"We really are pathetic." Pat Condell's take on Fitna
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Monday, March 31, 2008
AU: Coordinated Laser attacks on planes
Smart ass or Terrorist ass?
An Australian state is considering banning hand-held laser pointers following a "co-ordinated attack" on planes landing in Sydney.
Six aircraft were forced to alter their flight paths when the beams were shone at the pilots for 15 minutes.
Officials said no one had been arrested.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority stressed there was no danger of the planes crashing because of the lasers. However, pilots have previously complained of being temporarily blinded or of suffering headaches from the glare of the laser.
David Campbell, the police minister of New South Wales, said the state was considering a ban of the small laser pointers.
"There are some penalties that police can impose now, but we're looking to make these items a prohibited weapon in certain circumstances which would lead to substantial fines and possible jail terms," he said.
Other Australian states have already initiated the laser ban.
It is a federal offence in the US to point a laser at an aircraft.
Newsflash: Good news! The Mahdi's here!!!!
Out of the mouths of babes.
Image courtesy of those fine infidels over at The Nose On Your Face.
Bad News - he's Palestinian!
Our friends over at Eye on the World have this eye-opener posted and it's just too juicy and good not to spread the word. Hop over to see the video and give 'em some link love!
Palestinian Cleric Issa Badwan: The Mahdi Was Born in Palestine Four Years Ago; Muslim Conquest of Rome Is Imminent
Following are excerpts from an interview with Palestinian cleric Issa Badwan, which aired on Al-Aqsa TV on February 6, 2008.
Issa Badwan: Someone who is well known and whom I trust – there is no need to mention his name - told me that four years ago, when he was driving his car, he saw an old woman, who stopped him and asked him to take her to hospital, so she could pick up her daughter, who had just given birth. He did her a favor and took her there, and waited for an hour at the entrance. The woman came out, with her daughter and grandson, and when they got into the car, the baby started talking, and said: "Peace and Allah's mercy upon you." They greeted him back.
Interviewer: The newborn baby?
Issa Badwan: Yes, the baby. The baby said... This is what the man told me, and we reported this to Sheik Nizar and to the Islamic Scholars Association...
The newborn baby said: "I am the man who will be killed [sic] by the Antichrist, who will not rule over anyone again." According to the Prophet's hadith, this man [the Mahdi] would be 18-20 years old. These are good tidings.
Of course, the coming of the Antichrist will be preceded by the conquests of Rome in Italy, and Constantinople, like the Prophet told us. These places will be conquered only by the righteous Mahdi.
The Mahdi is from Palestine, as conveyed by Mu'adh bin Jabal, Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas, and Abdullah bin Mas'ud, who were all great imams and scholars.Interviewer: Is anyone following what’s going on with this child?
Issa Badwan: Yes, now his identity is known, and the brothers follow and take good care of him. I would like to convey to the people, as well as to the scholars, that these are times of victory, with the grace of Allah, that the promised Mahdi lives among us, that the people of Palestine will be the standard bearers, who will carry this religion forth and spread its guidance and light.
unh-huh. If you say so...
-end-
al Qaeda Embassy Bomber charged. Virgins await.
US Charges al Qaeda Tanzanian Embassy bomber - he's currently enjoying Club Gitmo but will soon face capital charges and then hopefully, meet his virgins.
The United States announced Monday it had charged a Tanzanian Al-Qaeda leader held at Guantanamo Bay with war crimes in connection with the 1998 US embassy bombings in East Africa.
The Defence Department said it had charged Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani with murder, attacking civilians and material support for terrorism among other charges related to the August 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Dar es Salaam, which killed 11 people and injured hundreds.
Ghailani was arrested in Pakistan in July 2004, and officials said in early 2005 that he had been handed over to US custody. He had been on the FBI’s list of most-wanted terrorists and had a five million US dollar bounty on his head.
The Pentagon said that after the twin bombings in Tanzania and Kenya, which altogether killed more than 200, Ghailani worked as a bodyguard for Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and forged documents and trained recruits.
Guantanamo Bay prosecutors recommended that Ghailani stand trial on capital charges, meaning he would be executed if unanimously found guilty.
The DOD press release announcing the charges can be found beneath the fold.
Charges Sworn Against Detainee Ghailani
The Defense Department announced today that charges have been sworn against Guantanamo Bay detainee Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani of Zanzibar, Tanzania. He is the fifteenth detainee against whom charges have been sworn under the Military Commissions Act.
The charges allege that he participated in the planning and preparation of the attack on the U. S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Aug. 7, 1998. The attack killed 11 people and injured hundreds. It is alleged that Ghailani was involved in the following actions, among other things:
- Purchasing TNT, detonators and detonation cord on multiple occasions and transporting the bomb components to Dar es Salaam;
- Moving the bomb components to various safe houses in and around Dar es Salaam;
- Assisting in the purchase of the truck used in the attack;
- Facilitating the purchase of oxygen cylinder tanks which were used as bomb components;
- Escorting the bomb engineer between Dar es Salaam and Mombasa, Kenya after the bomb had been assembled;
- Scouting the American Embassy with the suicide bomb driver;
- Meeting with co-conspirators in Nairobi, Kenya, shortly before the bombing; and
- Joining the co-conspirators on a flight from Nairobi to Karachi, Pakistan, one day prior to the bombing.
Based on these allegations and others outlined in the charge sheet, Ghailani is charged with the following substantive offenses: murder in violation of the Law of War, murder of protected persons, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, destruction of property in violation of the Law of War and terrorism. In addition, he is charged with conspiracy to commit all of the above offenses.
Ghailani is further charged with providing material support to terrorism. This charge alleges that after the bombing, Ghailani continued in his service to al Qaeda as a document forger, physical trainer at an al Qaeda training camp, and as a bodyguard for Usama bin Laden.
In accordance with the Military Commissions Act of 2006, these sworn charges will be forwarded to the convening authority, Susan J. Crawford. She will then make an independent determination as to whether to refer some, all, or none of the charges to trial by military commission. If the convening authority decides to refer the case to trial, she will designate commission panel members (jurors). The chief trial judge of the Military Commissions Trial Judiciary will detail a military judge to the case.
The chief prosecutor has recommended the charges against Ghailani be referred as capital. If the convening authority, in her sole discretion, decides to refer the case as capital, the accused may face the possibility of being sentenced to death.
The military commissions provide the following protections for the accused: to elect not to testify at trial and to have no adverse inference drawn from it; to be represented by detailed military counsel, as well as civilian counsel of his own selection and at no expense to the government; to examine all evidence presented to a jury by the prosecution; to obtain evidence and to call witnesses on his own behalf including expert witnesses; to confront and cross-examine every witness called by the prosecution; to be present during the presentation of evidence; to have no statements obtained by torture admitted; to have a military commission panel (jury) of at least five military members (12 in a capital case) determine guilt or innocence by a two-thirds majority, or in the case of a capital offense, 12 members must unanimously decide to impose a sentence of death; and the right to an appeal to the Court of Military Commission Review, then through the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to the U. S. Supreme Court.
The charges are only allegations that the accused has committed offenses under the Military Commissions Act, and the accused remains innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. .
The United States announced Monday it had charged a Tanzanian Al-Qaeda leader held at Guantanamo Bay with war crimes in connection with the 1998 US embassy bombings in East Africa.
The Defence Department said it had charged Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani with murder, attacking civilians and material support for terrorism among other charges related to the August 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Dar es Salaam, which killed 11 people and injured hundreds.
Ghailani was arrested in Pakistan in July 2004, and officials said in early 2005 that he had been handed over to US custody. He had been on the FBI’s list of most-wanted terrorists and had a five million US dollar bounty on his head.
The Pentagon said that after the twin bombings in Tanzania and Kenya, which altogether killed more than 200, Ghailani worked as a bodyguard for Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and forged documents and trained recruits.
Guantanamo Bay prosecutors recommended that Ghailani stand trial on capital charges, meaning he would be executed if unanimously found guilty.
The DOD press release announcing the charges can be found beneath the fold.
Charges Sworn Against Detainee Ghailani
The Defense Department announced today that charges have been sworn against Guantanamo Bay detainee Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani of Zanzibar, Tanzania. He is the fifteenth detainee against whom charges have been sworn under the Military Commissions Act.
The charges allege that he participated in the planning and preparation of the attack on the U. S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Aug. 7, 1998. The attack killed 11 people and injured hundreds. It is alleged that Ghailani was involved in the following actions, among other things:
- Purchasing TNT, detonators and detonation cord on multiple occasions and transporting the bomb components to Dar es Salaam;
- Moving the bomb components to various safe houses in and around Dar es Salaam;
- Assisting in the purchase of the truck used in the attack;
- Facilitating the purchase of oxygen cylinder tanks which were used as bomb components;
- Escorting the bomb engineer between Dar es Salaam and Mombasa, Kenya after the bomb had been assembled;
- Scouting the American Embassy with the suicide bomb driver;
- Meeting with co-conspirators in Nairobi, Kenya, shortly before the bombing; and
- Joining the co-conspirators on a flight from Nairobi to Karachi, Pakistan, one day prior to the bombing.
Based on these allegations and others outlined in the charge sheet, Ghailani is charged with the following substantive offenses: murder in violation of the Law of War, murder of protected persons, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, destruction of property in violation of the Law of War and terrorism. In addition, he is charged with conspiracy to commit all of the above offenses.
Ghailani is further charged with providing material support to terrorism. This charge alleges that after the bombing, Ghailani continued in his service to al Qaeda as a document forger, physical trainer at an al Qaeda training camp, and as a bodyguard for Usama bin Laden.
In accordance with the Military Commissions Act of 2006, these sworn charges will be forwarded to the convening authority, Susan J. Crawford. She will then make an independent determination as to whether to refer some, all, or none of the charges to trial by military commission. If the convening authority decides to refer the case to trial, she will designate commission panel members (jurors). The chief trial judge of the Military Commissions Trial Judiciary will detail a military judge to the case.
The chief prosecutor has recommended the charges against Ghailani be referred as capital. If the convening authority, in her sole discretion, decides to refer the case as capital, the accused may face the possibility of being sentenced to death.
The military commissions provide the following protections for the accused: to elect not to testify at trial and to have no adverse inference drawn from it; to be represented by detailed military counsel, as well as civilian counsel of his own selection and at no expense to the government; to examine all evidence presented to a jury by the prosecution; to obtain evidence and to call witnesses on his own behalf including expert witnesses; to confront and cross-examine every witness called by the prosecution; to be present during the presentation of evidence; to have no statements obtained by torture admitted; to have a military commission panel (jury) of at least five military members (12 in a capital case) determine guilt or innocence by a two-thirds majority, or in the case of a capital offense, 12 members must unanimously decide to impose a sentence of death; and the right to an appeal to the Court of Military Commission Review, then through the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to the U. S. Supreme Court.
The charges are only allegations that the accused has committed offenses under the Military Commissions Act, and the accused remains innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. .
Egypt: Fighting for Female Genital Mutilation
Sweet Jesus!Someone help these poor girls.
Islam is the only religion that endorses female genital mutilation.
70% of Egyptian girls today are estimated to be circumcised.
Circumcision is most often performed on female children at the age of seven or eight (before the girl begins to get menstrual periods). On the scene appears the daya or local midwife. Two women members of the family grasp the child's thighs on either side and pull them apart to expose the external genital organs and to prevent her from struggling like trussing a chicken before it is slain. A sharp razor in the hand of the daya cuts off the clitoris.
And this barbarism is occuring in so-called 'moderate' Egypt where Islamists and Moslem clerics are currently fighting legislation to criminalize female circumcision and raise the minimum marriage age.
The criminal penalties they're trying to enforce? A maximum of two years prison and a 5000 pound fine. Sounds like tiddlywinks to me.
The bill "has been met with a storm of protest" by both the majority party and the opposition Islamists. The Muslim Brotherhood has ranted about it too.
Of course, we haven't heard a peep out of the blow-dried, show dog feminists on the subject.
Read more about "cutting the rose" as it is euphemistically called, down below.
The Sunna
Islam is the only major world religion tolerating FGM (p 283). Over a hundred million women world wide especially in the Horn of Africa suffer circumcision removing the clitoris, or infibulation the literal sewing up of the labia to prevent pregnancy. Up to 75% of Egyptian women, including Nawal el Sadaawi herself are 'circumcised'. Muhammad is reputed to have said "reduce but do not destroy" when faced with this practice, but this has led to the sunna cut of the female becoming as traditional as Sunni faith itself:
"The practice of circumcising girls is still a common procedure in a number of Arab countries such as Egypt, the Sudan, Yeman and some of the Gulf states.
The importance given to virginity and an intact hymen in these societies is the reason why female circumcision still remains a very widespread practice despite a growing tendency, especially in urban Egypt, to do away with it as something outdated and harmful.
Behind circumcision lies the belief that, by removing parts of girls' external genital organs, sexual desire is minimized. This permits a female who has reached the 'dangerous age' of puberty and adolescence to protect her virginity, and therefore her honour, with greater ease.
Chastity was imposed on male attendants in the female harem by castration which turned them into inoffensive eunuchs. Similarly female circumcision is meant to preserve the chastity of young girls by reducing their desire for sexual intercourse.
-end-
LiveLeak restores Fitna.
Bravo! Free Speech Lives on. (h/t A Blog For All)
On the 28th of March LiveLeak.com was left with no other choice but to remove the film "fitna" from our servers following serious threats to our staff and their families. Since that time we have worked constantly on upgrading all security measures thus offering better protection for our staff and families. With these measures in place we have decided to once more make this video live on our site. We will not be pressured into censoring material which is legal and within our rules. We apologise for the removal and the delay in getting it back, but when you run a website you don't consider that some people would be insecure enough to threaten our lives simply because they do not like the content of a video we neither produced nor endorsed but merely hosted.
-end-
Two Detained near Picatinny Arsenal
Sounds to me like they were casing the joint.
Although, you do have to admit that the I LOVE ISRAEL bumper sticker was a nice touch.
Two people are being detained after being taken into custody near the Picatinny Arsenal and authorities are investigating photos taken around the area of the base late Sunday afternoon. One witness, according to the Daily Record, reported seeing an official using what appeared to be a Geiger counter near the seen. This has not been confirmed by officials.
Authorities closed a span of Route 15 South near the Rockaway Township-Wharton border around 4:30 p.m., where FBI agents, state, county and local police gathered around a tan Nissan Pathfinder with New Jersey license plates.
