My friend died and went to heaven...

I'm the one going to Purgatory.

(I'll be fly fishing the Animas. Wish me luck!)

Pakistan: Tali-banned

Pakistan bans Taliban after suicide bomb attacks.

Oh yeah. That'll take care of them all right. /sarc

Pakistan banned the Taliban on Monday, toughening its stance after the Islamic militant group claimed responsibility for deadly suicide bombings against one of Pakistan's most sensitive military installations.

The ban imposed by the fragile governing coalition comes just a week after the ouster of Pervez Musharraf, a key U.S. ally whose departure has prompted concern that the nuclear-armed country is too unstable to beat back extremists.

Anyone caught aiding the Taliban in Pakistan — which will have its bank accounts and assets frozen — faces up to 10 years in prison.

The Taliban declared the ban "meaningless."

Increased security is the order of the day at the Denver Airport

in advance of the Democratic Coronat-Convention.

I was hoping to be able to go into Denver this week and give you an on the scene report, possums - but real life intervened. In lieu of that, and knowing how concerned all my possums are about security, I thought I'd give you a report from the airport.

As you drive into the Airport a portable billboard advises you that your vehicle could be stopped for a random security check. I've never seen that before. Two tow trucks were spotted at the entrance into the east terminal - no doubt to pick up those pesky vehicles left at curbside. No car bombs please in Denver, thank you very much. Usually there is one vehicle and two cops on the departure level directing traffic and moving people along. Today there were 6 vehicles and at least 8 policemen that I could see.

Increased security is visible inside the terminal, too. I saw policemen stationed throughout the ticketing area, both plain clothes and in uniform. For the first time ever, I saw a K9 unit patrolling the Concourse (made me think of the K9 Kafir brigade - see sidebar) and the locker area is marked with a sign saying "Closed for Security Purposes." It too, has a guard stationed outside.

The terminal looks pretty spiffed up, what with red, pale blue (cause nothing quite says USA like pale blue) and white banners. Speaking of spiffed up, all of the TSA people are now sporting royal blue uniform shirts - they look quite snappy.

I haven't seen anyone who is showing visible signs of being a delegate - you know the patriotic garb, political buttons, crazy hats, and their mandatory change you can believe in shirt, but all the employees at the McDonalds were wearing Obama O8 shirts. Which was kind of funny since the guy standing next to me in line was having a helluva time trying to get his server to give him the right change. I don't know if he was amused or not when I quipped: "There's some change you can believe in, my friend."

Well, that's it from the road. Just thought I'd post because I was lucky enough to find a seat by an outlet - always a bonus for the wired traveler.

A sudden trip has come up...

to attend funeral services for a friend that passed away this week.

I will be flying to South Carolina today and will be back on Tuesday. Blogging will no doubt be sporadic.

Keep fighting the good fight, possums!

Pakistan: Bhutto's husband chosen for president

Shoes of Pakistani suicide bomb victims laid out to assist in victim identification.

by Pakistan Peoples Party.

Denver: No BBQ w/ al Jazeera.

Community uproar. (the Denver Post spins it.)

Golden City Manager Mike Bestor has withdrawn his barbecue invitation to a news channel based in the Middle East after a community uproar that spilled over into the City Council Thursday night.

Bestor said he issued the invitation to Al Jazeera English, which is based in the Middle East, as a private citizen. The network planned to do interviews at the gathering as part of its Democratic National Convention next week.

The city issued a statement Thursday night in which Bestor said he realized his job indirectly linked the event to the city.

The city's statement said Bestor "believed that hosting such a discussion of the issues was an excellent way to illustrate democracy to the rest of the world and to show that neighbors can disagree politically and still work together toward the good of their community."

"The city of Golden doesn't have the right to restrict or prohibit Al Jazeera or any other news agency from broadcasting out of the city, whether we approve of their coverage or not, whether we share their perspectives or not, whether we find their coverage offensive or not," the city's statement concluded.

An more in depth, on scene account of the meeting from Ynet News: (there's a spin, but it's my kind of spin.)

On Thursday night I came to a Golden, Colorado City Council meeting to ask them to consider our request to place a menorah in downtown Golden this coming Hanukkah. But a much larger controversy was boiling.

Only 20 minutes drive from Democratic National Convention host city Denver, al-Jazeera had asked Golden City Manager, Mike Bestor, if he could help them meet and interview Golden residents. With the support of Golden Mayor Jacob Smith, a special barbeque celebration was arranged for al-Jazeera reporters at the home of Golden City Manager Mike Bestor.

This created an outcry from Golden residents who were opposed to the perceived preferential treatment given to al-Jazeera journalists. There was standing room only at the Council Meeting last night. Grown men who had served in the US armed forces choked with emotion as they described how al-Jazeera’s reporting had helped to embolden our enemies and serves as a propaganda machine for the likes of Osama Bin Laden, Hamas and other terrorists who kill American citizens.

United States army and navy veterans and others stood up one after another demanding that al-Jazeera not be given what they termed as “red carpet treatment” by the City of Golden.

Of course there were some who felt that it was a good idea to treat even those who blatantly help the enemy of the United States with more love than is offered to our allies.

After every one had finished talking the Golden City manager, Mike Bestor, had his turn to explain his position, amazingly he told the audience that he had made a mistake and would therefore be withdrawing his barbeque invitation to al-Jazeera. There was loud applause when he finished speaking. The people had spoken and the elected officials were forced to listen and back down.

It gets better.

Those at the meeting who supported the al-Jazeera barbeque invitation insinuated that their opponents were bigoted and intolerant of others different than themselves. One speaker even called the veterans and those who agreed with them xenophobes. But if that was the case one would have assumed that they would have opposed my request to place a menorah in Golden City Center. But instead, after I had finished my speech before the council asking them to consider placing the menorah in Golden, the loudest applause came for the United States army veterans. And after the meeting was over many who had spoken against the al-Jazeera barbeque approached me and voiced support for the menorah proposal.

