime founder's grandson and Ayatollah Montazeri, should join in the resistance and defend Ayatollah Boroujerdi. Other calls wanted the late Shah's son Reza Pahlavi to join the fray and call on the West to provide tangible support to his countrymen in their time of need at this moment of opportunity.

Another caller mentioned that every single one of about 300,000 Bahais in Iran had been recently identified and listed, including their addresses, and wondered if this was an indicator that a slaughter of these thorns in the side of the Hojatieh as about to happen. Bahais claim to follow their spiritual leader is the 12th Imam, who has already returned.

Muslims do not like the Bahai.

Meanwhile, in a dramatic gesture of defiance, Ayatollah Boroujerdi carrying his burial shroud and a sword paces the roof of his home.

The man has gonads, that is certain. I hope he can keep them and his head.

Observers and analysts hope that if the resistance can survive through the night, in the morning, people who sleep unaware of what is going on will join the uprising. Some of those woken up at random by phone calls showed very little interest, responding that replacing one Mullah with another gets them nowhere, so why risk their lives.

There is a big difference.

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Hidden Imam

As reported by Doctor Zin on Regime Change in Iran Amir Taheri on Gulf News reported that Rafsanjani reveated last week several secret letters of Ayatollah Khomeini's. The question is: why did Rafsanjani decide to publish the two top-secret letters? An excerpt:

Ahmadinejad's spiritual master, Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, has claimed that sometime in 1988 the Hidden Imam, a revered figure among Shiites, was getting ready to return and lead the Islamic forces to final victory in Occupied Jerusalem.

I don't know what the Koran says about the the End Times or this Hidden Imam, but the Bible says No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! (some manuscripts say alert and pray) You do not know when that time will come.

Thus, Rafsanjani by persuading Khomeini to end the war prematurely, allowed Saddam Hussain to remain in power for another 15 years while prolonging the life of the "Zionist stain of shame" in the heart of the Muslim world. ... that the Islamic Republic cannot hope to win without first acquiring a nuclear deterrent.   Read More

The full text:

While President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continues to vehemently deny Iran's desire to develop nuclear weapons, his defeated rival in last year's presidential election has come out with sensational revelations that portray a completely different picture.

Is this just Iran's version of the sort of lies we see from the Democrats, or does it have merit?

The defeated rival in question is Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a businessman-cum-mullah who occupied the presidential chair for two consequent four-year terms between 1989-97. However, the revelations he made last week relate to 1988 when he was speaker of the Islamic Majlis (parliament) while also acting as the commander-in-chief of Iran's armed forces on behalf of Ayatollah Ruhallah Khomeini.

The centrepiece of the revelations consists of two letters. One, written by Brigadier-General Mohsen Rezai, then commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, is addressed to Khomeini. The other is Khomeini's reply.

In his letter, Rezai, whose forces had just suffered terrible losses as a result of chemical attacks against them by the Iraqis, informs Khomeini that, unless dotted with a range of new weapons, his forces cannot achieve the goals set for them. These goals included defeating Saddam Hussain, installing a Khomeinist regime in Baghdad, proceeding to "liberate" Jerusalem from Israeli occupation and wiping the Jewish state off the map.

Non trivial objectives.

Rezai asks Khomeini to provide his forces with 300 new fighter-bombers, 2,500 tanks, 300 attack helicopters and, last but not least, laser-guided missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

In his reply, Khomeini endorses Rezai's analysis and evokes the possibility of ending the war by accepting the United Nations' resolution 598 which Iran had systematically rejected as a "Zionist-Crusader" concoction. In fact, shortly after the exchange of letters, Khomeini announced that he was "drinking the poison chalice" by accepting a ceasefire with Saddam Hussain, thus ending the eight-year war in August 1988.