The suspect vehicle may have been used by two individuals who fled after being spotted taking photos that piqued the interest of the Department of Defense, said Robyn D’Onofrio, a spokeswoman for the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office. The section of the shoulder where the SUV apparently stopped runs alongside a grassy divide that separates southbound Route 15 from a small side street, West Union Turnpike.
The SUV, which had a small, white, bumper sticker that said “I Love Israel” on the rear bumper, was towed away around 7:45 p.m. Diapers were visible in the trunk near a pair of flip-flops and other items, and a box of baby wipes apparently had been placed on the street with other items from the vehicle.
The investigation into the content of the photos is ongoing and is being led by the Department of Defense, according to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.
About Picatinny Arsenal:
The motto on the Picatinny Arsenal’s Web site is “Home of American Fire Power.”
“Picatinny plays a unique role in the United States’ ability to wage war,” according to Picatinny’s Web site. “There is no other comprehensive armaments facility like it in the country; it is a one-of-a-kind facility that provides virtually all of the lethal mechanisms used in Army weapon systems and those of the other military services.”
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More of that Moslem Honor in Saudi Facebook killing
Facebook Girl beaten and shot dead by her father for talking online.
(h/t Sugiero)
A woman was beaten up and shot dead by her father for talking online with a man she met on the website Facebook. The case was reported on a Saudi Arabian news site as an example of the "strife" the social networking site is causing in the Islamic nation.
A leading Saudi preacher told Al-Arabiya.net that Facebook was a "door to lust" for women and called for it to be blocked to prevent social "strife".
Sheikh Ali al-Maliki said women were posting "revealing pictures" and "behaving badly" on the site, which has become popular with young Saudis.
-end-
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Austrian Hostages - most recent deadline extended to April 6
but no western news reports since March 28. Those reports claimed the hostages were being held at an undisclosed location in Northern Mali. Today, the Malian Parliament 'denied their existence in the region.'
It doesn't sound good.
-end-
Al Qaeda: The clear and present danger - a snapshot in time
Not only is Michael Hayden warning of the clear and present danger that the Al Qaeda's Paki-Afghan tribal region safe haven now represents. He's also advising that the operatives being trained there look Western. Cornered rats get dangerous.
So let's say that we manage to rout them in the border region like we are currently doing in Iraq. (A successful outcome I have every confidence in.) Like a game of whack-a-mole, the AQ's will be popping up again. Next stop: The Dark Continent so let's take a look at what is happening there today.
Uganda: Al Qaeda suspects held. Officials play coy about the total number of Al Qaeda suspects nabbed, released or still in custody since the beginning of the year. It looks like 20 might be the number, give or take a few. The important part: "The majority of the suspected Al Qaeda agents picked by Ugandan security for questioning are said to be from Pakistan, London, Somalia, Iraq, Yemen, Canada and Ireland. "
And Algeria is proving to be quite the Al Qaeda hot spot and has this slightly convoluted but happy news to report: Al Qaeda fertilizer sources dry up... (you have to read the article) and a suicide bomber is eliminated. And you can gain some insight on how al Qaeda has been working to establish an Algerian safe haven here. While reading about another case of an al Qaeda safe haven currently making it's way through the Algerian courts system.
And in another display of al Qaeda tactics, al Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb (AQIM) have posted the farewell video of a 15 yo suicide bomber involved in an attack on an Algerian Coast Guard barracks. It's billed as the last meeting with his friends before blowing himself up. I'm betting drugs were involved here, too.
In Somalia, Islamists fire mortars on the Presidential Palace. The government returns fire on the Bakara marketplace where 10 were killed and dozens wounded. The market is a major base for the 'insurgents' and the source of rocket attacks. Typical Islamist tactic - fire from a site surrounded by civilians. (It looks like the Bakara market death toll is now up to 21 - including 6 women.)
Meanwhile back in the western world: The Daily Mail is reporting that MI-5 and anti-terror police units are carrying out secret background checks on thousands of employees of British research laboratories amid fears of the potential for AQ infiltration... And about those pesky Algerians? Algerian nationals and House of Commons representatives sue Police of London in justice because of the "many Algerians living in Finsbury Park, in the suburbs of London, having been mistreated during an operation aiming at dismantling wrongdoer’s bands, led by the Police of London..."
And one last Algerian tidbit: Strategy Page is reporting that Al Qaeda has "at least one death squad that is hunting down and killing clerics who speak out against Islamic terrorism, or are otherwise cooperating with the government. Several clerics have been murdered, and many more threatened."
-end-
Moslems have overtaken us
for the first time ever.
For the first time ever, there are more Muslims than Roman Catholics, the Vatican said yesterday.
Monsignor Vittorio Formenti, who compiled the Vatican's 2008 yearbook of statistics, said Muslims made up 19.2 per cent of the world's population and Catholics 17.4 per cent.
'For the first time in history we are no longer at the top. The Muslims have overtaken us,' he added.
Monsignor Formenti said that if all Christian groups were considered, including Orthodox churches, Anglicans and Protestants, Christians made up 33 per cent of the world's population - or about two billion. The data referred to 2006.
The Vatican recently put the number of Catholics in the world at 1.13billion.
It did not provide a figure for Muslims but these are generally estimated at around 1.3billion.
Monsignor Formenti said that, while the number of Catholics as a proportion of the population was fairly stable, the percentage of Muslims was growing because of higher birth rates.
Oh no he didn't!
Get off my bus I need to pray, you dhimmis. (h/t Religion of Peace) Just when you thought you'd heard everything... (video at the link)
A MUSLIM bus driver told stunned passengers to get off so he could PRAY.
The white Islamic convert rolled out his prayer mat in the aisle and knelt on the floor facing Mecca.
Passengers watched in amazement as he held out his palms towards the sky, bowed his head and began to chant.
One, who filmed the man on his mobile phone, said: “He was clearly praying and chanting in Arabic.
“We thought it was a wind-up at first, like Jeremy Beadle.” The 21-year-old plumber added: “He looked English and had a London accent. He looked like a Muslim convert, with a big, bushy beard. Eventually everyone started complaining. One woman said, ‘What the hell are you doing? I’m going to be late for work’.”
After a few minutes the driver calmly got up, opened the doors and asked everyone back on board. But they saw a rucksack lying on the floor of the red single-decker and feared he might be a fanatic. So they all...
...refused.
The passenger added: “One chap said, ‘I’m not getting on there now’.
“An elderly couple also looked really confused and worried.
“After seeing that no-one wanted to get on he drove off and we all waited until the next bus came about 20 minutes later. I was left totally stunned. It made me not want to get on a bus again.”
The bizarre event unfolded on the number 81 in Langley, Berkshire, at around 1.30pm on Thursday.
The passenger said he rang the bus firm to complain but claimed it did not believe him.
He said: “They asked me, ‘Are you sure?’. Then they said they would get back to me, but they weren’t taking me seriously at all.”
Yesterday the driver, who said his name was Hrun, told The Sun: “I asked everyone to get off because I needed to pray. I was running late and had not had time. “I pray five times a day as a Muslim — but I don’t normally ask people to get off the bus to do it.”
Muslims pray at pre-dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset and evening.
A spokesperson for bus company London United said: “We are aware of a reported incident involving our route 81.
“We are currently undertaking a full investigation into the matter.”
The Art of the Con
Oops! Heads up. Lehman has a massive fiasco on it's hands. And they're saying it's of Enron-like proportions.
Lehman Brothers was fleeced out of more than $355 million in a fraud the U.S. investment bank believes was perpetrated by two employees at Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp. according to a person briefed on the matter.
The fraud may have hit other financial institutions as well, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
How it went down:
The person briefed in the matter told Reuters that two former Marubeni employees -- Shingo Yamaura and Takuro Nitahara -- convinced Lehman to help finance what it understood were Marubeni's equipment leases and supply contracts with hospitals. Lehman gave the partnership money in advance to fund initial leases and contracts.
When Lehman sought payment under its deal on Feb 29, 2008, Marubeni said the seals on the contracts had been forged, and refused payment, according to the person briefed on the matter.
Marubeni declined comment on Lehman's statements, and said it could not give information on people no longer with the trading house or comment on ongoing investigations.
Marubeni also claims that the two former employees were independent contractors. In any event, it's going to be a big mess before all is said and done. Hope it's not another nail in Lehman's coffin.
The Art of the Deal.
Mookie declares false peace. Again.
Poor Mehdis. Getting their butt kicked every which way. Long War Journal reports:
Since the fighting began on Tuesday 358 Mahdi Army fighters were killed, 531 were wounded, 343 were captured, and 30 surrendered. The US and Iraqi security forces have killed 125 Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad alone, while Iraqi security forces have killed 140 Mahdi fighters in Basra.
From March 25-29 the Mahdi Army had an average of 71 of its fighters killed per day. Sixty-nine fighters have been captured per day, and another 160 have been reported wounded per day during the fighting. The US and Iraqi military never came close to inflicting casualties during the height of major combat operations against al Qaeda in Iraq during the summer and fall of 2007.
Now Mookie wants to play the false surrender game but his thugs on the street aren't happy.
"We are now making phone calls to headquarters," a low-level Mehdi Army commander who gave his name as Abu Haidar told Reuters. "We don't know what to do. If we carry guns the government will oppose us, but if we put them down, the Americans will come, surround our homes and capture us."
Another Sadr City street commander, Abu Aqeel, said: "We don't have a choice. We should respect the order of Moqtada al-Sadr. But we will respect it with unease.
"There are worries, because this order will allow the American forces to capture and kill us one after another."
Sadly, it looks like al-Maliki is buying into the whole hudna. But warns that actions will be taken against those who disobey the cease fire conditions. Sadr's offer does not come without strings. His conditions for the cease fire include: a halt to all raids and release of prisoners without charges being levied.
Meanwhile, Iranian weapons continue to be used to kill our soldiers. And nobody says boo!
It's that time of the year again...
Happy Birthday to me.
Hah-hah. Can you believe another whole year has gone by already, possums? Kinda scary.
I was going to post a long reflection on my reflection of this past year of blogging but have decided to spare you that agony.
Suffice to say that I have been teetering on the blog brink for some time now. Yep. Been thinking about throwing in the towel and just quitting cold turkey. But, I swear it's like crack to me - I can't seem to quit it.
I tried taking a day or two, off. That helped for - about a minute.
Then I thought - maybe if I played around with the template a little bit and got a new, fresh look, I might get a new and better attitude. This thinking was going on around the same time that the Obama Pastor Disaster business broke and before I knew it - Obama was sucking all the air out of my anti-jihad room. So I started fiddling with a new template and filled it with observations about Obama just for kicks.
You know what happened. Now, I have two blogs that I can't seem to quit.
If you have any interest in little known Obama fun facts and messianic utterances - you can find the blog that saved Dinah Lord here.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and everyone of my dear readers. I know you're out there! And I'd also like to apologize because I just discovered that I haven't been getting any comment notification!
Who knew?
I have no idea how long it's been - so to all of those who have commented and then thought, "bitch" because I didn't reply. I am truly sorry for missing your well-considered remarks!
(And I will be probably messing around with the DL template in future.)
Taking the rest of the day off to watch the NCAA (my brackets are bad) and then take a spin around the hood in my b-day present.
(metallic red)
Slap me silly and call me Imam...
I don't know where No Compromises finds this stuff but it's hilarious...
-end-
Dr. Wafa Sultan in hiding after receiving death threats
Can you believe this shi&?
An American citizen in hiding because of a FATWA issued by a Islamic cleric?
It's true. Back on March 4th, Dr. Sultan appeared on an al-Jazeera program about the re-publication of the Mo-toons. (She was awesome, as ever and I can only marvel at her composure and her grace under pressure as she smacked down the Islamic hardliners she was debating.)
It is hard for me to imagine her having to go into hiding with her family but since Egyptian Islamist Sheik al-Qaradawi has issued his fatwa that is what has happened. According to Robert Spencer:
Spencer concludes, "These are serious charges, and Qaradawi states them in terms that his jihadist minions will understand as meaning that she must be killed.
Thanks to Always on Watch (and Memri) for bringing this to our attention. The Memri vids of the Al Jazeera interview are below. Do yourself a favor and watch them. She is amazing.
Through Brigitte Gabriel, Dr. Sultan has made a request for our help. She asks that we send a letter to the Embassy of Qatar (al-Jazeera's home base) advising them of the situation. Contact info and a sample letter can be found here at the site.
It will only take a minute and lord knows, after seeing the way the Dutch government has "supported" Geert Wilders, I'm starting to think we sure won't be able to count on the US government to do anything...
There's more info beneath the fold - and get this, al-Jazeera apologized to their viewing public because of Dr. Sultan's "offensive remarks" after this program.
Bold ex-Muslim threatened by top sheik
Wafa Sultan shocks Islamic TV audience again, Al Jazeera apologizes
Wafa Sultan – the Syria-born psychiatrist whose Al Jazeera interview two years ago sent shockwaves throughout the Islamic world – reportedly is the target of a serious tacit death threat from an influential Muslim scholar in the wake of a second interview with the Arab satellite television network.
Al Jazeera issued an apology after Sultan's interview earlier this month, pointing to "offensive remarks" but never specifying anything she said. Since then, however, the prominent Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi of Egypt "has directed his rage against Sultan," writes author and Jihad Watch director Robert Spencer in FrontPage Magazine
Qaradawi said Sultan, a former Muslim, uttered "unbearable, ghastly things that made my hair stand on end." Specifically, "she had the audacity to publicly curse Allah, his prophet, the Quran, the history of Islam and the Islamic nation."
Spencer concludes, "These are serious charges, and Qaradawi states them in terms that his jihadist minions will understand as meaning that she must be killed.
"Given that Qaradawi has justified suicide attacks against Israeli civilians and American soldiers in Iraq, it is clear that he has no distaste for violence, and thus law enforcement officials should take his latest fulminations against Wafa Sultan very seriously indeed," Spencer writes.
In her Al Jazeera appearance this month, she defended the Danish cartoons of Muhammad that have sparked violence by Muslims around the globe.
"The reactions of the Muslims, which were characterized by savageness, barbarism, and backwardness, only increased the value of these cartoons and gave them more importance than they merited, simply because they proved that these cartoons were true, and that the message they were conveying was true." Sultan said.
"The Muslim is an irrational creature ruled by instincts," she declared. "Those teachings have deprived him of his mind, incited his emotions and reduced him to the level of an inferior creature that cannot control himself or react to events rationally."