Kudos to Mayor Bestor. Double Kudos to the patriots of Golden who spoke out against the enemy in our midst. And don't kid yourself - they are the enemy.
related post.

Mookie al Sadr: Turning tail and moving to Iran...

Aide: Iraq's al Sadr may stay in Iran for years.

(In reality he's been hiding out there since May 2007.)

(Here's hoping they have a dental plan.)

Denver: A Palace and Obama's Potluck Turkey Chili. What more can a girl ask for?

Look what I found in my mail? An extra special offer from the Brown Palace.

First we have the Political Palate:

Enjoy a taste of some favorite democratic dishes. The Political Palate Package includes:

Overnight stay
Three-course dinner in Ship Tavern featuring: Barack Obama's Potluck Turkey Chili, made from a recipe he has been perfecting since college
Pan Seared Colorado Bison Medallions with Whiskey-Tortilla Sauce, the dinner served on the final evening of the G8 Summit in Denver in 1997
A slice of Banana Cream Pie, one of Bill Clinton's favorite desserts
Democratic National Convention Gift Bag
Complimentary Valet

Starting at $369. Valid Aug. 21-24, 2008. Book online at BrownPalace.com (PROMO CODE: Propal) or call 303-297-3111 to book today!

After eating that meal you won't want mints on your pillow - you'll want some Pepcid AC.

Too rich for your blood-in more ways than one? Try this one on for size.

Presidential Pillows
Rest your head in a hotel that almost every U.S president has visited since 1905.
Package includes:
Overnight stay
Democratic National Convention Gift Bag
Complimentary valet

Starting at $199. Valid Aug. 21-24, 2008. Book online at BrownPalace.com (PROMO CODE: Propre) or call 303-297-3111 to book today!

Pakistan: US reporter not missing. Never was.

and his name isn't Nicholas Shamble, either.

Hoo-boy. I'm happy to hear this.

the happy and safe reporter
Nicholas Schmidle

The Pakistan embassy has confirmed that visiting freelance American journalist Nicholas Schmidle is not missing, as reported in a section of the press, including this newspaper, but safe and working on assignment in Sindh for a feature article on Sehwan Sharif.

Schmidle is in Pakistan for the Smithsonian, which is doing a feature in one of its forthcoming publications on the colourful celebrations witnessed during the “urs” of the popular 8th century saint of Sehwan, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar.

Schmidle who was deported from Pakistan last year for infringement of his visa, applied for a visa this summer, which the embassy strongly recommended and which the government of Pakistan authorised the embassy to issue. Schmidle also sent an email and a text message to this correspondent on Thursday, expressing surprise at the erroneous press report that he was “missing.” He said he was in Sindh with a Sindhi journalist colleague completing his assignment. He is returning to Washington, where he lives, later this month.

Saudi Arabia: I want my MTV...

not during Ramadan, oh faithful followers of the Moon God. Hulk Hogan's okay, though.

No Music Videos on MTV ARABIA during Ramadan.

Samer al-Marzouqi, the channel's manager, said they will mark the month by airing cultural news programmes and the latest reality shows only to allow viewers to engage in quiet contemplation.

'Ramadan is a time for introspection and we would like to offer our viewers a break from the ordinary fare. Though part of a global brand, MTV Arabia is conscious of regional sensitivities and we are keen to respond to the needs of viewers in the Middle East, the vast majority of whom will be fasting and focusing on their spiritual lives,' al-Marzouqi told reporters.

The channel will continue to play reality shows, celebrity news and pop culture documentaries. The newest programme during the month will be Hogan Knows Best, which follows wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan in his lesser-known roles as husband and father.

Saudi Arabia: Cheating on Kafir women is permitted

and then you must divorce her. More of those famed Muslim family values courtesy of Islam Watch.

A recent Saudi Islamic fatwa (permit) says: Saudis who study out of Saudi Arabia like America have the Islamic permit to married a western girl by intending to leave her after a short time for just intercourse and when he will come back to Saudi he must divorce her and all that without telling her the truth at all.

They mean that a Saudi student, who study abroad, can lie to a kafir girl that he loves her and want to marry her in order to have sexual relation with her. But when he has finished his studies, he must divorce her before he coming back to Saudi Arabia.

7 WTC collapse - the verdict's in

Aerial shot of 7 World Trade Center

on Dinah's old stomping ground.

A raging, long-burning fire caused the collapse of World Trade Center building number 7, which tumbled hours after hijacked jets hit the twin towers on September 11, 2001, investigators said Thursday.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) found that the 47-story building, which stood right next to towers 1 and 2, caught fire due to the debris that flew into it after the planes struck.

It eventually fell after seven hours due to instability caused by the fire, not by explosives as some conspiracy theorists have claimed.

I cried like a baby as I watched it fall. I remember it like it was yesterday.

Denver: Case closed on cyanide man.

Didn't I tell you sheeple to move along already?

As far as the Denver Police are concerned, the coroner's ruling puts an end to the investigation into Mr. Dirie's death. "We're done with the investigation now that we've got the coroner's results," said Denver Police Detective Sharon Hahn.

Not so fast there, Detective. White powder threats found in John McCain's DENVER HQ.

Update: Second white powder threat rec'd in McCain's Manchester NH office.

First, we had Billy Beer - now there's...

"Senator Keg" or Obama beer.

Long before he became a top candidate for the Democratic Presidential ticket, Senator Barack Obama was inspiring a particular brand of prideful Obama-mania in Kenya, the birthplace of his late father, Barack Obama Sr., and the current home of his paternal grandmother. If the senator wins the nomination and even the Presidency, many Kenyans will be clinking glasses filled with a beloved product here that has hitched itself to the coattails of his fame and success: "Obama" beer.