The fact that Rezai's analysis carried weight with Khomeini was not solely due to the brigadier general's established status as a war-hero. The event that rendered the analysis irrefutable was the battle that a US task force, ordered into the Gulf by president Ronald Reagan, had fought with the Islamic Republic's navy over the control of the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz. That led to a series of engagements in 1987 that ended with the sinking of half of Iran's navy, the dismantling of Iranian missile batteries on 16 islands and billions of dollars of damages to Iranian offshore oil installations. Khomeini got the message and immediately halted attacks on Kuwaiti tankers and Saudi oil installations.

He wanted to keep the other half of his Navy, and avoid further distructions to their Oil Industry.

The question is: why did Rafsanjani decide to publish the two top-secret letters?

The immediate answer is that he wants to refute claims of "cowardice" and "collusions" with the US, made against him by Ahmadinejad. The Iranian president and his entourage have accused Rafsanjani of having persuaded Khomeini to stop the war against Saddam Hussain at a time that the Islamic Republic was on the verge of conquering Iraq and moving on to destroy Israel.

Ready to return

Ahmadinejad's spiritual master, Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, has claimed that sometime in 1988 the Hidden Imam, a revered figure among Shiites, was getting ready to return and lead the Islamic forces to final victory in Occupied Jerusalem. Thus, Rafsanjani by persuading Khomeini to end the war prematurely, allowed Saddam Hussain to remain in power for another 15 years while prolonging the life of the "Zionist stain of shame" in the heart of the Muslim world.

This is the same Hidden Imam he hopes to call forth by Iran developing Nuclear Weapons. I don't know what the Koran says about the the End Times or this Hidden Imam, but the Bible says No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! (some manuscripts say alert and pray) You do not know when that time will come.

Ahmadinejad and his entourage claim that Rafsanjani had made a secret deal with the Americans in the context of secret talks that were later revealed in the Irangate scandal.

By making the revelations, Rafsanjani wants to do two things. First, he wants to make it clear that the decision to end the war was made by Khomeini on the advice of his military commanders and had nothing to do with any alleged secret deal between Rafsanjani and the Americans. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, Rafsanjani wishes to discredit what he sees as Ahmadinejad's strategy of deliberately provoking a conflict with the US that the Islamic Republic cannot hope to win without first acquiring a nuclear deterrent.

Even a few nuclear bombs is not going to protect them if they attack Israel. I suspect Israel has enough dispersed, including in their two nuclear subs, to wipe out Iran, but we certainly do.

The revelation that the Islamic Republic began seeking a nuclear deterrent as early as 1988 is nothing new to seasoned Iran-watchers.

Always a fighter, Rafsanjani seems to have absorbed the shock of his defeat in last year's presidential election and is planning a comeback. But can he wait another 30 months before taking on Ahmadinejad in a second presidential election? The answer is probably no. Rafsanjani has more immediate objectives. He hopes to lead an anti-Ahmadinejad coalition in next December's elections for the Assembly of Experts, the body that can choose or dismiss the "supreme guide".

This should be interesting.

All this might have been of little or no concern to the outside world had it not been for two facts. The first is that Iran has had a secret nuclear programme for almost two decades while taking the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for a ride. The second is that the Islamic republic leaders who felt no discomfort in discussing the use of nuclear warheads and other weapons of mass destruction two decades ago, do not seem to have abandoned their strategy of reshaping the Middle East after their fashion.

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John Kerry jokes about killing George Bush

John Kerry jokes about killing George Bush on HBO's Bill Maher show, about one minute in, right after Kerry answers about what he gave his wife for her birthday

Hat tip to Stop the ACLU and Ace of Spades

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Mexico May Take Fence Dispute to U.N.

WaPo reported Mexico's foreign secretary said Monday the country may take a dispute over U.S. plans to build a fence on the Mexican border to the United Nations.

Go ahead. Even the Useless Nations can't say that a nation is not entitled to control its own borders.

Luis Ernesto Derbez told reporters in Paris, his first stop on a European tour, that a legal investigation was under way to determine whether Mexico has a case.

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Axis of Evil

WaPo reported Bush's 'Axis of Evil' Comes Back to Haunt United States Nearly five years after President Bush introduced the concept of an "axis of evil" comprising Iraq, Iran and North Korea, the administration has reached a crisis point with each nation:

And are you praising Bush from being able to identify the bad guys, or are you stupid enough to think that all three would have been good friends if Bush just had not called them names?