An Egyptian Islamist, Tal'at Rmeih, who debated Sultan on the March 4 Al Jazeera show, replied: "God help me. First, Islam is too great to be harmed by the publisher of the cartoon, or by that woman who is talking over there. The truth is that everything she said is 100 percent false, I'm sad to say. It seems to me that the American and Zionist intelligence agencies have begun to produce people who are hostile to their own nation."
Spencer points out that Qaradawi – who was praised by Saudi-funded U.S. academic John Esposito as a "reformist" – in 2006 exhorted Muslims to fight against Israel by invoking the traditional saying of Muhammad, that on the Day of Judgment "even the stones and the trees will speak, with or without words, and say: 'Oh servant of Allah, oh Muslim, there's a Jew behind me, come and kill him.'"
Sultan first drew attention worldwide in a February 2006 Al-Jazeera interview that spread across the Internet through a video clip produced by the Middle East Media Research Institute.
In her interview this month, Sultan charged that if Islam "were not the way it is, those cartoons would never have appeared. They did not appear out of the blue, and the cartoonist did not dig them out of his imagination. Rather, they are a reflection of his knowledge."
"Westerners who read the words of the Prophet Muhammad, 'Allah has given me sustenance under the shadow of my sword,' cannot imagine Muhammad's turban in the shape of a dove of peace rather than in the shape of a bomb," she said. "The Muslims must learn how to listen to the criticism of others, and maybe then they will reexamine their terrorist teachings."
Qaradawi fired back, saying her statements are "all based on ignorance," contending she has no knowledge of the Quran or Sunna, the body of customs based on the acts of Muhammad. The sheik also
Spencer says Qaradawi falsely charges – "with stinging irony in light of his support for suicide attacks" – that Sultan "sanctions the killing of Muslims in Gaza and elsewhere, claiming that they deserve to be killed."
Sultan, says Spencer, has "yet again shown up the hollowness of the denial, obfuscation, and finger-pointing that all too many Islamic leaders engage in rather than embarking upon the searching self-reflection" she urges along with and other "defenders of universal human rights and human dignity."
"Wafa Sultan is a national and international treasure," Spencer says. "The American government should be rushing to protect her against any who might be motivated to act by the distortions of the thuggish Qaradawi."
Named to Time Magazine's list of 100 influential people in the world, Sultan told WND in 2006 Bush's insistence Islam is a religion of peace has been "empowering" to Muslim leaders whose ultimate aim is for Islamic law to govern the world.
In her February 2006 Al-Jazeera appearance, which first brought her death threats, she asserted the world is witnessing "a battle between modernity and barbarism which Islam will lose."
The video clip is estimated to have been viewed at least 1 million times, according to the New York Times.
Sultan's 2006 interview found her squaring off with Al-Jazeera host Faisal al-Qasim and Islamic scholar Ibrahim Al-Khouli about Samuel P. Huntington's "clash of civilizations" theory. The exchange took place on the 90-minute discussion program "The Opposite Direction," with Sultan speaking via satellite from Los Angeles.
"The clash we are witnessing around the world is not a clash of religions, or a clash of civilizations," she said. "It is a clash between two opposites, between two eras. It is a clash between a mentality that belongs to the Middle Ages and another mentality that belongs to the 21st century. It is a clash between civilization and backwardness, between the civilized and the primitive, between barbarity and rationality. It is a clash between freedom and oppression, between democracy and dictatorship. It is a clash between human rights, on the one hand, and the violation of these rights, on other hand. It is a clash between those who treat women like beasts, and those who treat them like human beings. What we see today is not a clash of civilizations. Civilizations do not clash, but compete."
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Criminy Dutch! Now even the Dutch burghers are suing over Fitna!
Can't say with certainty that I am Queen Beatrix related...Dutch businesses mull suing Wilders over anti-Islam film.
Small car-be-cue and Wilders death threat reported - although the police couldn't say with "certainty" whether or not it was Fitna related. Ha-ha-ha. And I'm Queen Beatrix.
THE HAGUE: Dutch businesses warned on Saturday that they would consider suing far-right lawmaker Geert Wilders if his anti-Islam film led to a commercial boycott of Dutch goods, while police said cars were set ablaze and graffiti called for Wilders to be killed.
“A boycott would hurt Dutch exports. Businesses such as Shell, Philips, and Unilever are easily identifiable as Dutch companies. I don’t know if Wilders is rich, or well-insured, but in case of a boycott, we would look to see if we could make him bear responsibility,” Bernard Wientjes, the chairman of the Dutch employers’ organisation VNO-NCW, told the Het Financieel Dagblad newspaper.
...Although there were no mass disturbances in the Netherlands, two cars were set ablaze in Utrecht overnight, with a slogan calling for the death of Wilders. Police said they could not say with certainty that it was connected to the release of “Fitna”.
The Arab League - cracking like an egg.
Thanks, Abdullah. Next time you talk to your buddy, Saud...Eggs? I like mine scrambled well and I wonder if Dick Cheney's little swing around the region last week had anything to do with the sudden steel in the spine of the Saudis, Egyptians and Jordanians?
Despite Infighting, Meeting of Arab League gets underway in Damascus.
As Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s president, opened the annual Arab summit meeting here on Saturday morning, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister convened a competing news conference in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, with new criticism of Syrian policy, underscoring the bitter political feud that nearly upended this year’s Arab gathering.
The meeting had already suffered from deliberate absences, with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Egypt boycotting in an unusual rebuke to Syria, which they blame for the continuing political crisis in Lebanon. King Abdullah of Jordan and President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen, both strong Saudi allies, also decided to stay away at the last minute, as did Lebanon.
Despite Infighting, Meeting of Arab League gets underway in Damascus.
As Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s president, opened the annual Arab summit meeting here on Saturday morning, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister convened a competing news conference in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, with new criticism of Syrian policy, underscoring the bitter political feud that nearly upended this year’s Arab gathering.
The meeting had already suffered from deliberate absences, with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Egypt boycotting in an unusual rebuke to Syria, which they blame for the continuing political crisis in Lebanon. King Abdullah of Jordan and President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen, both strong Saudi allies, also decided to stay away at the last minute, as did Lebanon.
Out of the mouths of dictators. From Moammar's lips to God's ears...
“Even you, or us — friends of America — Washington might decide to hang us one day.”
I sincerely hope so, Moammar.
Saudi slams Syria.
In a Press conference broadcast live on some Arab TV channels during the League summit's opening session in Damascus, Prince Saud Al Faisal said from Riyadh that "the kingdom has never boycotted a summit before."
He blamed his boycott on Syria, and implicitly blasted the country for worsening most of the crisis in the Middle East, especially in Lebanon.
-end-
The Art of the Deal
Sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you.blackhedd (now, there's a nic for you) over at RedState has put up an excellent series of articles on recent events in the US financial markets. If you loved Chaos Trade , Pay Attention to the Signs and Bear Stearns Meltdown you will dig: More on the Federal Reserve's St. Patrick's Day Massacre. The comments are illuminating and entertaining, as well. Definitely click-worthy.
Here's a sampling to get you started:
I now have much more information on what this deal is all about. I guessed quite wrong about the deal structure. The $30 billion loan is not a term repo as I originally thought. Nor is it likely to generate monetary losses for taxpayers. (In fact, the opposite is true.)
But it is something bold and different that's worth understanding. In fact, it's a major milestone event in the monetary and financial history of the United States.
Before I launch into this, let me set the context by reminding you why all this financial mumbo-jumbo is important: it's because of politics. Even before the full effects of the credit crisis make themselves felt, we're already deeply into a paroxysm of "the sky is falling! What is the government going to do about it?" I'll be posting as much as I can on this subject in the coming days and weeks, because there is at least as much danger to the real economy from a mad dash toward new regulations and Federal involvement, as there is from the financial-system disorders themselves.
-end-
Here's a sampling to get you started:
I now have much more information on what this deal is all about. I guessed quite wrong about the deal structure. The $30 billion loan is not a term repo as I originally thought. Nor is it likely to generate monetary losses for taxpayers. (In fact, the opposite is true.)
But it is something bold and different that's worth understanding. In fact, it's a major milestone event in the monetary and financial history of the United States.
Before I launch into this, let me set the context by reminding you why all this financial mumbo-jumbo is important: it's because of politics. Even before the full effects of the credit crisis make themselves felt, we're already deeply into a paroxysm of "the sky is falling! What is the government going to do about it?" I'll be posting as much as I can on this subject in the coming days and weeks, because there is at least as much danger to the real economy from a mad dash toward new regulations and Federal involvement, as there is from the financial-system disorders themselves.
-end-
Lunch with the First Lady
Another exciting Possum Cam adventure...Well possums, blogging was light at the beginning of the week because of my road trip over to Kansas to hear First Lady, Laura Bush speak at a fundraiser for US Senator Pat Roberts. Having never attended one of these shindigs before I wasn't sure what to expect. Would a chicken dish be on the menu? Would it taste like rubber? Would the room be full of 'typical white women' in St. John's knit suits and bouffant hairdos? What would security be like? Would I be at a table so far back in the room that I wouldn't be able to see her?
The answers to these burning questions are: Yes. No. No. Somewhat present, but unobtrusive and no.
The event was held at the Sheraton Overland Park in the Cottonwood Ballroom and we drove over from Lawrence with time to spare to check out the scene. The Possum Cam was live. Sort of. The phrase operator error comes to mind. (Note to self: work on possum cam skills.)
The view from the back of the room - it really wasn't that big, holding just 44 tables each seating 9 at $500 a seat = $198, 000. (Not a bad haul for a 20 minute speech!) We were at table 34, third row of tables back, but with an excellent angle on the podium. And having gotten there early, we were in the Princess seats - the two with the most comfortable viewing of the stage, no craning your neck in these!
Our table awaits and luncheon is served...
The Menu: Tossed mixed greens w/ balsamic viniagrette, Fontina, Pancetta, and Spinach stuffed French cut chicken, Risotto Parmesano and glazed baby carrots. Getting in the room early not only affords one the princess seat, it also allows for the princess dessert swap. I swapped my Baby Chocolate Bundt Cake for the Raspberry Summer Breeze. (Just so you know - the luncheon was better than the dinner I had at Lawrence's most chi-chi restaurant later that night - so much for those rubber chicken rumors. Our politicos are eating higher at the trough than they'd like us all to believe!)The room continued to fill up as a pianist tickled the ivories with songs like "Ain't she sweet" and "You musta been a beautiful baby" before breaking out the patriotic standards like "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and "America, The Beautiful." The doors were closed promptly at 11:45 and the warm-up acts began. Mayor Peggy Dunn of Leawood was dubbed Master of Ceremonies and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. She introduced Senator Sam Brownback who made the opening remarks and gave a shout out to the other local politicos in the room then gave a short speech about his impressions of the First Lady and also Sen Roberts. He then told us to chow down, so chow down we did. The most humorous highlight of the occasion was when the Lord and Master was reading the program. "Holy Shit," he exclaimed. "I'm listed as a PATRON on this thing!" (I was too busy gabbing with my charming and lively seatmates to notice!)
We had three empty seats at our table - so I don't know if the place was sold out or not. It's hard to say because there were a number of folks that came in when Laura arrived, including a couple at our table - who had been in a group meeting privately with the First Lady. I wish I could give you more info on the meeting but they were being kind of snotty about giving up the details. Maybe it was me interrogating them like Barbara Walters - hah!)
Being a security chick (thinking of you, No Compromises) and all I was kind of surprised at the level of security. Or not. It was clearly present as is visible by the big ass SWAT vehicle parked outside...
But was light at the door - what appeared to be the local PD, 1 in uniform, 1 in plain clothes were at the door. (just visible through the couple behind us as we walked in - damn they hopped in my shot at the last minute)
Here's where the security surprise comes in - there was no bag checking, there was no magnetometer walk-through, hell, they didn't even check our photo ids! We just waltzed right up, gave our names and breezed right in.
A Secret Service detail arrived right before the First Lady. Check them out - I know you've seen these faces in the crowds accompanying the President and First Lady before.
Call me a typical white person but this gal's going to end up being busy if the Obamas get in...
And now - what you've all been reading for... Laura Bush. (I got a little misty-eyed when I first saw her.)
She really is as pretty in person as she appears in the media. She was gracious, charming and composed. Her speech focused solely on the Senator and she never let us forget what she was there for, and that was to get Senator Roberts re-elected. What were her biggest applause lines? Making George Bush's taxcuts permanent and the remarks she made on education.
After her speech Senator Roberts escorted her to one of the front tables and she shook about 6 hands before her security detail whisked her out the back door and she was gone! (I do have her speech on possum videocam if anyone is interested.. take your dramamine before watching. It's a little wavy-gravy.) A good time was had by all, Possums. I'm so glad I was able to attend. Hugs and kisses to the L & M for getting me in the door. Now I'm scheming and dreaming about getting to DC for W's farewell in January. Any ideas?
Bonus Possum Cam coverage: Tell me, does this look like a bomb to you?
I sure hope it is and that it is headed to the Paki-Afghan border region with OBL's name on it!-end-
The New Crusades: War of the Dungarees
First, there was Allah Akbar Jeans, now Jesus will make his second coming in his:
(And it's right here in Dinah's hood.)
Proclaim your faith on your backside.
A fledgling Palmer Lake clothing company hopes that's exactly what you'll want to do.
Castle Rock Jeans & Apparel, 780 Colorado Highway 105, is rolling out high-end jeans with a back pocket decorated with a Christianrelated symbol and a corresponding biblical verse inside the waistband.
The line, called His Spirit Jeans, fills a market niche for Christian clothes while spreading the Gospel, said company President Bob Beard, 66.
"We want to be in good taste, fashion-balanced and at the same time impart an inspirational message," Beard said.
You can get your Jesus Jeans here. This is the pair Dinah will soon be sporting on her backside...
Another pair not-so-subtly combines American nationalism and religion. The symbol: the presidential seal. The verse: Psalms 33:12 - "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord."
Malaysia: Don't you wish your houri was hot like me?
Raunchy Pussycat Dolls cop fine.
(h/t Religion of Peace)
AMERICAN all-girl pop group the Pussycat Dolls have been fined for a concert display in Malaysia that displayed much more than their singing talents.
The group has been fined $3400 for a show in the capital Kuala Lumpur in which the group let it all hang out - literally.