Known officially as Senator Keg but as "Obama" by drinkers, the barley-based beer is marketed specifically by its manufacturer—East African Breweries Limited, or EABL, a subsidiary of London-based Diageo—to low-income consumers who have few options for a safe, affordable, and legal beer.

Algeria: Second day of bombings.

The natives are restless.

from the Memri Blog:

Twelve civilians were killed and dozens were wounded in a double bombing yesterday in the city of Bouira, 120 km southeast of the capital Algiers.

The first explosion occurred when a car bomb crashed into a bus transporting Algerian workers to the facility of SNC-Lavalin, a Canadian engineering company, and the second explosion was in front of a military building.

This looks like Iraq, not Algeria.

General says bombs may be self-defeating...

try telling that to the 71 people killed in the last two days, General.

Pakistan: Missile strike kills "arabs and punjabs"

I'm glad to see that somebody is still at work fighting the bad guys. (Even though the Afghans think we're gold bricking when it comes to al Qaeda bases in Pakistan:

Missile strike in NW Pakistan near Wana.

Details emerge that Arabs and Punjabs were among the dead.

Local people said two missiles struck the compound of Yaqoob Mughalkhel Wazir near a Scouts camp at about 7pm. Spy planes had been seen over the area before the explosions.

Sources said bodies were found in the rubble and three wounded people were rescued. They said that Arab nationals and ‘Punjabis’ were among those who had been killed. Yaqoob Wazir was also injured.

Supporters of pro-government militant commander Maulvi Nazir rushed to the place and cordoned off the compound.

Tribal sources said Yaqoob Wazir, who lived near the local brigade headquarters, was an influential figure and had contacts with local and foreign militants. He had played an important role in a peace agreement between the government and militants of the region. The sources claimed that foreign militants, particularly Arabs, often visited his home.

Looks like these Arabs won't be down for breakfast in the morning.

Pakistan: Will the center hold?

Update: 1:27 Taliban claim responsibility. Arrests have been made.

Pakistan headed for a power vacuum? Suicide bombers hit weapons complex, the question is - is it a nuclear weapons complex? Death toll now at 70

The bombings hit one of Pakistan's most sensitive military installations and underlined the threat posed by Islamic militants to the Muslim world's only nuclear-armed nation as well as its war-ravaged neighbor, Afghanistan.

Workers were streaming through the gates of the tightly guarded factory in Wah, 20 miles west of Islamabad, during a shift change when the two bombs exploded. The force of the explosions knocked many people to the ground and sprayed others with shrapnel.

"I looked back and saw the limbs of my colleagues flying through the air," said Shahid Bhatti, 29, his clothes soaked in blood.

"It was like a doomsday," said Ghaffar Hussain, whose nephew was killed. "We are finished, we are ruined," he said, tears rolling down his face.

Prime Minister calls threat "unprecedented and appealed to lawmakers to come together to formulate a "national strategy on terror." But the Islamists are fighting amongst themselves and the coalition is "veering towards collapse".

The terrorists are belligerent and bellicose as usual.

Maulvi Umar, a spokesman for Pakistani Taliban groups, told The Associated Press that the arms factory attack was to avenge airstrikes on militants in Bajur, an extremist stronghold in the mountainous frontier region.

More bombings will be carried out in major cities, including the capital and the southern metropolis of Karachi, unless the offensives are halted, he said.

The markets are jittery.

Pakistan's stock market, which rose for six consecutive years to 2007, and was one of the best-performing markets in Asia in that period, has fallen about 27 percent this year.

More on the Gray Lady of al Qaeda, Aafia Siddiqui

Mark your calendars. Don't miss the show! Her next court date is September 3rd.

Did you know her family never lodged a missing person's complaint with the Pakistani police the whole time she was gone? Hmmm? That her colleagues describe her as a "tiny woman with big convictions" that "urged women to wear the hijab and refuse to shake hands with men"? When Bosnia occurred she "sprang to action:

"...giving slide shows and rousing speeches to collect donations for their cause. She also later established a non-profit organisation to spread Islamic teachings. According to the paper, as a student in the US Siddiqui raised funds for the Muslim victims of the Bosnian genocide to be sent to the Al-Kifah Refugee Centre in Brooklyn, which the Justice Department maintains diverted such funds to militants. Besides, she was also involved in the establishment of the Dawa Resource Centre, a programme run from a Boston mosque, distributing Qurans and offering Islamic advice to prison inmates.

Here's what wICKipedia has to say about Al-Kifah Refugee Center:

According to Cooperative Research the center had clandestine links to forces fighting in Afghanistan dating to the late 1980s, when the fighters enjoyed American support in their struggle against the occupiers. They assert that funds raised in the USA were covertly sent to Maktab al-Khidamat an organization they say Osama Bin Laden was later to transform into al Qaeda.

There's more dirty Muslim business at Al Kifah (the struggle) than you can shake a stick at. Really want to make yourself sick? Read an interesting history of the organization here. I swear, it will make you want to holler.

But back to Aafia:

The neuroscience doctor was born on March 2, 1972, came to Texas in 1990, graduated from the MIT in 1995 and obtained a PhD from Brandeis University in cognitive neuroscience in 2001. Her three children are: Ahmed (12), Mariam (10) and Suleman (5 ). She left for Pakistan in 2002, returned in February 2003 and returned almost immediately. She disappeared in March of that year.

The US security and intelligence authorities believe that Dr Aafia was underground of her own will and accord, and that for her own reasons she went missing in 2003 from Karachi.

Besides, the US intelligence believes that the terror suspects three children were in the safe hands of those who were sheltering her. It is noteworthy that her family never lodged a missing person report with the Pakistani police even once during the five years it now claims Siddiqui was in US or/and Pakistani custody, say the US agencies.

It's important to note that pulling a disappearing act is not exactly a new trick for al Kifah members. Mysterious US Militant arrested on charges, disappears from view.

His name? Abu Ubaidah Yahya, formerly known as Karl Dexter Turner and the former security chief for the Al Kiyah Refugee Center.