North Korea has claimed it conducted its first nuclear test, Iran refuses to halt its uranium-enrichment program, and Iraq appears to be tipping into a civil war 3 1/2 years after the U.S.-led invasion. Each problem appears to feed on the others, making the stakes higher and requiring Bush and his advisers to make difficult calculations, analysts and U.S. officials said.

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Cutting Class Sizes

ProfessorBainbridge blogged Here in California the teacher's unions and the educational establishment want to spend billions more to cut class sizes. Teachers unions love this sort of thing, because it means more teachers and, thus, more union dues. But is it a good deal for taxpayers? Lance Izumi and Rachel Chaney of PRI say no:

A state-sponsored consortium of top research organizations analyzed the [existing classroom size reduction (CSR)] program and found no association between the total number of years a student had been in reduced size classes and differences in academic achievement. Further, there's no evidence that CSR helps at upper grade levels.

They argue:

Good teachers are an essential element of good education. With a smart and effective teacher, students will learn regardless of class size. With an ignorant or incompetent teacher, students won't learn even if there are only five in a classroom. Teachers can't teach what they themselves don't know. Rather than class-size reduction, Californians should focus on how we educate and produce our teachers.

Of course, that would mean accountability and standards, which is the last thing the teachers unions want.

ROFL. Actually they fight any effort that would delivery accountability OR standards, particularly accountability.

And, of course, in my capacity as a fellow educator, I can't blame them,

After reading Professor Brainbridge frequently, I assure you he would have no problems with any accountability standards that might be imposed.

but as a taxpayer whose day job is educating the product of California K-12 schools, ....

Amen to that, Professor. I suspect it might be nice to get a class of students that can really read, write, and think for themselves.

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Right to kill a tick

Last month (September 18), Biting Beaver wrote about a experience she'd had with a broken condom and a callous medical system that refused to give her emergency contraception over the counter or by prescription: Two months ago I stopped taking birth control. My body finally decided that it was fed up and the cycle of side-effects began again as they have every time I've taken hormonal contraception since I was a teenager

Maybe your body was trying to tell you to save it until you are married.

.... So for the last few months I have relied exclusively on condoms. Friday night the condom broke.

Guess what, they are not guaranteed, nor is any birth control method, other than abstinance.

But I didn't panic, I thought to myself, with a huge sigh of relief, "Wow, thank goodness it's over the counter now!" and I fell asleep (since there are absolutely NO 24 hour pharmacies within 100 miles of me). Saturday morning I awoke and phoned the pharmacy. I asked them about EC and was told that they won't be stocking it until January 1st, until then it was still by prescription only.

You should have waited till January 1st.

Soooo, I phoned my doctors office.... She explained that I needed to go to the Emergency Room to get it. My heart fell, the ER has a 100$ co-pay attached to it.

Free sex suddenly getting expensive.

"Well," I thought to myself, "that's still better than the price of a kid" so I called the Emergency Room to verify the information and to ask what their procedures were.

"Have you talked to your doctor?" he asks. "Yes, I talked to her this morning and she told me to go to the ER" I reply. "Oh, so she won't prescribe it for you?" he asks. This possibility hadn't occurred to me.

Why not? You were talking to her, and she was not willing to call in a prescription for you, was she?

I just assumed that the ER was standard procedure, "Hmmm" I say, "Well, I guess not. It's not just standard procedure to go to the ER?" .... "the problem is that you have to meet the doctor’s criteria before he'll dispense it to you.".... "Yes, his criteria.

ER docs have criteria just like your doc.

I mean...ummm...well, are you ok? Is there any, ummm....trauma?" he asks me. My face changes expression and I hurry to explain, "No, no" I said, "No. I haven't been raped. This was consensual sex.".... "Ok, well ummm....Are you married?" he mumbles the words so low I can barely hear them.... "No." I state plainly. "I am not married. I've been in a relationship for several years and I have three children, I don't want a fourth." I respond tersely.

did the condom break the other three times, or did that method of birth control also not prove 100% effective???