During the routine Carmit Bachar flashed a breast and Ashley Roberts - wearing a very short pair of shorts - was accused of a different kind of flashing that would have done Britney Spears proud.
The group was fined for performing "sexually suggestive" routines.
You be the judge:
.
-end-
Friday, March 28, 2008
US banks "missing a trick" with Muslim Customers
This is the actual headline from CNN - which really is beginning to sound like Crescent News Network. Read it and weep - I mean, for crying out loud, they go so far as to even call it a "trick" in the headline! Their ultimate conclusion? The US market remains 'unexploited'.
When it comes to Sharia-compliant banking, few Western countries can compete with Britain. One of the world's prime financial centers, the City of London is also the key Western hub for Islamic banking.
With 23 banks, nine fund managers and a number of international law firms offering Islamic finance in the City, by 2006 British Sharia-compliant assets were thought to be in the region of $22 billion.
The global industry has trebled in the past decade and is now worth around $531 billion.
Britain is also in the vanguard when it comes to Sharia-compliant retail banking ...
... catering for its population of approximately three million Muslims.
In 2004, the Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB) opened its doors for the first time, becoming the UK's first and only standalone Islamic high street bank.
A number of Britain's "big five" high street banks are getting in on the act. Lloyds TSB and HSBC offer Islamic banking, including mortgages, current accounts and trust funds for children.
In the retail market, Britain is the only European country that offers government-authorized Islamic banking products.
In the United States, only regional banks like University Bank, Michigan offer Sharia-compliant products.
"In France, Islamic finance is at an embryonic stage. They are where we were three or four years ago," Sultan Choudhury, the IBB's director of sales told the Financial Times.
British mosques dating back 150 years attest to the long connection between the United Kingdom and Muslims, but it is the British government's staunch support of the sector -- backing words with legislative changes -- that has responded to the needs of Muslims in the financial world.
Junaid Bhatti, who was involved with the setup of the IBB, told CNN: "Government is a firm supporter of the industry down to amending legislation to create a level playing field for Islamic banking."
The British sector is currently experiencing phenomenal growth of around 20 percent per year compared with global growth of around 15 percent. Industry insiders feel there is still scope for continued growth.
Aktar Ahmed of Lloyds TSB Islamic finance told CNN: "Islamic finance is still in its infancy at the moment. We're seeing a fantastic rate of growth both globally and here in the UK."
Lloyds TSB now offers Sharia-compliant banking at all of its 2,000 UK branches. Services include an Islamic current account, mortgage and child trust fund.
Islamic mortgages have proved particularly successful in Britain, with the market growing from barely a trickle in 2003 to a value of $1.7 billion in 2007.
But Islamic banking in the United States is suffering from an image problem. Many Americans are felt to be hostile to the concept after the 9/11 attacks, equating it with "terrorist finance."
"There seems to be this misperception out there that the U.S. is perhaps Islamophobic," said Abdi Shayesteh, an attorney at law firm King and Spalding, which has had a practice dedicated to Islamic banking and finance since the 1980s.
"The U.S. regulators have been supportive and they've accommodated Islamic banking and finance since the mid 80s," Shayesteh told CNN.
With a best-guess figure of six million Muslims in the United States of whom around 60 percent are devout (and therefore likely to use Islamic banking services), Shayesteh considers domestic Sharia-compliant banking an untapped market.
"We have at least 3.6 million [potential customers] at the very base level market opportunity for banks from abroad and here to tap into," he explained.
Even so, with constitutional limits on promoting any one religion over another, which keeps legislators quiet about the opportunities, and no sign that any major American banks will be rolling out Islamic products, the market remains unexploited for now.
Welcome to the Jungle
Calais riot police break up vicious battle between 'armed migrants' and people smugglers.
When riot police arrived at the scene most of the mob had fled to a nearby wood known as "The Jungle" where many of the hundreds of migrants to be found in Calais every day live in makeshift camps.
The incident is thought to be linked to the vast sums of money paid to smugglers.
The four men tried to seek refuge in the clubhouse of the Calais dog club. Bruno Laurent, the club president, said: "It was just after 5pm on Thursday evening when four migrants came running into our HQ.
"They were followed by a gang of between 40 and 50 other migrants who were all brandishing iron bars, batons and knives.
"A fight broke out in front of us. It went on for anything up to six minutes.
"At the end of it all four men were lying in pools of blood with wounds, and then another stabbed man was found outside."
Read more about what a big mess they've got on their hands here.
-end- And here is the rest of it.
Ruh-roh 3 : Muslima confesses to Chinese terror attempt
The temptation to make water torture jokes is strong.
As is the urge to make toilet jokes, given her surname is Turdi and she tried to set the sky commode on fire.
A 19-year-old woman has allegedly confessed to a "terror plot" aimed at an aircraft flying from the Muslim west of China to the capital Beijing.
State media said the girl, named for the first time as Guzalinur Turdi, was trying to cause a fire above the wing. She had injected two drinks cans with petrol, which she had placed in the waste-paper bin in the toilet, when she was spotted by an air stewardess.
The revelation of the "terror attack" was made during the National People's Congress, or parliament session, in Beijing this month by senior officials from the region of Xinjiang, which is inhabited by members of the mainly Muslim Uighur ethnic group.
A long history of dissent and calls for autonomy has occasionally erupted into violence, though there have been no major reported terror attacks since the 1990s.
At the same time as the aircraft attack was foiled, the provincial Communist Party secretary also alleged that a Muslim terror group based in the region was plotting to attack ...
...the Olympics, though he did not say what evidence he had.
Exile groups who oppose Chinese rule have alleged that both incidents were fabricated by the authorities to discredit them.
Previously state media have reported that Turdi was travelling on a Pakistani passport with a male companion, who was also arrested, as was a third man not on the plane who was said to be the "terrorist mastermind".
Michael Yon phones it in from Iraq - talks Basra
Is Basra the defining moment in Iraq?
It surely shows the perils of premature evacuation, doesn't it? (And if I haven't mentioned this yet - Desmond Brown is c-l-u-e-l-e-s-s. In this 3/29 interview he talks about premature withdrawal of British troops.)
The British did not, in his view, cut and run. "We left at exactly the right time. The majority of the violence when we were in Basra was directed at us."
Perhaps the Surrendercrats (and Mr. Brown) should take heed and listen to Michael Yon's opinion over at Instapundit.
Michael Yon called on his satellite phone to talk about what's going on in Iraq. I recorded it and it's up here for your listening pleasure -- nothing fancy, just a quick recording posted less than 20 minutes after it happened. Click here to listen.
A few key points: (1) It's likely to get worse before it's better; (2) No one seems to doubt Iranian backing for the violence; (3) This isn't about religion, it's about money and power; and (4) Unlike Al Qaeda in the north, this isn't so much a fight to the finish as violence as a negotiating tactic. It's not a civil war.
Take a listen, and then take a moment to marvel at today's technology, which lets me do this stuff from my basement at the spur of the moment.
Meanwhile, Michael has a book coming out, Moment of Truth in Iraq. If you buy it through his site, you can get an advance copy shipping Monday. Otherwise it'll be out in a few weeks.
It IS a marvel that this was done from Instapundit's basement. Click over and listen to the call and show him some link love.
-end-
Fitna: Sticky to top til after Friday prayers...
Especially now that Live Leak has been forced to take Fitna down due to "SERIOUS THREATS".
Update: Double especially now that several al Qaeda websites have been posting pictures of Geert Wilders and "is asking for Muslims to act against him" (according to AKI. Somehow I don't think al Qaeda put it quite that nicely.)
"The Dutch, enemy of Allah, has done what he threatened to do and distributed his film," said a banner in an Islamist website.
The message is followed by dozens of posts by visitors of the site asking for Muslims to act against him.
"Dear brothers, remember what happened to Ariel Sharon. Now let's hope that he (Wilders) ends up the same way," says a member of the forum.
Ariel Sharon is the former Israeli prime minister who is currently in a coma after having suffered a massive stroke."
Kabul Radio Station burned for being un-Islamic
Awaiting global condemnation about the burning of this radio station...hearing the sound of crickets.
Kabul Radio Station burned for being un-Islamic.
Four gunmen broke into the offices of Radio Zafar before dawn, tied up two security guards and then set the station's equipment ablaze, said Paghman district police chief Abdul Razaq.
The station's director, Najibullah Nassir, said militants have accused Radio Zafar of being morally corrupt and un-Islamic. Its programming includes shows on Islam, sports, news and music.
The station has 16 employees, including two female journalists.
The Afghan media have flourished since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, but journalists often face threats from militants and warlords for airing critical stories, playing music or employing women.
-end-
Seething and Friday Fatwas
Sri Lanka:
The Council of Europe representing the Muslims in Europe as well as Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaath delegation in Sri Lanka that met the Netherlands Ambassador in Colombo condemned the Dutch right-wing MP Geert Wilders' 15-minute film on the Qur'an as offensive and a distortion of Islam.
The Dutch officials cowered and offered up Geert Wilders as a human sacrifice to the ire of their Moslem overlords.
Moreover, if his action damages the feeling of other religions as well as if it breaches the law of the nation, he will be prosecuted according to the law prevailing in the country, the Ambassador stated.
Egypt:
Egypt's Grand Imam and Fatwa King calls Fitna 'a provocative act and warns of severe consequences' to his Sunni buddies at Friday prayers, after he sang a different tune to the Dutch delegation that came crawling on their bellies in the dirt to see him this past week.
The Imam claimed Wilders "betrayed a deep ignorance about Islam" and invited him to come for a nice little visit to learn the true meaning of Islam. Sounds like an invitation to a necktie party to me.
I don't want to play the 'deep ignorance card or anything here, but... It is important to note that this Imam and Fatwa King is the same Imam and Fatwa King that has just decreed that Mentally Ill Muslims may wed - as long as they know their mate is mental, that is. Unh-huh.
Full Fatwa found beneath the Fold...
Source.
Mentally disabled Muslims may marry as long as their prospective partners are made aware of their condition, Sunni Islam’s main seat of learning Al Azhar said yesterday.
The approval comes provided “the other party is aware of the state of their mental health and doctors do not have concerns about the marriage,” the Egypt-based Al Azhar research centre was quoted as saying by official news agency MENA.
The announcement was made at a meeting chaired by the grand imam of Al Azhar, Mohamed Sayed Tantawi.
Trouble in Arab League paradise
Syria is hosting for the first time. Lebanon is boycotting the whole magilla and Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt have snubbed their hosts by sending low level representatives. To further complicate matters, Iraq's al-Maliki has begged off because of the Basra fighting. Add Yemen to the list - they've sent their VP.
I'm sure there's seething of one sort or another going on.
-end-
Fitna: More Miscellaneous Seething
Just so we get a better sense...
Again in this article, my man Mohamed (Panties be upon him) pretty much comes out and makes the case that Islam is set on destroying Dutch society with their schools and their mosques and their institutions. It's a total non-denial, denial. Why isn't anybody listening?
Mohamed Rabbae, leader of a group representing members of the Netherlands' large Moroccan immigrant community, said the film was not as bad as he had expected, but warned that the message from Wilders was that Islam was set on destroying Western civilisation. "So we as Muslims with our schools and our mosques and with our institutions are out to destroy Dutch society," he said.
"That is his message to our autochthon compatriots so as to instigate a serious conflict between us."
What is an autochton? Man, I didn't know and had to look it up:
Autochtoon, (and it's variant autochton) a term in Dutch: a native-born citizen of the Netherlands or Flanders whose parents were also native-born, as opposed to an allochtoon, whose parents were not native-born.
And lets' not forget those fine seething fighting fools - al Qaeda. You better believe they've got their exploding turbans wrapped pretty tight when it comes to the matter of Fitna:
A militant believed linked to al-Qaida's deputy chief Ayman al-Zawahri told The Associated Press in Peshawar last week militants would mount revenge attacks against foreigners because of Wilders' film.
-end-
Court decision on Dutch Islamic Federation's case against Wilders
To be delivered on April 7.
The case was heard today and they say they are seeking a gag order on Geert Wilders and a public apology to Muslims everywhere.
I say, here's your public apology. You can kiss my a$$ in Macy's window. (How's that for some free speech?)
-end-
Fitna: Stirring the melting pot. Dutch Moslems are serving hudna.
The Fitna news just keeps on keeping on.
More Sad news for lovers of Free Speech: LGF is reporting that Michael van der Galien's European blog "Poligazette" posted Fitna and has now been suspended. I don't think it's because he didn't pay his bills.
Wilders is saying that the PM Jan Balkenende must be terribly embarrassed about everything he has said about Fitna in the past.
I don't know. If I were a member of the Dhutch Government I'd be more embarrassed about this: Dutch Cabinet: Muslim and Non-Muslim stand side by side. If this isn't dhimmitude, I don't know what is, folks.
On a clearly pre-arranged scenario, the government Friday held a series of meetings with Islamic groups. Hours after MP Geert Wilders released his Koran film Fitna, the cabinet's message was clear: Muslims and non-Muslims stand side by side.And remember how I told you that I thought that there was a Moslem backdown in the works. There was, and it appears to have been a coordinated effort.
At her ministry on Friday morning, Integration Minister Ella Vogelaar held dialogues with various religious, ideological and minority organisations to speak about the content of Fitna, the anti-Koran film released on Thursday evening by Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders. Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin was also present.
All Muslim organisations were restrained in their reaction to the film. They confirmed that they had mutually agreed on this strategy. There was also close consultation with the ministers, according to Fouad Sidali, chairperson of the Alliance of Moroccans in the Netherlands.
And I found this observation interesting. The Moslems completely blow off the Mohammed cartoon with the exploding turban and then say the linkage of horrific terrorist events to the Koran isn't blasphemy. So, in other words, it's true. And there you go.
The film links horrific events to Koran verses. But virtually all Islam experts agreed it is never blasphemous.And this insight into the real situation on the ground there is worth the price of admission.
Three of the mosques known as the most radical apparently instructed their visitors Friday not to react to the film. "We are furious, but we will stay clam. (sic) Do not utilise your emotions but your reason. Otherwise we will lose," said the imam of the Al Fourqaan mosque in Eindhoven. If asked for a reaction to the film, "you shall send (the person asking the question) to the mosque".-end-
Apparently, a similar message went out to visitors of the El Tawheed mosque in Amsterdam, who did not wish to answer journalists' questions Friday. And Sheikh Fawaz Jneid, the imam of the As Sunnah mosque in Hague, said: "Wilders has not succeeded in offending Muslims. (...) All have remained calm. That proves the film has not affected us."