The latest from Pakistan: Lahore Doctors are protesting her detention and her cause celebre is becoming a political football with the Senate, the Parliament and now, with Musharraf's departure - presidential politics. (And it's all a grand charade to whip up the Islamists and fuel their paranoia in order to consolidate their political power - IMO, of course.)

Philippines: Govt scraps peace deal with Islamists

after two weeks of deadly clashes. (deadly clashes - the Religion of Peace's idea of peace the world over.)

The pact signed last month between leaders of the mostly Christian nation and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) had called for a Muslim homeland to be established on the revolt-hit southern Mindanao island.

God bless the Christians who have been massacred by the Muslims.

Fajardo said President Gloria Arroyo was "sensitive" to the objections of local Christian leaders, who are opposed to the agreement and have taken to the streets branding it a "sell-out."

"The president is committed to peace," Fajardo told journalists. "The administration is sensitive to public sentiments and the president is also committed to upholding the constitution.

"In doing so she will seek a new agreement within the boundaries of the law set within the constitution.

"The president will not allow adventurism by MILF forces to pressure government to sign any agreement, even if it is for peace," she said.

On August 4 the Philippine Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order against the agreement following protests by serveral politicians who saw it as "unconstitutional."

"Adventurism" she calls it. I would call it something else entirely.

Two rebel MILF commanders have since taken up arms, in defiance of the group's leadership, and killed Christian civilians and looted and burned homes and farms. Over 100,000 people have been made homeless due to the fighting.

The rebel MILF commanders have linked their attacks to the Supreme Court's suspension, saying that the government had designed the agreement to fail.

It would have created a Sharia state within a state:

The pact had called for the establishment of what amounted to a state within a state with its own "basic law," police and internal security force. The region would have been allowed to run its own banking and finance system, civil service, education and legislative and electoral institutions.It would also have been given full authority to develop and dispose of minerals and other natural resources within its territory.

The proposed homeland would have been governed by the Bangsamoro (Muslim) Juridical Entity (BJE), with full authority to send trade missions to and strike economic cooperation agreements with other countries and send representatives to UN agencies and the Association of Southeast Nations.

Filipino Sharia.

Pakistan: American Journalist Missing?

US Editor of Smithsonian hasn't been heard from in two days.

One local and one American journalist have gone missing in Karachi, Daily Times learnt on Wednesday. United States journalist Nicholas Shamble, who edits US magazine Smithsonian, went missing two days ago. A source has claimed the journalist arrived at a hotel in Karachi on August 12 and left for Islamabad on Monday. He never arrived.

Shamble had undertaken frequent visits to Pakistan, covering the terrorist threat, and had been due to interview Pakistan People’s Party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.

Previous stories of his included an examination of the situation in Balochistan and the aftermath of the Lal Masjid operation in July of last year. The source also said Shamble was in touch with a Sindh journalist, who has also been missing for two days.

Sindh Home Secretary Arif Ahmed Khan confirmed both are missing and expressed hope law enforcement agencies will find them soon. Khan added it was possible the two were in interior Sindh, and confirmed that police there have been told the journalists are missing.

Shamble was deported from Pakistan two years ago.

China: 35 Pak Olympic Spectators detained as terror suspects.

Do you think they used "racial profiling"?

The Chinese government has reportedly detained 35 Pakistanis visiting China to watch Olympics after they were suspected of planning to attack proceedings of the Games.

China has asked the Pakistani government for details of the arrested in a letter that alleged 35 suspected Pakistani militants had arrived in China to attack proceedings at the Games, reported the Daily Times.

Denver: Cyanide man took his own life.

Nothing to see here, sheeples. Move along.

The Denver coroner says an Ottawa man who died from cyanide poisoning in a hotel room committed suicide.

The suicide ruling was released Wednesday, nine days after Saleman Abdirahman Dirie was found dead with a pound of highly toxic sodium cyanide in his room.

The coroner ruled last week that cyanide caused the 29-year-old man's death.

Police have said they don't suspect foul play and the FBI says there's no apparent connection to terrorism.

Authorities have not said why Dirie had the poison or why he was in Denver.

California State Fair: Why Islam indeed.

Cindy Cassidy of Cool, left, welcomes the chance to learn about Muslim practices from Salihah Bustamam, right, of Elk Grove at the "WhyIslam" booth at the California State Fair as Mohamed Elsayed of Sacramento listens. At top, the booth's displays on Islamic culture include an ornate tea setting.


The Islamic Circle of North America is the sponsor. And we know all about them, don't we?

Officially, it's called "WhyIslam." Unofficially, it could be called "Ask a Muslim." The booth, which has been set up in Exhibit Hall B, is sponsored by the Sacramento Chapter of Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), which focuses on outreach and education of the faith. Muslim volunteers are on hand to answer questions, pass out brochures and give away Qurans.

Since the fair opened Friday, fairgoers have asked about everything from terrorism to what Muslims believe about Jesus.

Riddle me this, possums. Do you think there's a WhyJesus booth at the King's Camel Races in Riyadh this year?

I don't think so, either.

Let's review (and this is just a 3o second google search):

Yemen: 9 Muslims detained for converting to Christianity.

Indonesia: Muslim mob storms church. Police refuse to intervene.

Iraq: Mosque used as torture chamber.

Phillippines: When Muslims attack - Christians.

UK: Did BBC charity bankroll 7/7 bombers?

Team Pudsey

Looks like Team Pudsey has stepped in it.

Thousands of pounds raised by Britons for the BBC’s Children in Need charity could have been used to recruit and train the homegrown terrorists involved in the 7/7 terror attacks on London.

The programme reported that £20,000 from Children in Need was handed over to the Leeds Community School, in Beeston, Yorkshire between 1999 and 2002.

The school, which also received large sums from other public bodies, was run from premises behind the Iqra Islamic bookshop which the gang used as a meeting place and an opportunity to radicalise others.