Fast forward to today. Biting Beaver posted I'm currently taking other steps while I gather the money I need to finish this thing once and for all. And you know what? Every time I think about it I refer to this fetus as a 'parasite', a 'tick' and other things I won't even mention

The real name for it is a baby.

.... It becomes a question of how much shit can you take before you begin to actually hate the thing in your womb.

Why do you hate it. It has not done anything to you.

Since the start of this I have been told repeatedly that I didn't deserve to live

That is not correct. You do deserve to live. Your baby just deserves to live also.

.... This is a tiny sampling and this was the response I received at taking EC. How much can one person take before they begin to hate the thing inside of them?

Riehl World blogged And she even manages an abortion bleg. Not that I'm necessarily buying all this. But one way or another, it seems to me a reasonable idea that dysfunctional idiots like this be encouraged to not breed in the first place. There's simply no room at the zoo.

La Shawn blogged It is human nature to want pleasure without responsibility and to expect our actions to have no negative consequences. Living with what we’ve done and finding the good in it despite how inconvenienced we might be is what responsible and mature humans do. But this hostile feminist blogger (profanity alert) wants no part of that, as she publicly announces on her blog an intent to have her unborn baby, whom she calls a “parasite” and a “tick,” slaughtered. Apparently, the chick was denied emergency contraception after the condom broke. Oh, the horror of having sex and actually conceiving! After she kills her child, perhaps she can sign the “We Had Abortions” petition with the rest of her proud sisters.

John Hawkins blogged See, is a fetus a baby or "a 'parasite', a 'tick'?" For liberals, it depends on whether they want the baby or not. For conservatives, it's always a baby, which means that whether you kill a baby in the womb or drop him face down into a toilet to drown when he's a few months old, there's no moral difference. If you understand that, you understand why conservatives are so hellbent on seeing Roe v. Wade overturned.

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Trying Out Biological and Dirty Bombs on American Military Bases

MEMRI reported On September 28, 2006, Islamist websites posted an audio recording by commander of Al-Qaeda in Iraq Abu Hamza Al-Muhajir, which included a number of messages. Addressing the Muslim 'ulama, Abu Hamza called on them to join the jihad, and to follow the example of the blind Sheikh 'Ali 'Abd Al-Rahman, who is currently imprisoned in the U.S. Abu Hamza also urged the jihad fighters to make a special effort to capture Westerners in order to exchange them for the imprisoned sheikh.

Not likely to be successful.

Next, he congratulated the tribal chiefs who supported the cause of jihad in Iraq, and invited those who had sided with the Americans to publicly declare their repentance and join the forces of jihad.

Also not likely to be too successful.

His final call was to scientists and experts in various technological fields, whom he invited to try out their biological weapons and dirty bombs on American military bases.

We should increase security and be on the lookout for this.

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Exploding Stars Influence Climate Of Earth

Space Daily reported A team at the Danish National Space Center has discovered how cosmic rays from exploding stars can help to make clouds in the atmosphere. The results support the theory that cosmic rays influence Earth's climate. An essential role for remote stars in everyday weather on Earth has been revealed by an experiment at the Danish National Space Center in Copenhagen. It is already well-established that when cosmic rays, which are high-speed atomic particles originating in exploded stars far away in the Milky Way, penetrate Earth's atmosphere they produce substantial amounts of ions and release free electrons. Now, results from the Danish experiment show that the released electrons significantly promote the formation of building blocks for cloud condensation nuclei on which water vapour condenses to make clouds.... It is known that low-altitude clouds have an overall cooling effect on the Earth's surface. Hence, variations in cloud cover caused by cosmic rays can change the surface temperature. The existence of such a cosmic connection to Earth's climate might thus help to explain past and present variations in Earth's climate.