Fawaz Jneid, a Syrian, cursed filmmaker Theo van Gogh in a sermon two weeks before Van Gogh was ritually assassinated. The killer, Mohammed Bouyeri, attended that sermon, a terrorist suspect earlier declared in court. Last November, The Hague city council however announced it had issued a permit allowing the As-Sunnah mosque to expand.
Like As Sunnah, Al Fourqaan and El Tawheed are Salafist mosques. According to the secret service AIVD, Bouyeri's terrorist group 'Hofstad' was formed in El Tawheed from 2002 onwards. And in Al Fourqaan, three imams allowed Jihad-recruitment to take place, say open AIVD sources.
Post Prayer Roundup - Get the seethers in a circle, Pilgrims.
Post Prayer Roundup.
Dutch Film angers Iran and Indonesia: Wah! Poor babies!
The Pakistanis, God bless 'em, can always be counted on to throw a good Fitna.Iran called the film heinous, blasphemous and anti-Islamic and called on European governments to block any further showing.
Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation and a former Dutch colony, also condemned the film.
"We are of the view that the film has a racist flavor and is an insult to Islam, hidden under the cover of freedom of expression," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said. "We call on Indonesian people not to be incited."
Hundreds of people in the Pakistani cities of Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar staged angry protests on Friday against the anti-Koran film 'Fitna'.
And Dhimmi Dhutch PM Balkenende has not only received an angry missive from the Pakistani government, the Dutch Ambassador to Pakistan was summarily called up and given an earful. He bowed and scraped and pulled his forelock before telling his Moslem overlords that a 'criminal investigation' against Mr. Wilders would be instituted. The Pakistani government was then kind enough to provide a charge for them to indict him on.
Referring to Foreign Secretary’s earlier meeting with the Dutch Ambassador on the subject, the Additional Secretary stated that it was incumbent upon the Dutch Government to take all necessary measures in order to minimize the impact of the incident and to prosecute Geert Wilder for defamation and deliberately hurting Muslims’ sentiments. The Additional Secretary underlined that Article 137 of the Dutch penal code prohibits defamation and incitement to hatred.
Okay - is there anybody out there that isn't going to sue Geert at this point? The Moslems, The moonbats, the Moroccan-Dutch rapper, the Pakistanis and now Kurt Westergaard , one of the Motoon cartoonists? (This time for copyright infringement.) Ai-yi-yi.
Kurt Westergaard claims Geert Wilders breached copyright law by including his drawing of Islam's prophet wearing a turban shaped like a bomb in a 15-minute film uploaded to the internet yesterday.
Outrage is being expressed at all four corners of the globe... Ban-Ki Moon condemned Fitna and Geert Wilders in the strongest terms, Bangladesh warned of dire consequences, the Organization of Islamic Countries considered the screening to be a calculated insult" to the 1.3 billion Muslims in the world. Morocco's Communication Minister called Wilders, retarded. Someone go wake up the European Muslims in Potsdam, Germany. They're ticked off more about the theatre production of Salman Rushdie's 'The Satanic Verses' held there. Holy Crow - there's even another lawsuit being threatened - this time a Jordanian media coalition!
Even the EuroMed states are getting into the condemnation act. I know, who? The EuroMed states is an organization of parliamentary presidents from 37 member states forming the Euro- Mediterranean Partnership and includes Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia. (Unh-huh.) They chime in with this:
"We condemn the widespread confusion between terrorism and Islam,"
Oh, there's no confusion - and that's the problem. It's all Islam, all the time. No confusion there - you guys are just too lame to admit it - either that or you secretly sympathize with the terrorists. Which is it?
The MSM continues it's "Move along folks. Nothing to see here" philosophy when dealing with radical Islam. Check out these headlines...
From Time: Dutch Shrug for Anti-Muslim Film
From Reuters: Dutch relief at Muslim restraint over Koran film
From ABC: Uproar over Anti-Islam film falls flat.
From the Intl Herald Trib: Dutch Anti-Islam film is greeted with condemnation and relief.
From the LA Times: Dutch film Fitna draws muted response from Muslims
From the UK Telegraph: Anti-Islamic film fails to spark violent protests
Here we go... Live Leak pulls Fitna
due to serious threat. (h/t Hot Air)
In the end the price was too high.
In lieu of Fitna, this statement has now been posted at the site.
Following threats to our staff of a very serious nature, and some ill informed reports from certain corners of the British media that could directly lead to the harm of some of our staff, Liveleak.com has been left with no other choice but to remove Fitna from our servers.
This is a sad day for freedom of speech on the net but we have to place the safety and well being of our staff above all else. We would like to thank the thousands of people, from all backgrounds and religions, who gave us their support. They realised LiveLeak.com is a vehicle for many opinions and not just for the support of one.
Perhaps there is still hope that this situation may produce a discussion that could benefit and educate all of us as to how we can accept one anothers culture.
We stood for what we believe in, the ability to be heard, but in the end the price was too high.
It is still available via torrent here.
Update: Charles over at LGF has instructions on how to download a copy of the high-quality stereo version over at youtube. Get it while you still can.
This just makes me sick that these sonsabitches keep pulling crap like this and they always get away with it..
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Fitna: At last...
And it is awesome! (Sticky to top)
Update 11: Sugeiro is reporting that another lawsuit is in the offing against Geert.
This time a Dutch-Moroccan rapper? Uh-oh. It looks like an error was made in the film's editing...
Geert Wilders Going To Get Sued - By Rapper Salah Edin
Why?
Because Wilders mistakenly used a photo of Dutch-Moroccan rapper Salah Edin instead of Mohammed Bouyeri.Update 10: The latest numbers from the Malaysian Sun.
Within two hours of the release, more than one million Dutch nationals had watched the film, while some 800,000 people abroad had watched the movie.
On the website of Dutch commercial broadcaster RTL4 News, some 1,700 people participated in a poll about Fitna. Asked whether it is 'good' that Wilders had made the film, 66 percent of the participants in the poll approved the film being released.
A total of 65 percent agreed with Wilders' opinion expressed in the movie.
And may I be the first to say that I smell a huge Moslem backdown when it comes to the matter of offensiveness. What is that Mo-toon with the bomb in his turban being lit? What about them? Huh?
Although the film contains many shocking and cruel images, Dutch Islam experts say the film does not contain anti-Islamic provocations.
'The film does not contain pictures that are blasphemous or offensive for Muslims,' says Maurits Berger, professor of modern Islam at Leiden University.Update 9: Looks like the lawyers are lining up to start the litigation jihad. Not only are the Muslims suing, it looks like the moonbats are too! Fitna sued for "not contributing to a peaceful society." Hey Lady Lawyer - neither does flying planes into buildings. At least no civilians were killed in the making of Fitna!
A lawyer from Lelystad has lodged a police complaint against Dutch MP Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam film which was released on the internet on Thursday evening, reports ANP news service.
Els Lucas made the complaint on Thursday evening, claiming the leader of the anti-immigration PVV party breaks the law by creating a link between the number of Muslims and the increase in violence in society.
She believes the film Fitna incites discrimination and violence, reports ANP. ‘I have lodged a complaint because I do not believe this contributes to a peaceful society,’ she told ANP.
Update 8: No surprises here, the Dutch PM's response is pure Dhimmi.In a brief response to the release of Geert Wilders' anti-Qur'an film Fitna, the Dutch Prime Minister, Jan Peter Balkenende, has said that he's pleased with the even-handed reactions from the Muslim world.
However, he soundly rejected the film's equation of Islam with violence and said that the film had no other goal than to hurt feelings. "The problem," he continued, "is not religion, but the misuse of religion."
He said that he didn't want to talk about feelings of relief after seeing the film because, he believed, it conjured an image of Islam that could offend those who see the Qur'an as a holy book.
Mr Balkenende also said that he did not think the Dutch cabinet had overestimated the threat posed by the film. Rather, he feels that it was a good thing the cabinet took the threat as seriously as it did.
Update 7: The reviews from Variety are in. (see also Fitna goes Hollywood)
Update 7a: The Hollywood Reporter review.
Update 6: The AP is reporting that early reaction is muted.
Yusuf Altuntas, of the Contact Group Muslims and Government, said Wilders "is seeking the limits, but not crossing the line. For Mr. Wilders, this is quite subtle."
The film was not as jarring as anticipated, said Maurits Berger, professor of Islam in the West at Leiden University.
"It's a series of images and photos, headlines from recent years which we already know," he said. The film tells more about Wilders than the Quran, Berger said. "It represents his fear of Islam."
The lawmaker put out his film on the evening before a Dutch judge was due to hear a petition bu a Muslim group seeking an independent review of the film to see whether it violates hate speech laws. The Dutch Islamic Federation asked the court to impose a fine of $79,000 for every day the film is available to the public.
Mohamed Rabbae, chairman of the moderate National Moroccan Council, which appealed for calm in January ahead of the film's release, said he had heard about "Fitna" but not yet seen it.
Wilders "collected some bloody pictures and related them to some verses in the Quran," Rabbae told The Associated Press. "On the one hand, this is less bad than we thought he was going to do. But he also gives the impression the Quran justifies violence, and that is really wrong."
Update 5: Some additional detail on the movie's release.
"Fitna" was posted on the Internet at 7 p.m. Thursday via a site called LiveLeak and, according to the NRC Handelsblad Web site, received 1.2 million hits within an hour. LiveLeak later proved unable to deal with the volume of traffic.
Update 4: The reports from Geert's press conference are starting to come on line.
Wilders defends Fitna.
The Hague - Geert Wilders, Dutch politician and leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV), has called his just-released Fitna a 'respectable film'. He admitted that Muslims may not be happy with it, but emphasised that he had always stuck to the facts. He said he believes that the film is also 'one thousand kilometres within the framework of the law'.
While noting that he hoped that Fitna's release would cause no disturbances, Mr Wilders stressed that the maker of the film could not be held responsible for any riots or boycotts that might result, and that it was not meant to provoke disruption. Rather, he said, the images in Fitna were intended to make clear the dangers contained in the Qur'an and Islam.
He also said that he hoped it would lead to discussions of the disadvantages of the faith, both in the Netherlands and abroad, and explicitly invited Muslims to engage in such discussions.Update 3: Hoo-boy. Batten down the hatches. While everybody's been busy getting their turbans in a wad over Fitna, another film has been waiting in the wings - this one stars Mohammed as a pedophile and it's due out April 20!
Update 2: Moslem Group sez, "See you in court."
A Dutch judge was due on Friday to hear the petition of a Muslim group seeking an independent review of the film to see whether it violates hate speech laws.
Update1: Klein Verzet is reporting the following-Geenstijl (NL) is reporting that Wilders has called a last-minute press conference at an undisclosed location. They also have a preliminary review up, calling Fitna a heavy disappointment and much ado about nothing.
Live Leak's statement on Fitna beneath the fold.
Live Leak's statement on the matter.LiveLeak.com has a strict stance on remaining unbiased and allowing freedom of speech as so far as the law and our rules allow. There was no legal reason to refuse Geert Wilders the right to post his film (Fitna) on LiveLeak.com and it is not our place to censor people based on an emotive response. We in no way endorse Geert Wilders, his views, nor the views expressed within Fitna. To many of us involved in LiveLeak.com some of the messages therein are personally offensive. That being said, our being offended is no reason to deny Mr Wilders the right to have his film seen. Pre-emptive censorship or a discriminatory policy towards freedom of speech are both things we oppose here on LiveLeak.com. A person has a simple, clear choice about whether to view this film. No one is being forced to view it and nor is it being broadcasted on every channel on their television set. If you click on media simply to be annoyed, it is pointless to blame others for your choice.And let the hack attacks begin...
We do not intend on defending the content of Fitna, only our choice to allow it. Anyone has the full right of reply on LiveLeak.com. Any person or organizations are free to post their opinion and, dependent on said response falling within both the law and our rules, we will afford such responses equal exposure. There are undoubtedly better ways to spark a discussion but this film is now out there and we believe we should all grasp this opportunity to create an open dialogue and discussion on this subject.Welcome, and thank you for visiting LiveLeak.com. Due to an increase in traffic and targetted hacking attacks, we have had to disable certain features. We hope you enjoy all that we have available at this time and we further hope that you will visit us again to explore the full range of features and interactivity that LiveLeak has to offer. If this is your first visit to LiveLeak.com we apologise for the fact your first impression of the site will be limited, check back in with us soon and you can join one of the most unique media sharing sites on the net offering everything from uncensored news through to entertainment. Thank you for your patience.
Muslim homey schools: NYT is down with it
The NY Times plumbs the depths of Dhimmi madness on this one.
Hey, all you female editors - did you burn your bra so your American Moslem sistahs could be denied a modern education and instead be kept at home to cook and clean for her male relatives and read the Koran?
FYI-Other Moslem homeschoolers include Adam Gadahn (al-Q's pudgy media maven, believed to be recently deceased) and Hamid Hayat (recently sentenced to 24 years in prison on a terror charge. His relatives are lamenting his home schooling now - they say that had he gone to a public school he would have known to ask for an attorney when the FBI showed up. Bwa-ha-ha!)
The NY Times think they cool.
Like dozens of other Pakistani-American girls here, Hajra Bibi stopped attending the local public school when she reached puberty, and began studying at home. Her family wanted her to clean and cook for her male relatives, and had also worried that other American children would mock both her Muslim religion and her traditional clothes.
-snip-About 40 percent of the Pakistani and other Southeast Asian girls of high school age who are enrolled in the district here are home-schooled, though broader statistics on the number of Muslim children being home-schooled, and how well they do academically, are elusive. Even estimates on the number of all American children being taught at home swing broadly, from one million to two million.
-snip-Hina Khan-Mukhtar decided to tutor her three sons at home and to send them to a small Muslim school cooperative established by some 15 Bay Area families for subjects like Arabic, science and carpentry. She made up her mind after visiting her oldest son’s prospective public school kindergarten, where each pupil had assembled a scrapbook titled “Why I Like Pigs.” Mrs. Khan-Mukhtar read with dismay what the children had written about the delicious taste of pork, barred by Islam. “I remembered at that age how important it was to fit in,” she said.
-snip-Parents who home-school tend to be converts, Mrs. Khan-Mukhtar said. Immigrant parents she has encountered generally oppose the idea, seeing educational opportunities in America as a main reason for coming.