One former worker described those that attended the bookshop as a kind of “brotherhood.”

Both Mohammed Sidique Khan, the leader of the bombers, and Shehzad Tanweer, the Aldgate bomber, were trustees of the bookshop and Sidique Khan also worked for a Saturday club at the associated Leeds Community School.

It's ironic hearing that the BBC bankrolled the 7/7 attacks, seeing the pic of Pudsey with his bandaged face (above)and then seeing this pic from the bombings.

Shame on you, BBC.

Denver: Speaking of cyanide

Freaky. The lobby of Dinah's old stomping ground,
Triple Nickel California.

and since nobody else is talking about the dead Muslim schizophrenic found with a pound of it less than three miles away from the Pepsi Center - OR about the recent al Qaeda threats to poison the water supplies of Western cities, here's an account of a disaster contingency exercise conducted in San Fran's financial district this weekend. Let's hope Denver is up to speed with theirs.

Preparing for an Urban WMD Attack.

On Saturday, the San Francisco Fire Department, along with a group of other public and private agencies, ran a large-scale training exercise revolving around an urban weapons of mass destruction terrorist attack. Here, an emergency worker in a full hazmat suit examines the faux chemical that was supposedly found in the attack, which was said to be sodium cyanide, a poison that quickly affects peoples respiratory systems. On the ground behind, volunteers playing the role of dead victims lay prone.(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News)

The scenario was this: a terrorist with a backpack full of sodium cyanide (Ed. note: Say about a pound or so?)--a chemical used in gold mining operations that quickly attacks and shuts down the human respiratory system--unleashed it inside 555 California.

Because of the victims, the fire department is the first to arrive on the scene, and when the firefighters discover what's happened, they isolate the building's lobby and deny entry into the building by anyone else, and then quickly set up a mass decontamination system nearby. And then they call in the specialists...

(An interesting read with great pics. Check it out.)

Oh, and about that water supply poisoning? Not with just a pound of the stuff...

"It is very difficult to covertly poison a reservoir," the official said on the condition of anonymity. "It would take many truckloads of poison, which would make it difficult to do secretly. That is not really a viable threat."

"It's more feasible if they try to poison a specific building," the official said. "But even then, the volume of water already going through the system would dilute whatever was introduced. It would be very difficult to kill anyone. What would happen would be that people would get sick, which would cause panic."

Hmm. Poison a specific building. Pepsi Center per chance? It's not like they haven't tried it before or anything... Remember this old chestnut plot from 2002? Italian police explore al Qaeda links in poison plot.

"...the investigation into the case of the nine Moroccans continues. Five of them were found with slightly under 10 pounds of potassium-ferrocyanide, a cyanide compound used in agriculture, and maps of the water main located in underground utility tunnels around the American embassy in Rome.

Press leaks and the discovery of the hole in a tunnel containing a water main led to a wave of panic and speculation that the terrorists were trying to contaminate the water supply of central-northern Rome. Though US State Department officials downplayed the risk to the embassy, Cavallo says that the Moroccans had the capacity to create poisonous substances. Along with the cyanide compound, police found a gunpowder substance that could have created the heat needed to release the cyanide gas, he says.

And then there's as recently as 2008 in Iraq where a letter and document lifted from a dead terrorist has al Qaeda discussing the "psychological war" effect of poisoning the water supply on the dear sheeple:

The letter advises that a chemical offensive can inflict both physical and mental harm. Contaminating Iraqis' water can produce "killing and dangerous illness," and also convince the enemy "that we have a dangerous chemical weapon," Safyan wrote. "But in fact," he continues, "it's a psychological war that places fear in the enemy."

But back to Mr. Dirie. Since authorities are claiming that Mr. Dirie killed himself ingesting cyanide I wondered how much sodium cyanide you would have to eat to kill yourself. Thanks to Cyanide Q&A (who knew?) for enlightenment.

How much cyanide is harmful? The lethal dose of cyanide is approximately 0.5 - 1.0 mg/kg body weight or about 70 mg for an adult. The cyanide ion of soluble cyanide compounds is rapidly absorbed from all routes of entry, respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts, and less readily absorbed through the skin. However, accidental or intentional poisoning is more likely to involve ingestion of a cyanide salt, whereas occupational poisoning is more likely to involve inhalation of hydrogen cyanide.

70 mg. A smidge? Probably more. Mr. Dirie was a big man and has been described by neighbors as a "Fat Albert" kind of guy. Depends on the density of the sodium cyanide which is unknown to us at this point.

Newbury Park Mosque in Conejo Park opens doors to curious

Imam answers Islam questions...

The Islamic Center of the Conejo Valley opened its doors Sunday to welcome visitors and those interested in discovering more about the religion of Islam.

It's the fourth year in a row that the members of the mosque in Newbury Park have participated in a regional initiative called Open Mosque Day, which was established in 2002 by the Shura Council of Southern California.

"No question about Islam should be off-limits," Imam Ahmed Patel told about 25 people who gathered for one of his question-and-answer sessions about what Muslims believe. "If you have any concerns, or any questions, about our religion, please feel free to ask and God willing, we shall try our best to give you the correct answer."

Everything sounds hunky dory, doesn't it? Hah! Thanks to an astute and informed commenter, THE VERACIOUS 1, we are able to get the real low down. Veracious 1, I salute you!

Did anyone ask about Seyed Mahmoud Mousavi founder of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, http://www.shuracouncil.org/ the umbrella organization for The Islamic Center of the CONEJO VALLEY who is being held without bail awaiting sentencing in Federal Prison facing a statutory maximum sentence of 61 years in federal prison?

Seyed Mahmoud Mousavi is also founder of the Hejrat Foundation http://www.hejrat.info

Both serve as umbrella organizations that serve to connect Mosques and Muslim organizations throughout Southern California including the THE ISLAMIC CENTER OF THE CONEJO VALLEY!