Don't tell Al Gore. He may join with the Islamofascists and attack these Danish Scientists

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The Mullahs' Massacre on the Road to Qom

Politics Central reported News filtered out of Iran this Sunday of demonstrations protesting the arrest of supporters of Ayatollah Mohammad Kazemeini Boroujerdi, an Iranian cleric fighting against the “Political Religion” that has dominated his country since Khomeini.

We need to do what we can to exploit this situation in Iran.

Rumors also spread that these demonstrations have become violent with fatalities reported. The news has finally caught up with the ongoing saga of the Ayatollah Hossein Kazemeini Boroujerdi, who has been challenging the legitimacy of the Iranian mullahcracy for many years. Both he and his father–who died 4 years ago, and whose grave has been desecrated–refused to embrace the Khomeinist doctrine that only a Shi’ite sage was fit to govern the Islamic Republic. The Boroujerdis retained the traditional Shi’ite view–the one famously held by Ayatollah Sistani in Iraq–that clerics should stay out of government and tend to their flock.

I agree with Ayatollah Sistani. This is what Separation of Church and State really should mean.

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France: Schoolgirl Stoned In Playground For Not Observing Ramadan

Western Resistance reported a truly horrific sign of the times comes from Lyon in the south of France, where a schoolgirl was stoned by Muslim students on Wednesday (October 4), for not following Ramadan.

Presumably the girl was Muslim, otherwise there would be even other problems with this, but do we want Muslims in our midst if they would take it upon themselves to stone anyone, for any reason. Another source for this story said the pupils of the third grade were the ones throwing stones at an adolescent eating a snack. They must not know Islam that well, because according to the Sunna the punishment for those who deliberately break the fast, is that they must feed a specified number of poor and hungry people or fast 60 days in a row, and in Kuwait a violator could be fined KD 100 or imprisoned for under a month, or given both punishments together. In any event it requires a trial, and it is not something a bunch of third graders should be doing.

France-Echos reports on the incident, which is described in today's edition of Le Progres a paper serving the Lyon, Villeurbanne and Caluire-et-Cuire region. This is a translation of the France-Echos report:.... A schoolgirl of Jean Mermoz college in Lyon's eighth arrondissement (postal district) was pelted with stones on Wednesday morning in the playground because she ate a snack. The argument that the incident stemmed from the non-observance of Ramadan is confirmed by the Lyon prosecutor's office, based on initial results from its investigation. Azzedine Gaci, president of the CRCM (Regional Council for the Muslim Religion) , states that "if the facts are proven, they are unacceptable". He deplores the ignorance of the pupils, who should be taught the Koran at school, and who are unaware that "women who are not feeling well"

Means literally "indisposed", or "out of sorts", and probably is a euphemism for her "time of the month", however she should not have been stoned even if she was not "indisposed"

are exempted from observing Ramadan.

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War widow fights to stay

Orlando Sentinel reported Dahianna and Jeffrey Heard often talked of their life after the war as a dream they would live together: buy a house, raise a family, travel abroad. But Jeffrey, a Casselberry contractor for a security company supporting U.S. troops in Iraq, was shot to death this spring during an ambush of his convoy near Fallujah. Now his wife, a Venezuela native raising their 1-year-old son, faces possible deportation. One reason: They hadn't been married long enough. She was three months short of the two years needed to satisfy immigration-law rules.

If illegal Mexicans can stay, by using "anchor babies" why not this poor woman. Especailly since she would be sent back to Venezuela, with Chavez spreading all of his anti-American rhetoric?

She is appealing for residency. But if that fails and she must leave, she said their son Bryan may have to grow up in her native country -- despite being a U.S. citizen. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials would not discuss the case. Upon Jeffrey Heard's death, immigration officials voided her petition for a "green card," a document that would let her reside legally in this country and, eventually, seek citizenship, her attorney said. Immigration officials also have rejected her request to qualify for legalization as the widow of a U.S. citizen, citing the two-year rule.

What if she promised never to buy Citgo gasoline?

"It's an injustice," said a tearful Heard, 35. "We had our home here. We had our baby here. It's an injustice that's being committed, because my husband gave all for this country. He gave all, and now his widow and her son are treated as if they don't belong."

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