Like dozens of other Pakistani-American girls here, Hajra Bibi stopped attending the local public school when she reached puberty, and began studying at home. Her family wanted her to clean and cook for her male relatives, and had also worried that other American children would mock both her Muslim religion and her traditional clothes.
“Some men don’t like it when you wear American clothes — they don’t think it is a good thing for girls,” said Miss Bibi, 17, now studying at the 12th-grade level in this agricultural center some 70 miles east of San Francisco. “You have to be respectable.”
Across the United States, Muslims who find that a public school education clashes with their religious or cultural traditions have turned to home schooling. That choice is intended partly as a way to build a solid Muslim identity away from the prejudices that their children, boys and girls alike, can face in schoolyards. But in some cases, as in Ms. Bibi’s, the intent is also to isolate their adolescent and teenage daughters from the corrupting influences that they see in much of American life.
About 40 percent of the Pakistani and other Southeast Asian girls of high school age who are enrolled in the district here are home-schooled, though broader statistics on the number of Muslim children being home-schooled, and how well they do academically, are elusive. Even estimates on the number of all American children being taught at home swing broadly, from one million to two million.
No matter what the faith, parents who make the choice are often inspired by a belief that public schools are havens for social ills like drugs and that they can do better with their children at home.
“I don’t want the behavior,” said Aya Ismael, a Muslim mother home-schooling four children near San Jose. “Little girls are walking around dressing like hoochies, cursing and swearing and showing disrespect toward their elders. In Islam we believe in respect and dignity and honor.”
Still, the subject of home schooling is a contentious one in various Muslim communities, with opponents arguing that Muslim children are better off staying in the system and, if need be, fighting for their rights.
Robina Asghar, a Muslim who does social work in Stockton, Calif., says the fact that her son was repeatedly branded a “terrorist” in school hallways sharpened his interest in civil rights and inspired a dream to become a lawyer. He now attends a Catholic high school.
“My son had a hard time in school, but every time something happened it was a learning moment for him,” Mrs. Asghar said. “He learned how to cope. A lot of people were discriminated against in this country, but the only thing that brings change is education.”
Many parents, however, would rather their children learn in a less difficult environment, and opt to keep them home.
Hina Khan-Mukhtar decided to tutor her three sons at home and to send them to a small Muslim school cooperative established by some 15 Bay Area families for subjects like Arabic, science and carpentry. She made up her mind after visiting her oldest son’s prospective public school kindergarten, where each pupil had assembled a scrapbook titled “Why I Like Pigs.” Mrs. Khan-Mukhtar read with dismay what the children had written about the delicious taste of pork, barred by Islam. “I remembered at that age how important it was to fit in,” she said.
Many Muslim parents contacted for this article were reluctant to talk, saying Muslim home-schoolers were often portrayed as religious extremists. That view is partly fueled by the fact that Adam Gadahn, an American-born spokesman for Al Qaeda, was home-schooled in rural California.
“There is a tendency to make home-schoolers look like antisocial fanatics who don’t want their kids in the system,” said Nabila Hanson, who argues that most home-schoolers, like herself, make an extra effort to find their children opportunities for sports, music or field trips with other people.
Lodi’s Muslims also attracted unwanted national attention when one local man, Hamid Hayat, was sentenced last year to 24 years in prison on a terrorism conviction that his relatives say was largely due to a fabricated confession. (Had he been more Americanized, they say, he would have known to ask for a lawyer as soon as the F.B.I. appeared.)
Parents who home-school tend to be converts, Mrs. Khan-Mukhtar said. Immigrant parents she has encountered generally oppose the idea, seeing educational opportunities in America as a main reason for coming.
If so, then Fawzia Mai Tung is an exception, a Chinese Muslim immigrant who home-schools three daughters in Phoenix. She spent many sleepless nights worried that her children would not excel on standardized tests, until she discovered how low the scores at the local schools were. Her oldest son, also home-schooled, is now applying to medical school.
In some cases, home-schooling is used primarily as a way to isolate girls like Miss Bibi, the Pakistani-American here in Lodi.
Some 80 percent of the city’s 2,500 Muslims are Pakistani, and many are interrelated villagers who try to recreate the conservative social atmosphere back home. A decade ago many girls were simply shipped back to their villages once they reached adolescence.
“Their families want them to retain their culture and not become Americanized,” said Roberta Wall, the principal of the district-run Independent School, which supervises home schooling in Lodi and where home-schooled students attend weekly hourlong tutorials.
Of more than 90 Pakistani or other Southeast Asian girls of high school age who are enrolled in the Lodi district, 38 are being home-schooled. By contrast, just 7 of the 107 boys are being home-schooled, and usually the reason is that they were falling behind academically.
As soon as they finish their schooling, the girls are married off, often to cousins brought in from their families’ old villages.
The parents “want their girls safe at home and away from evil things like boys, drinking and drugs,” said Kristine Leach, a veteran teacher with the Independent School.
The girls follow the regular high school curriculum, squeezing in study time among housework, cooking, praying and reading the Koran. The teachers at the weekly tutorials occasionally crack jokes of the “what, are your brothers’ arms broken?” variety, but in general they tread lightly, sensing that their students obey family and tradition because they have no alternative.
“I do miss my friends,” Miss Bibi said of fellow students with whom she once attended public school. “We would hang out and do fun things, help each other with our homework.”
But being schooled apart does have its benefit, she added. “We don’t want anyone to point a finger at us,” she said, “to say that we are bad.”
Mrs. Asghar, the Stockton woman who argues against home schooling, takes exception to the idea of removing girls from school to preserve family honor, calling it a barrier to assimilation.
“People who think like this are stuck in a time capsule,” she said. “When kids know more than their parents, the parents lose control. I think that is a fear in all of us.”
Aishah Bashir, now an 18-year-old Independent School student, was sent back to Pakistan when she was 12 and stayed till she was 16. She had no education there.
Asked about home schooling, she said it was the best choice. But she admitted that the choice was not hers and, asked if she would home-school her own daughter, stared mutely at the floor. Finally she said quietly: “When I have a daughter, I want her to learn more than me. I want her to be more educated.”
-source-
Get a load of Google. Fitna goes Hollywood.
Here's a screen cap I've just snapped over at Google - they don't have Fitna under their NEWS category...No, they've put it under ENTERTAINMENT.
What a bunch of tools...
-end-
Taliban can't hear me now -
and NOW they're sorry about it.
KABUL–Taliban attacks on telecom towers have prompted cellphone companies to shut down service across southern Afghanistan, angering a quarter million customers who have no other telephones. Even some Taliban fighters now regret the disruptions and are demanding that service be restored by the companies.
The communication blackout follows a campaign by the Taliban, which said the United States and NATO were using the fighters' cellphone signals to track them at night and launch pinpoint attacks.
About 10 towers have been attacked since the warning late last month – seven of them seriously – causing almost $2 million in damage, the telecom ministry said. Afghanistan's four major mobile phone companies began cutting service across the south soon after.
The speed with which the companies acted shows how little influence the government has in remote areas and how just a few attacks can cripple a basic service and a booming, profitable industry. The shutdown could also stifle international investment in the country during a time of rising violence.
But the cutoff is proving extremely unpopular among Afghan citizens. Even some Taliban fighters are asking that the towers be switched back on, said Afghanistan's telecommunications minister, A. Sangin.
That dissenting view shows how decisions made by the top-ranking Taliban leadership can have negative consequences for lower-ranking fighters in the field, the minister said.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid hinted in a telephone interview that the group could change its tactics. "We see that some people are having problems, so we might change the times that the networks are shut down in the coming days," Mujahid said.
That the Taliban could dictate when the country's mobile phone networks operate shows the weakness of the central government and the international forces that operate here, said Mohammad Qassim Akhgar, a political analyst in Kabul.
"After the Taliban announcement, they were aware of the situation, and still they couldn't provide security for the towers," Akhgar said.
"Maybe destroying a few towers will not have any effect on the government, but the news or the message that comes out of this is very big, and all to the benefit of the Taliban."
All four of the major phone companies – Roshan, AWCC, Areeba and Etsalat – declined to comment.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Omar Bakri has his panties in a wad over Boxer's trunks
with the UK flag on them.
Boxer Amir Khan's Union Jack shorts show disloyalty to Islam, says radical Muslim preacher
Radical cleric Omar Bakri Mohammad has criticised Amir Khan for wearing shorts embellished with the British flag, it has been reported.
'Amir Khan is not a good example for Muslims. He wears shorts with the Union Jack. That is a sin,' he said.
'He should not be wearing the flag because sovereignty is for God. His only allegiance should be to the Prophet Mohammed.'
But Mohammad said: 'The ideal situation would be to have a Muslim team not registered to any state so he can represent the Islamic community', he told The Sun newspaper.
The hardline cleric left the UK in 2005 after saying that the British government and residents of London only had themselves to blame for the Tube bombings that year. He now lives in Lebanon.
His comments were branded 'bizarre' by the Muslim Council of Britain. Inayat Bunglawala, the assistant secretary general, said: 'These comments are typical of Omar Bakri.
'He doesn't live in this country and frankly his views are of no concern to British Muslims.'
He added: 'Amir Khan is a wonderful role model. He's a hugely successful boxer, proud of being Muslim and British. I can see why that could upset Omar Bakri.'
Mohammad's controversial comments came as Gordon Brown issued an impassioned defence of the Union, insisting it was not a 'contract of convenience' that could be renegotiated at the will of nationalists.
The Prime Minister said Britain was based on a 'covenant' binding together England, Wales and Scotland in a way that went beyond the material benefits to each nation.
'We must be resolute in defending the Union and argue against those who put it at risk,' he wrote in an article for the Daily Telegraph.
With the Scottish Nationalists in power in Holyrood and demands in Westminster for 'English votes for English laws', Mr Brown wants to emphasise the importance of an overall British identity.
'The fact is the Union is more like a covenant founded on shared values that have created bonds of belonging that make us all feel part of a wider Britain.'
He added: 'There is a modern case for the Union, and it must be heard: it is not about partnership at the expense of pride, or about pride that can be satisfied only by sacrificing partnership.
'Instead, it is to ensure that each region and nation of the United Kingdom flourishes within a covenant and in a partnership of equals for the benefit of all.'
I've always said the Dems would
legislate us back into the dark ages.
It looks like I was right.
SF Supervisor proposes lights out for San Francisco skyline.
San Francisco's picturesque skyline would be dark at night under a first-in-the-nation law proposed Tuesday that would mandate all skyscrapers turn off nonemergency lights after work hours.
Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin said his measure would reduce the energy wasted in the city's downtown.
-end-
Of course, there's no connection with terrorism
Explosives and Iraqi currency discovered in stolen car in New Mexico.
Why on earth would you think it would be connected to terrorism?
-end-
Monday, March 24, 2008
Afghan's version of the Anbar Awakening on the horizon?
73 Muslim groups put out a Fatwa on the Tali-whackers.
The alleged militant group familiarly known as “Taliban” was declared “out of Islam” by 73 different sects of Muslims through an edict (Fatwa) circulated in parts of the narrow tribal strip of Darra Adamkhel.
The edict in Urdu language was circulated on behalf of Mufti Zainul Aabideen on Friday night. The one page edict focuses on Talibans’s terrorists’ acts in the area, particularly slaughtering of human beings and suicide attacks.
The edict against the Taliban terror is considered first-ever effort on the part of any religious figure in the last five years. Earlier, the late Maulana Hassan Jan publicly denounced Taliban acts, but he was mysteriously assassinated in retaliation.
After the killing of late Maulana Hassan Jan, a large number of Ulema and religious scholars remained reluctant to say anything openly against the Taliban.
It is for the first time that a religious scholar declared “Taliban” as being “out of Islam.”
The edict said that all the acts of Taliban are against the basic norms of Islam and humanity. “Even the Taliban leaders are considering themselves and their directives as superior to true Islamic principles and directives as ordained by Almighty Allah,” the edict said.
Elaborating his point of view, the author of the edict states that the Taliban declare those infidel who oppose their ideas and interpret Islam according to their own needs and ideas, which is contrary to the all-embracing ideas of Islam.
In this respect, the author of the edict invited the attention of Taliban Mufti Khalid Shah’s edicts against internationally recognized Islamic scholars like late Maulana Hassan Jan, Allama Taqi Usmani, Maulana Tariq Jameel and others. He said that such edicts of Mufti Khalid Shah against such highly credible and respectable religious scholars were available on Taliban-made CDs.
Mufti Zainul Aabideen further states that Taliban, despite chanting slogan of “Allah’s rule on Allah’s land” are ignoring this slogan in the areas under their control.
They not only impose the system of their choice in these areas, but also forcibly collect the so-called taxes and fines from the people. They justify their terrorist acts discussing in mosques, schools and other public places and claim, “There is no sin in killing 100 innocent persons for one guilty person.”
Islam prohibits killing of innocent people whereas the Taliban are killing innocent Muslims. Even they congratulate the terrorists and suicide bombers on, what they claim, “entrance into the heaven for killing the innocent people.”
The author of the edict further states that Taliban give preference to the directives of their amirs (heads or commanders) instead of following the directives of Allah Almighty and sayings of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). Even Taliban affiliated to different groups are reluctant to recognize each other’s amirs (heads or commanders).
The author of the edict has in particular denounced slaughtering and beheading of the innocent people at hands of the Taliban.
In the light of this edict, the author has requested Ulema and religious scholars to come forward to denounce such inhuman and immoral acts on the part of the Taliban.
Austrian Hostages: Deadline passes
No word on their present status.
A deadline set by the Algerian-based al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Mahgreb for the payment of a ransom for two Austrian hostages has expired but Vienna says it hopes negotiations will continue. The Austrian tourists, 51-year-old Wolfgang Ebner and 44-year-old Andrea Kloiber, were kidnapped on 22 February while on holiday in northern Tunisia and are now believed to be in northern Mali. Austrian diplomats have been negotiating with the Malian authorities for the past week.Further negotiations are being complicated by the outbreak of fighting between Tuareg rebels and the Mali Army on the Algerian border. Oddly enough, Libyan leader Khaddafy is now backing away from earlier claims of negotiation for the hostages release:
As far as the hostages’ crisis, the charity association of Gadhafi has surprised observers and the hostages’ family members while saying in a communiqué issued yesterday: “neither the association, nor its president Saif Al-Islam Gadhafi have set either direct or indirect contacts with the abductors of the two Austrian hostages being kidnapped in Tunisia last month.”I hope this doesn't mean that things have gone south in a big way and Khaddafy is now distancing himself from the situation.