Seyed Mahmoud Mousavi was ARRESTED on August 22, 2007. He has been CONVICTED and is scheduled to be sentenced mid-October.

Check out what the FBI has to say about Seyed Mahmoud Mousavi at
http://losangeles.fbi.gov/dojpressrel...

Followers have been actively soliciting money and signatures to free their LEADER
http://www.insight-info.com

Wonder what Rana Elgamiel's husband, a member of The Islamic Center of the Conejo Valley, and one of only two Muslim FBI agents on the West Coast, thinks about all this??

Of the 250 families who are part of this organization, the wife of an FBI agent was quoted, in what I see as a manipulative attempt to give this organization credibility so people will let their guard down.

About the Shura Council of Southern California...don't you find it strange that a "religious organization" would have these topics on the front page of their website?

US Customs new policy on search and seizure: This policy provides guidance to US Customs and Border Protection to conduct border searches on electronic devices.

and

Know Your Rights: An Article about how to protect yourself and your loved ones, if you are confronted by law enforcement agencies.

Checking out the events calendar we find this:

Addressing your concerns about Airport Security Event Date 8/21/2008
Time: 12/30/1899
Location: 19164 E. Walnut Dr. North, Rowland Heights 91748
Organization or Sponsors: Islamic Center of San Gabriel Valley
Speaker(s): Larry Fetters, Transportation Security Administration and Jenny Presswalla, DHLS Policy Advisor Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

and this:

Addressing your concerns about Airport Security
Event Date: 8/22/2008
Time: 7:00pm
Location: 3194-B Airport Loop Dr.
Organization or Sponsors: Islamic Education Center of Orange County
Speaker(s): This event will be presented by the Director of TSA & U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Description: Time: 7:00 PM

The event will address two major community concerns: privacy related to new screening technology called millimeter wave technology and those who are stopped as a result of a government watch-list.

I question why a religious group would be so concerned with these issues - if they're all so innocent and not doing anything wrong.

More Muslim Family Values - this time in Pakistan

Five women buried alive - they wanted to choose their own husbands. (h/t LGF link thingy)

According to the information received, five women were Ms. Fatima, wife of Umeed Ali Umrani, Jannat Bibi, wife of Qaiser Khan, Fauzia, daughter of Ata Mohammad Umrani, and two other girls, aged between 16 to 18 years. They were at the house of Mr. Chandio at Baba Kot village and to leave for a civil court at Usta Mohammad, district Jafarabad, so that three of the girls could marry the men of their choice. Their decision to have marriage in court was the result of several days of discussions with the elders of the tribe who refused them permission to marry. The names of two younger girls were not ascertained because of strong control of tribal leaders in the area.

As the news of their plans leaked out, Mr. Abdul Sattar Umrani, a brother of the minister, came with more than six persons and abducted them at gun points. They were taken in a Land Cruiser jeep, bearing a registration number plate of the Balochistan government, to another remote area, Nau Abadi, in the vicinity of Baba Kot. After reaching the deserted area of Nau Abadi, Abdul Sattar Umrani and his six companions took the three younger women out of the jeep and beat them before allegedly opening fire with their guns. The girls were seriously injured but were still alive at that moment. Sattar Umrani and his accomplices hurled them into a wide ditch and covered them with earth and stones. The two older women were an aunt of Fauzia and the other, the mother of one minor. When they protested and tried to stop the burial of the minors that were plainly alive, the attackers were so angry that they also pushed them into the ditch and buried all alive. After completing the burial, they fired several shots into to the air so that no one would come close.

The minors were educated and were studying in classes from 10 to 12. They were punished for trying to decide about their marriages.

More Muslim family values

courtesy of Jammie Wearing Fool.

Joys of Islam: 16 y/o Saudi girl drinks bleach to avoid forced marriage to 75 yo.

Because her father wanted to marry a 13yo. It was a daughter swap.

Now there's some family values for ya.

Gray Lady of al Qaeda all lawyered up and ready to go

Jamaat-e-Islami multi tasks: Burns US flag, effigy of George Bush, protests Gray Lady detention and INFLATION.

What the Gray Lady has been up to:

Poor, innocent, oppressed terrorist, what with her first class education and doctor husband and all.

Elizabeth Fink, the attorney for Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman charged by the US authorities with trying to kill US soldiers in Afghanistan, says that Aafia was tortured but keeps quiet on the whereabouts her children. “The woman has been tortured,” Ms Fink said. “I believed she has been tortured based on my experience with people with post-traumatic stress disorder.” On the crucial question about the whereabouts of Ms Siddiqui’s three children whose custody is being sought by Pakistani authorities, Ms Fink refused to comment suggesting that some issues could not be shared with the press. (Ed. note: like the fact her oldest was with her when she was caught scoping out that government building.) When Pakistani consular officers met Ms Siddiqui last Saturday another defence attorney, Gideon Oliver, asked Ms Siddiqui not to speak about her children. Later talking to Dawn he confirmed that he had stopped Ms Siddiqui from revealing any information about her children to Pakistani authorities.

Pakistan’s Deputy Consul General Saqib Rauf also said that Ms Siddiqui wanted to speak about her children but was restrained under advice of her counsel. “She kept on asking after the welfare of her mother and wanted to know about the political conditions in the country”, he said.

Sister: Trying to have it both ways while firing up the Islamists with provocative rhetoric and half truths. She conveniently ignores the fact that her sister is the one who is not providing information about the kids to authorities and her sister is not doing that on advice of her lawyers. (Ed. note: I swear this whole thing reeks of being a setup)

KARACHI: Dr Fauzia Siddiqui, the sister of Pakistani scientist Dr Aafia Siddiqui who is in the US custody, said that the life of her sister was in danger and she was not being supplied proper medical treatment. Addressing a protest demonstration of Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA), here on Saturday, against Dr Aafia`s detention, she said that her sister had been inhumanly tortured. She said that the medical facilities, given to Dr Aafia on orders of American court were not only insufficient but also incompetent. She said that the US had not only illegally detained Dr Aafia without any evidence but they were also providing no information about her children, which was against the internationally accepted human rights.

US Lefties are starting to circle the wagons. Don't miss the comments, possums. Your heart will bleed. Your knee will jerk. Dissident Voice: It's women and children now.

Dear DV - talk to your al Qaeda Friends about that woman and children thing, babe. Oh, and mental defectives, don't forget them. Those noble al-Qaeda fighters you so sympathise with just love using them, too.

Suicide bomb kills 15, some of them women & kids in Baghdad.
Suicide bomber in women's robe kills 7.
al-Qaeda up next: Sexy bombers.
I hate to say I told you so...
Hospital director arrested in AQ Downs Syndrome bombing attacks.

Denver: Not a peep about Cyanide Man in the MSM

Is it case closed or what? It's like EVERYBODY from the feds on down wants Salieman Dirie and his pound of cyanide to disappear.

Don't want the sheeple to get spooked, I guess.

The Religion of Peace has a busy night.

Update: The Muslim on Muslim hits keep on keeping on. This just in.

Turkish car bomb kills one, injures nine.

While we were sleeping: More Muslims killing Muslims all in the name of their peaceful religion.

Pakistan: 20 dead in Pakistani HOSPITAL blast.
Afghanistan: Bombers attack US base - 13 killed. (No American casualties.)
Algeria: Suicide attack at Police academy kills 43 - number expected to rise.
Phillippines: 65 civilians held hostage by Islamic rebels are rescued.

Nigeria: Sex workers rounded up by Islamists

Using a Red Cross census document to ensure they didn't miss anyone.

Islamic authorities in the Nigerian city of Bauchi have reportedly launched a crackdown on sex workers identified by the Red Cross in a census. The BBC's Shehu Saulawa in Bauchi says that the local Sharia commission has begun rounding the women up. But a commissioner said no arrests had been made and authorities were merely "supervising" against illicit acts.

The Red Cross carried out the census amid efforts to tackle the spread of HIV in the north-eastern state. After the census had identified 320 women, the local Sharia commission ordered that they be rounded up, our correspondent reports from Bauchi.

He says the Sharia commission seems to have been prompted to act by the perception that it was unable to enforce a ban on commercial sex workers in the state.

The Sharia commission normally liaises with the police, he says, but this time they acted directly, using their own security force to raid hotels housing an unknown number of sex workers.

Mustapha Babe, (Heh. Nice name, Babe.) a member of the Sharia commission in Bauchi, denied that any women had been detained, saying the committee responsible for law and order was only supervising parts of the city.

"In every nook and corner and cranny, illegal acts were being committed contrary to Sharia law," he said.

"As a result of this, we sent them to supervise the areas where something has happened."

Between 75 and 100 of the 320 women have so far tested positive for HIV.

UK: School boy terrorist locked up.

Yorkshire school boy locked up on terror charges.

Royal family targeted?

(And in ANOTHER blow to the root causes crowd, this poor, oppressed Muslim yute is grandson of prominent Imam, Sheikh Yakub Munshi, president of the Islamic Research Institute of Great Britain at the Markazi Mosque in Dewsbury. He is also the founder of the Sharia Council.)

Britain's youngest terrorist - a teenager from Wesat (sic) Yorkshire - was behind bars today after a guide to death and explosives was found in the schoolboy's home.

Hammaad Munshi, just 16 and taking GCSEs when arrested, was part of a cell of cyber groomers that set out to brainwash the vulnerable to kill "non-believers".

He doesn't look that vulnerable to me.

Among Hammaad's "groomers" were "key player" Aabid Khan. Read about this bad actor and some of the things he had planned for the group.

Khan was returning from Pakistan - possibly after terror camp training - when detained. The "routine stop" at Manchester Airport on June 6 2006 yielded the largest cyber "encyclopaedia" of articles promoting terrorism seized by police.

It included personal information, including addresses, of various members of the Royal Family. Among them were the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, the Princess Royal, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

There was also a guide to killing non-Muslims, and discussions about setting up a secret Islamic state in a remote area of Scotland.

Also found were US and Canadian military training manuals, a Terrorist's Handbook, a Mujahideen Explosives Handbook, and a Mujahideen Poisons Handbook containing a recipe for ricin and encouragement for "brothers" to experiment on "kuffar" (non-believers).

Sketches of combat suits, which he dismissed as "ghetto clothing but with an Islamic theme", were in his Filofax. Bradford-born Khan - "Del Boy" to his contacts - ran At-Tibiyan Publications, an "online extremist support network".

Aabid has also been linked to a Canadian cell and has a Canadian wife. She was going to commit suicide to "facilitate a jailbreak of Muslim prisoners." What a gal.

Bonus: Read this tantrum from Munshi's grandpa about their treatment after Hammaad's 2006 arrest.

Dewsbury has been wary of journalists since the reports this summer linking the Jamaat Tabligh to al-Qaida. Mohammad Siddique Khan, the 7/7 bombing ringleader, lived here. But Abdul Hai Munshi’s family welcomed me into their home, where they were watching cricket on television; seven-year-old Ismael supported England “of course”. Abdul Hai’s father, Sheikh Yakub, joined us. He is a respected, and locally revered, Islamic scholar, a founder of the Merkez. The family was devastated by the arrest of the sheikh’s 16-year-old grandson on 7 June on a security-related charge: “The police burst in and treated us brutally. We didn’t know what was happening: we only had contact with the boy by email or cell phone. We feel like victims. To an extent we are.”

Cry me a river, Sheikh. Your boy is guilty.

Egypt: Want sexually harrassed? Veil your lollipop.

So much for all those claims that wearing the hijab "guards your chastity". The hijab is nothing but a political symbol like the hood of the ku klux klan. Wake up Muslimas, not only are you being used - you're getting harassed (and worse) for it.