-end-
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Happy Easter
To all my peeps.
Life, love, and abundance are resurrected in me today.
Just as the rising sun overcomes the dark of night, the Christ light reveals my way, allowing me to overcome any belief in limitation or lack. I act on the new possibilities that may have previously seemed hidden from view.
With a Christ-inspired perspective, I view my world with spiritual vision, giving thanks for all creation. In prayer and meditation, I allow divine ideas to rise in my consciousness and give them expression in my life and in my world.
Life, love, and abundance are divine expressions of the Christ of my being that can never be denied me. As I experience the Christ Presence within, these God-given spiritual gifts are resurrected in me today.
“The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.’”—Luke 24:5
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Sharia Finance - Pay no attention to the Imam behind the curtain
Dubai gets first Islamic bourse.
It is fitting that Dubai, home of the first Islamic bank in the world, would also be home to the first Islamic financial market, said Hussaim Hamid, chairman of the DFM Sharia Board.
"The conversion of DFM from a conventional market to an Islamic one has been implemented according to the principles of Sharia. We are in the process of issuing directives for investors on how to invest in financial markets according to Sharia principles," Hamid said.
These directives will be a part of the official DFM Investor Guide, which will be made available soon, he added.
Okay, possums. So what does this mean? It means Sharia-schmaria. The Koran is the furthest thing from their principles on this one. They're just making it up as they go along. And what else does Dinah say about things like this?
Figures never lie, liars figure.
Watch out. I just hope I'm still around to watch this house of cards when it comes tumbling down.
More on the Imams behind the curtain beneath the fold.
The Imams behind the curtain:
The move was decided by the DFM Sharia board during its first meeting, held under the chairmanship of Dr. Hussain Hamid. Among the board members attending the meeting were Dr. Abd Al Sattar Abu Gheda, Dr. Ojail Jasim, Dr. Mohammed Qassim, Dr. Mubad Ali Al Jarihi, General Secretary of the board, and Motaz El Demerdash, representing DFM Company.
Essa Kazim, Chairman of Dubai Financial Market, thanked the Sharia board for its confidence in DFM. He said that the market's operations will continue to abide by Sharia principles, noting that DFM's conversion to an Islamic market will make it the first Islamic financial market in the world.
Dr. Hussaim Hamid, Chairman of DFM Sharia Board, said: 'The conversion of Dubai Financial Market to a Sharia-compliant market is a challenge for the board. DFM will become an international symbol for investing in Islamic securities.'
The board approved all documents and contracts related to the establishment of DFM. The board also decided to start working on structuring criteria that will be used by DFM to classify listed companies in terms of Sharia compliance. The board has adopted an action plan to implement the project. The plan will be further discussed during the next meeting.
The board also approved that investments made by DFM Company are Sharia-compliant. The board adopted all the Fatwas issued by the board's chairman in response to the DFM management's queries.
The board also confirmed that the DFM conversion process to an Islamic market is being implemented according to Sharia principles. The board also approved printing a booklet for investors on how to invest in financial.
Check out the credentials of the Imams on the Fatwa and Sharia'a Board .
Fitna: Dutch church leaders go crawling on their bellies in the dirt
to seek an audience with the Egyptian Grand Mufti...begging for understanding. (all hoping to get out with their heads intact, no doubt.) Even worse, they are making plans to take their act on the road to all the Islamic countries to let them know that "Wilders represents small segment of society" and that "We're not really like that."
No, they're all dhimmi, dhimmi, dhimmi and craven fools.
The Dutch church leaders will seek audience with the Egyptian Grand Mufti in an attempt to limit the damage that could be caused by MP Geert Wilders' anti-Koran film.
Muhammed Sayyed Tantawi will receive the Dutch delegation in Cairo next week. He is regarded as one of the highest religious authorities in the Islamic world.
Representatives of the Dutch Protestant Church (PKN) and the Council of Churches wish to make it clear to the Grand Mufti that the Netherlands is a tolerant country, according to Driss el-Boujoufi. He is the chairman of CMO, the official dialogue partner for the Dutch government on Islam and integration issues.
CMO and another Dutch Muslim body, the Contact Group Islam (CGI) proposed visiting the Grand Mufti, according to PKN chairman Bas Plaisier. CMO and CGI representatives will accompany the church leaders to Egypt.
"In many Islamic countries, Wilders' film will give spiritual leaders an erroneous impression of the Netherlands," el-Boujoufi explained. "We want to make it clear that the Netherlands is a tolerant country where Muslims and Christians live together in harmony and can each practice their own faith. It must be clear that Wilders only represents a small segment of Dutch society".
The delegation also wishes to ensure that Christians in Egypt are not "confronted with a wrongful negative image and prejudice" as a result of Wilders' film, according to Plaisier. The intention is that the delegation will visit other countries after Egypt, although Plaisier could not yet give any names.
-end-
Wilders: 'I will go hand out DVD in public myself'
Our fine compatriots at Klein Verzet are all over the Fitna situation. They are proposing a blogburst - and I am seconding that emotion!
Censorship for Islam in the United States in America? Yes really!
I suggest we use, our blog power. Network Solutions is one of the United States biggest Hosting providers. They should stand up for freedom instead of suppressing it. This is nothing less than bowing for terrorist and other abusers of freedom. Please urge everybody to contact Network Solutions and let them know what you think about censorship by filling out their contact form:
Network Solutions Contact Form.
Network Solutions can also be reached by e-mail: webmaster@networksolutions.com or phone: 1-800-333-7680 / 1-800-361-5712, outside the US 1.570.708.8788.
Spread the word.
Update: Dutch news website Nu.nl contacted Wilders, but the politician says he has no idea what's going on at Network Solutions. He is investigating the matter and says: "How many possible ways are their for sabotage? If everything fails, I will go hand out DVD in public myself. What a world are we living in?"
"In spite of all obstruction, I will not give up, Fitna will be seen soon" Geert Wilders emphasized.Provider Network Solutions could not be reached for comments.
-end, but stay tuned to this channel for further developments.-
Sovereign Funds - who's watching our back?
Singapore and Abu Dhabi govt funds sign commitment to disavow "geo-political goals".
"It's a process of mutual self-reassurance". Mutual geo-political masturbation, more like it. I question whether these "commitments" are even worth the paper they're printed on. Especially when I heard Chuck Schumer piping up on what a good idea this supposedly is. Makes me wonder if the Sovereign Sukuk fund being issued by the UK will sign such a commitment?
The Bush administration won a commitment Thursday from two prominent foreign government investment funds to disavow "geopolitical goals" in their investments in the United States and elsewhere, a step the administration hoped would set an example for other funds.
The commitment came from the so-called sovereign wealth funds controlled by the governments of Singapore and Abu Dhabi, which is part of the United Arab Emirates. Both funds have stepped up their American investments in the last year and played a major role in purchasing stakes in Citigroup.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. praised the two funds for embracing a set of principles that not only disavowed political motives in investing but also made commitments to maximum disclosure of investment activities and strong internal controls, including management of risk in investments.
Singapore and UAE have long-established, well-respected funds and are showing real leadership by joining with us today," Paulson said in a statement.
Paulson reiterated the administration's position that the United States welcomed foreign investments, but his comment came at a time of rising concern in the administration about political opposition to such activities, especially after several government funds bought stakes in major American companies this year.
At the same time, representatives of the funds have hired lobbyists and public relations firms and have gone out of their way to proclaim their intention to invest in the United States based on commercial principles and not out of political motivations.
Singapore expressed its support on Friday for the agreement by saying that an open investment environment is critical in a globalized economy, Reuters reported. Singapore's Ministry of Finance is the sole stakeholder in the island's $110 billion Temasek investment fund.
The policies were meant to contribute to work by the International Monetary Fund and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development to develop voluntary best practices for such funds, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.
The United States has enlisted the International Monetary Fund, which has 185 country members, and OECD, a voluntary group of wealthy countries, to develop a code to guide cross-border investments by government funds.
The International Monetary Fund's board is to meet in Washington on Friday to push its study forward with a goal of adopting best practices in the fall.
Part of the exercise of these two group efforts is to make both funds and the countries that receive investments more comfortable with each other's motives. "It's a process of mutual self-reassurance," said an official involved in the process, speaking anonymously to describe the motives of the players candidly.
The drive by the United States and Europe to draw up the code of best practices, including a renunciation of political motives, has stirred resentment among some of the investing funds, particularly in China and some in the Gulf.
At the World Economic Forum, representatives of some of the funds in the Gulf said such a code was unnecessary and an intrusion, since they said the investment funds had never done anything to arouse suspicions. Some Chinese officials have also been quoted as saying the best practices idea was unnecessary.
Bush administration officials say that they are pleased with the level of cooperation from foreign governments, however.
"The general impression I have is that there is an openness to discussing this," said Clay Lowery, an assistant Treasury secretary for international affairs, referring to a best practices code. "Some funds think this is a really good idea. Some are saying, 'Let's do a little bit of wait-and-see.' "
A leading Senate proponent of more openness by sovereign wealth funds, Senator Charles E. Schumer, the New York Democrat, praised Paulson on Thursday for agreeing to a set of principles but called on the principles to be adopted by others.
"Now it is up to other sovereign wealth funds to follow this lead," Schumer said. "I hope the administration, the IMF and other governments will encourage them to do so."
Kerry: Vote for Obama because he's black
Who's making this all about race, again?
John Kerry says Obama will singlehandedly "bridge the divide of religious extremism" because he's a black man who has come from a place of oppression and repression." (snort)
Kerry said that a President Obama would help the US, in relations with Muslim countries, "in some cases go around their dictator leaders to the people and inspire the people in ways that we can't otherwise."
"He has the ability to help us bridge the divide of religious extremism," Kerry said. "To maybe even give power to moderate Islam to be able to stand up against this radical misinterpretation of a legitimate religion."
Kerry was asked what gives Obama that credibility.
"Because he's African-American. Because he's a black man. Who has come from a place of oppression and repression through the years in our own country. An African-American president would be "a symbol of empowerment" for those who have been disenfranchised around the world, Kerry said, "an important lesson for America to show Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, other places in the world where disenfranchised people don't get anything."
-end-
Hosting company pulls plug on Fitna
The Pope to baptize prominent Muslim on Easter
Hoo-boy. Fatwas coming in 5...4...3... (Is it just me or is Pope Benedict kinda flipping off Osama Bin Laden with this one? OBL's recent tape accusing Benedict of leading a new Christian crusade shows he's kinda sensitive on the subject of the Pope.)
Pope to baptize prominent Muslim.
Pope to baptize prominent Muslim.
Italy's most prominent Muslim commentator is converting to Catholicism by being baptized by the pope at an Easter vigil, the Vatican announced Saturday.
Magdi Allam is the deputy editor of the Corriere della Sera newspaper and writes often on Muslim and Arab affairs. Born in Egypt, he has described himself as a non-practicing Muslim. He has long spoken out against extremism and in favor of tolerance.
Pope Benedict XVI was baptizing seven adults during the service, which marks the period between Good Friday, which commemorates Jesus' crucifixion, and Easter Sunday, which marks his resurrection.
The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said of Allam before the service that anyone who chooses to become a Catholic of his or her own free will has the right to receive the sacrament.
Lombardi said the pope administers the sacrament "without making any 'difference of people,' that is, considering all equally important before the love of God and welcoming all in the community of the Church."
Benedict opened the lengthy nighttime service by blessing a white candle, which he then carried down the main aisle of the darkened St. Peter's Basilica. Slowly, the pews began to light up as his flame was shared with candles carried by the faithful, until the whole basilica twinkled and the main lights came on.
The baptism rite during the vigil service is part of the joyful renewal Christians associate with Easter.
There is no overarching Muslim law on conversion. But under a widespread interpretation of Islamic legal doctrine, converting from Islam is apostasy and punishable by death — though killings are rare.
Egypt's highest Islamic cleric, the Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, wrote last year against the killing of apostates, saying there is no worldly retribution for Muslims who abandon their religion and that punishment would come in the afterlife.
Osama bin Laden accused the pope in a new audio message posted Wednesday of playing a "large and lengthy role" in a "new Crusade" against Islam that included the publication of drawings of the Prophet Muhammad that many Muslims found insulting.
Lombardi said Thursday that bin Laden's accusation was baseless. He said Benedict repeatedly criticized the Muhammad cartoons, first published in some European newspapers in 2006 and republished by Danish papers in February.
Pakistan's PPP names candidate for PM
Virtually guaranteed to win.
Praised for going to jail on charges of illegal government appointments. The really interesting thing about the whole magilla: Benazir's son arrived in Pakistan to a flurry of press and rose petals yesterday. The sole intent of his trip was to announce the party's selection. Well, he was a no-show - the "PPP said the teenager was not feeling well". I wonder. Security concerns? I hope not.
The Pakistan People's Party nominated ex-Speaker Yusuf Raza Gillani for the post to lead a coalition government with ex-PM Nawaz Sharif's PML(N) party.
Analysts say the appointment is widely expected to be a stop-gap measure and Ms Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari, may be poised to eventually take over.
The coalition is expected to try to curb President Musharraf's powers.
Mr Gillani is virtually guaranteed to win a parliamentary vote to make him PM on Monday because of the coalition's massive majority, says the BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad. Here is the beginning of my post.
A party leader from southern Punjab, he is admired within the PPP for going to jail in 2001, rather than doing a deal with Mr Musharraf.
It is believed he will quietly step aside if Asif Ali Zardari, the PPP's effective leader and co-chairman, decides to go for the top job, says our correspondent.
Ms Bhutto's widower is not eligible to be PM as he is not currently an MP but he may stand at a by-election within months for a seat in the National Assembly, analysts say.
Saturday's announcement had been due to be made by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of the late PPP leader who was assassinated at an election rally in December. But the PPP said the teenager was not feeling well.
Our correspondent says there is speculation the plan was changed to spare the 19-year-old tough questions about reports of bitter behind-the-scenes wrangling over the nomination.
The vice-chairman of the PPP, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, had long been considered the favourite to lead the new government, says our correspondent, but was apparently sidelined.
Some party members say Asif Ali Zardari saw Mr Fahim as a rival power base in the PPP, others that Mr Fahim is seen as too close to President Pervez Musharraf.