Veil your lollipop.

In a Muslim country where the numbers of women wearing the veil are rising, and so -- by most accounts -- are incidents of groping and catcalls in the streets, the message in ads circulating anonymously in e-mails here in Egypt is clear:

"A veil to protect, or eyes will molest," one warns.

The words sit over two illustrations, one comparing a veiled woman, her hair and neck covered in the manner known to Muslims as hijab, to a wrapped candy, untouched and pure. The other picture shows an unveiled woman, hair flying wildly and hip jutting, next to a candy that has had its wrapper stripped off -- and is now covered in flies.

Survey says:

A new survey by the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights makes harassment on the streets appear not a risk, but a virtual certainty. According to the center, 98 percent of the foreign women and 83 percent of the Egyptian women surveyed said they had been sexually harassed in the country.

About half of the women, Egyptian and non-Egyptian, said they were harassed every day as they went about the streets. The survey polled 2,020 Egyptian men and women and 109 non-Egyptian women.

Among Egyptian women, 72 percent of those who described incidents of harassment said they were veiled at the time.

Female travelers consider Egypt one of the worst countries in the world for harassment on the streets -- second only to Afghanistan, where the Taliban forced all women behind the veil and into seclusion in their homes.

But Islam has nothing to do with it, of course. From Jannah.org, a muslim propaganda site based in Hoboken NJ.

The HIJAB IS A SORT OF "SCREEN" BETWEEN THE CHASTE MUSLIM WOMAN AND THE EVIL THAT EXISTS IN THE WORLD. When a woman wears a hijab she is less likely to be harassed by men with lusty motives; SHE IS LESS LIKELY TO BE EXPLOITED FOR HER BEAUTY AND FEMINITY.

Obama: Spending like a drunken sailor

That $51 million he raised last month? It still wasn't enough to cover the monthly expenses of his "large field operation".

The campaign said it ended the month with $65.8 million in cash, about $5 million less than it reported on hand June 30, excluding debt. That suggests the campaign's spending more than doubled month to month, to nearly $56 million in July from $25.7 million in June. Sen. McCain also spent more than he took in: He ended July with about $4 million less on hand. But his monthly spending remained steady in July at about $31 million.

And he's still losing ground in the polls.

The Pew poll, with a 2.5-percentage-point margin of error, found 46 percent of the voters surveyed favored or leaned toward Mr. Obama, while 43 percent supported his Republican opponent - a near tie. That was in sharp contrast to the same group's poll in June, which showed Mr. Obama with a comfortable eight-point lead over Mr. McCain, 48 percent to 40 percent.

The Gallup Poll's daily tracking survey also reported Friday that the race is a tie, 44 percent to 44 percent, with Mr. Obama slipping from his 47 percent average over the past week. Gallup said, "The closer margin seen in today's results is due more to movement away from Obama than toward McCain."

Pakistan: I sure hate to see him go.

From Condi Rice:

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pledged today to continue working with the Pakistan Government and thanked outgoing President Pervez Musharraf for aiding the fight against al-Qaeda. "We will continue to work with the Pakistani government and political leaders and urge them to redouble their focus on Pakistan's future and its most urgent needs, including stemming the growth of extremism," Dr Rice said in a statement. (Ed. note: I wouldn't be counting on them to work with us, Condoleezza.) She added that Mr Musharraf, who announced his resignation earlier today, "has been a friend to the United States and one of the world's most committed partners in the war against terrorism and extremism."

From Stephen Smith, Australia's Foreign Minister:

"It is important that the government of Pakistan now moves with purpose to tackle the security and economic challenges facing the country," Mr Smith said. "These challenges have regional and international implications."
Mr Smith said Australia - "as a friend of Pakistan" - would look to assist it in dealing with the challenges "especially in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan".

From David Miliband, Britain's Foreign Secretary:

The announcement by President Musharraf that he is standing down as President brings to a close a critical period in Pakistan’s history and its relations with the UK and other countries. Pakistan is a vital friend of the UK and it is essential for Britain’s security, never mind the personal ties that bind nearly one million British people to Pakistan, that it has a strong and democratic government with a clear mandate and programme for thoroughgoing reform of its social, political and economic structures.”

From Russia's Foreign Ministry: (Ed. note: And it seems all a bit rich given their recent actions in Georgia.)

"Russia hopes the departure of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf will not have negative consequences for the internal political stability of this major Asian nation," the foreign ministry said in a statement. "We hope the situation in Pakistan will not break out of constitutional limits and will remain within the framework of law and order," it said.

The International Herald Tribune is funny.

Headline: Shiite pilgrims head home after largely violence-free rites at Karbala.

Well, except for those three bombings, but I guess they think that's pretty darn good for the Islamonuts. About the attacks: (referenced earlier here.)

A suicide bomber killed 19 pilgrims near the town of Iskandariya on Thursday as they made their way to Karbala.

"This year, the pilgrimage was nice, except for the Iskandariya incident," said Yousif Mohammed Ali, a 41-year-old from the southern city of Basra, before heading home.

Pilgrims then began to pack into buses to leave Karbala, about 80 kilometers, or 50 miles, south of Baghdad, which was under the tight watch of about 40,000 Iraqi police and soldiers backed by snipers, helicopters and bomb-sniffing dogs.

In other attacks on pilgrims, nine were killed Friday at a bus station in Balad, north of Baghdad, and another six were killed in Baghdad on Saturday.

But there was no repeat of the Shiite factional fighting of last year, which turned the area around the shrine into a battle zone for days and prompted the Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr to declare a cease-fire for his Mahdi army militia.

Iraqi security forces searched pilgrims entering the golden-domed Imam Hussein mosque, using 2,000 female police officers to search women. Suicide attacks by women have become more common this year in Iraq, where women can conceal explosives under voluminous black robes and often evade security searches.

The Religion of Peace's idea of a good time.