Ms Bhutto's widower is still the PPP's most powerful figure, say analysts
Mr Zardari and his main coalition partner, Mr Sharif, have told The New York Times they are prepared to negotiate with the militants, reflecting a coalition consensus on the need for a comprehensive political approach to Islamist violence.
Ms Bhutto's party has been in intense talks over the make-up of a coalition administration since winning the 18 February elections.
President Musharraf, a US ally who came to power as a general in a 1999 coup, suffered heavy losses in the polls and appears increasingly isolated, say analysts.
The new coalition government has vowed to reinstate judges sacked by the president during a state of emergency in November.
Correspondents say the judges, if restored, could overturn Mr Musharraf's re-election in a parliamentary vote last October, effectively ruling his presidency illegal.
Harvard dhimmis dhebate call to prayer
Okay, I knew about the gym apartheid for Muslim women going on there, but I did not know they were also thinking about broadcasting one of "the prettiest sounds on earth" (according to Obama) across Harvard Yard.
Weasel Zippers has it.
-end-
Friday, March 21, 2008
Pay attention to the signs.
Good Friday? Not for Lehman and Goldman.
Standard & Poor's analysts tested the tree-falling-in-an-empty-forest scenario, as it lowered the outlooks for Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers to negative while markets were closed.
Please be advised that S & P do not exactly have clean hands in this whole affair. (Kind of like the Sharia Finance deals we've been hearing so much about.)
And just so you know, the Captain has asked me to remind you to remain in your seats when the fasten seat belt sign is illuminated. Your cooperation is appreciated.
More details beneath the fold
Lancing the boil:
Profits at Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers could deteriorate significantly this year if the turmoil sweeping the capital markets persists, a leading research agency said yesterday.
Standard & Poor's (S&P) gave warning that it might cut the credit ratings on both investment banks, lowering the outlook on Goldman and Lehman from “stable” to “negative”. That comment, which coincided with reports of looming job losses at Goldman, could result in higher borrowing costs and a fall in the banks' shares.
S&P praised Goldman Sachs for producing a string of record profits in recent years and said that it had a solid capital base. However, it noted that much of Goldman's recent success was based on a significant rise in trading, and S&P said that the group's “aggressive” appetite for risk left open the potential for “major mis-steps”.
S&P said that it expected independent securities firms, such as Goldman and Lehman, to report profit declines of between 20 per cent and 30 per cent for the year. “Nonetheless, we see some possibility, were there to be persisting capital markets turmoil and sharply weakening economic conditions, that financial performance could deteriorate significantly more than we now assume, which would call the current ratings into question,” the S&P report read.
Goldman Sachs has a rating of AA- on its long-term senior debt, the fourth-highest level, and Lehman is one notch below, at A+. The S&P report comes in a week in which Goldman and Lehman reported significant first-quarter profit declines that, nonetheless, were considerably ahead of consensus analyst forecasts.
This week Goldman reported a 53 per cent decline in first-quarter profits to $1.51 billion (£762 million), as the group announced about $2.5billion of writedowns relating to so-called leveraged loans that finance private equity deals, mortgages and direct investments. Meanwhile, Lehman recorded a 57 per cent decline, to $489 million, after taking a $2 billion hit from the credit crunch.
S&P's potential ratings downgrade emerged only hours after reports that Goldman Sachs would impose significant job cuts in its investment banking, debt and equity underwriting and merger advisory units. It is understood that Goldman, which employs about 32,000 worldwide and typically cuts the bottom 5 per cent of its workforce annually, will eliminate additional jobs in its worst-performing departments this year. However, David Viniar, the chief financial officer, said that the group's headcount for the year would grow slightly, and it is understood that this is still the plan, even with the extra job cuts. Goldman declined to comment on the possible additional redundancies.
The cuts would follow the elimination of a further 1,800 jobs at Citigroup worldwide, which is expected to result in hundreds of positions disappearing in the City. The cuts, which will affect investment banking and trading as well as hedge fund and private equity services, come on top of about 21,200 redundancies in the past year.
Wall Street and the City face huge redundancies as the credit crunch continues to spread. This week the Centre for Economic Business Research increased its estimate for the number of job losses in the City this year from 6,500 three months ago to 10,000.
Well, this sucks v.3
Pakistan to negotiate with militants reads the headline at the International Herald Tribune.
Even more grim - the NY Times has this: Pakistan to try new approach to Militants.
But of course, you read it first here at Dinah Lord.
-end-
La Pelosi meets Dalai Lama and
A tart response.
Spring break means Nancy is off on another whirlwind tour.
Spring break means Nancy is off on another whirlwind tour.
This time she takes on China.
China blows her off.
And it's all on our dime...
Using a visit to this country to poke a finger in the eye of Beijing, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, on Friday came here to the Dalai Lama's headquarters, described the events in Tibet as "a challenge to the conscience of the world" and pressed for an international investigation into whether the Dalai Lama was its mastermind, as the Chinese government has alleged.
"If freedom-loving people throughout the world do not speak out against China's oppression and China and Tibet, we have lost all moral authority to speak on behalf of human rights anywhere in the world," said Pelosi, Democrat of California.
A few hours later came a tart response from the Chinese ambassador to India, who called Tibet an "internal affair" and shunning interference.
Her reference to moral authority and speaking out on behalf of human rights anywhere in the world is amusing. Especially given the way she is trying to blow off the Iraqis at the moment.
Here's the video. Nancy starts babbling at 20 seconds.
More at the link not below.
Swiss Minister sparks veil outcry.
I've only taken one Krav Maga class but believe you me, I'd have that white schmatta wrapped around the Persian Pipsqueak's neck in a New York minute.
Protocol, she claims.
Dhimmitude, I assert. Especially when you roll in that multi-billion dollar gas deal with the Iranians that she just signed. Then to make matters worse, even the Swiss press rolled over and spread their legs on the issue. (I know that may sound crass, but it's the truth!)
Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey has been widely criticised for donning a white headscarf to meet Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Well-known for her stand on women's rights, she has provoked headlines such as "Just like a submissive woman".
Socialist MP Maria Roth-Bernasconi said it was irritating that she had angered feminists in Iran.
Ms Calmy-Rey said she was observing protocol. "When you are a guest you respect local customs," she said.
Social Democrat MP Liliane Maury Pasquier accepted that customs had to be observed.
But she was quoted by one newspaper complaining that the minister should have shown solidarity with "the women who fight against wearing the headscarf".
The minister also prompted controversy by signing a multi-billion dollar natural gas deal. The United States had complained that Switzerland was sending the wrong message when Tehran was subject to UN sanctions.
Ms Calmy-Rey insisted the deal between Swiss company EGL and the National Iranian Gas Export company did not violate sanctions.
Swiss daily Le Matin said on Wednesday it was shocked that Switzerland's "icon of a liberated woman" had been transformed into an image of one who was oppressed.
Its tone changed on Thursday, however, by acknowledging that the foreign minister had not really had much choice.
A source told the paper that, without wearing a headscarf, she probably would not have been able to have her meetings with the Iranian leadership.
-end-
AQIM: Update on the Austrian Hostages
Optimism fading. Talks continue. Hope perseveres for an Easter release.
The optimism of the Austrian Authorities, in terms of releasing the two hostages, Andrea Kloiber and Aolfgang Ebner, seems fading away following the statements being delivered by the Austrian envoy to Mali last Thursday, saying they were likely to be released yesterday, while the Malian President has announced that experts in kidnapping issues are to back up authorities.
Meanwhile, Magharebia is reporting that:
Austria has refused to pay any ransom for the release of two Austrian tourists kidnapped from Tunisia in mid-February, press reports quoted Austrian negotiator Anton Prohaska as saying on Wednesday (March 19th).In more encouraging hostage news: Somali pirates release Irish hostages held for 46 days. The hostages are well and unharmed. No word on whether or not a ransom was paid.
The deadline for releasing the Austrians has been extended to Sunday (March 23rd). According to Algerian and Austrian media reports, Libyan leader Muammar Kadhafi is involved in the discussions with the terrorists.
And remind me not to go work for CBS. No word from network on kidnapped, anonymous (not if you read Dinah Lord) CBS journalist missing in Iraq for 5 weeks.
-end-
A voice of sanity crying out in the wilderness about Sharia Finance
Muslim investors are being hoodwinked.
Will they soon have their own 'sub-Sharia sukuk' mess on their hands?
Discouraging words are starting to be heard...
"...leading muslim scholar, Sheik Muhammed Taqi Usmani, says 80 percent of these bonds break the fundamentals laws of Islam. Tarek El Diwany, author of The Problem with Interest, says the sheik is right: The banks have been hoodwinking Muslim investors.
Tarek El Diwany: They are engaging in legal trickery in order to produce a fixed financial rate of return from the outset of the transaction. Many of them are -- not all of them.
Special boards of Muslims scholars certify all the sukuk as islamic. The trouble is, says El Diwany, the banks pay those scholars -- sometimes handsomely. Rather like an investment bank paying a rating agency, which then gives its conventional bonds a triple-A. Hardly an independent opinion...
Sheik Usmani's attack has sent shockwaves through the Islamic bond industry. His influential board has just issued tighter guidelines, and that has made many of the existing bonds look as if they don't comply with Islamic law.
Now, what has Dinah been telling you? Hasn't she been saying the exact same thing?
Sharia Finance bonus: Listen to the "Superman of Islamic Finance" pontificate on some show (tv? webcast? charade?) called the Salam Cafe. It appears to be something like the Australian-Muzzie version of the View. Now there's a concept.
At the 5 minute mark there's some sort of weird public service announcement and the declaration that a big rumble in the tummy means its Ramadan (editor's note: either that or you're a suicide bomber)
Superman is at the 9 minute mark... Listen to it (if you can)and tell me what you think...
I vote hoodwinker.
-end-
Fitna to be tied...
Those stalwart chaps over at Klein Verzet are still manning the Fitna barricades in the Netherlands. Wondering what's up? Head over there and check it out. They report that it doesn't look like Fitna will be released over the Easter weekend and a government subsidized Moslem group has filed suit to stop it's release. It looks like the Dutch judicial system is going to take up the case, too.
-end-
Keeping up with the Bhuttos
Benazir Bhutto's son arrives in Pakistan (amid a flurry of rose petals) to announce the PPP party's candidate for PM. Will it be dear old dad?
Pakistan's version of e-bay will launch in April. It's first ever auction? Benazir Memorabilia. No word on whether or not the velvet paintings will be available.
The relatives of Benazir's assassins claim their kinfolk are innocent and are begging Zardari for mercy. No word if mercy was shown.
Pakistan: A follow up to the Luna Caprese bombing
An interesting follow up to the Luna Caprese bombing last week can be found here.
Sources told AKI that the anti-Shia Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, which has merged with al-Qaeda, is the one behind this violence.
It is believed that the same group is also behind the 15 March attack on an Italian restaurant in Islamabad which killed one woman and injured 11 others as well as the deadly bomb attacks in Lahore on 11 March which killed 24 people and injured 100.
The group is apparently targeting any individuals or groups they believe to be behind the anti-al-Qaeda movements in Pakistan's tribal areas.
The Italian restaurant in Islamabad which was bombed was co-owned by an Italian woman and the wife of the Amir of Hunza.
The Amir of Hunza is the chief of Shia majority Hunza region situated in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and is believed to be one the main backers and financers of the anti-Taliban and anti-al-Qaeda movements in Pakistan's northern areas. As such the restaurant was an obvious target for the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi.
-end-
Friday Prayers Roundup
Pakistan: Curfew imposed after 'sectarian' clashes. Guess who?
Pakistan shuts down 3 radio stations, raid yields weapons, 'provocative' literature. They tried to broadcast Maulana Fazlullah tapes and they got pwned.
Thousands protests cartoons, film in Afghan capital.
Remember how the Taliban were blowing up cell towers in Afghanistan? Not any more. Taliban cellular vandals killed, arrested.
Important Taliban commander nabbed. The Tali-wackers spring offensive just got less so.
Bosnia arrests 5 Wahhabis for suspected terror activities.
Iraqi army, Coalition forces detain 10 suspects.
-end-
Like most Democrats, John Edwards enjoys
Bush-hogging on his tractor. (hey, ABC said it - not me.)
ABC's Raelyn Johnson reports: Even while former Governor Bill Richardson was preparing his endorsement of a former rival, former Sen. John Edwards chose to remain neutral.
Since dropping out of the presidential race at the end of January, Edwards told NBC's Jay Leno Thursday night that he's been enjoying time at home with his kids and "bush-hogging on his tractor."
Heh.
-end-
How do you take your coffee?
Feeling good on Good Friday morning so let's have a kaffe klatsch, shall we?
Make your first stop Wolf Howling for some linkage strudel to enjoy with your coffee. If you make it all the way through the Watcher's Council links he has posted for you there, you can move on to read fine pieces on fighting the suicide ideology cult and a look at the MSM's evolving view of Obama.
Ready for another cup of coffee? Hang on. I'll get it. You read this about the Danish situation over at SIOE. It's an up close and personal accounting of the Stop Islamization of Europe demos. Great pics and you'll feel like you were there.
C'mon. Just one more. You have to try this. It's piping hot Kokosbrood and it comes all the way from Holland. Report on Arrakis made a special trip. You can't say no. You know you want to know how desperate the anti Fitna crowd is becoming over there in the Netherlands. Just a little piece. There. Wasn't that good?
Stuffed, my paunchy possums? Can't possibly eat another bite?
Well, then, take these 6 cylinder chocolate covered donuts TO GO and head on over to Nuggets: News the MSM won't report for a discussion of your grocery hauler and then help Janice decide what to do about her ride. While you're there check out the report of creeping Sharia finance in Toledo...it sounds like we're looking at Holy Toledo with all the Moslem activity there.
Oh my. Look at the time - we didn't even get to the knishes. Good thing you can go over to the Gathering Storm Radio Show and listen to Sultan Knish at 12noon PST (or anytime thanks to the miracle of the interwebs.) If you listen live you can also join their online chat which is mondo fun.
Thanks for coming!
You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll ruin your keyboard...
A little Friday funny from those dear boys
over at THE NOSE ON YOUR FACE.
Production Notes: During the filming of this video, the Potfry twins witnessed their father frantically trying to extinguish Raggedy Ann, likely providing ample fodder for their future therapist. Mrs. Potfry spent most of the proceedings taking notes and talking with her attorney. Contrary to the ravings of the on-set veterinarian, we remain hopeful Jake the Dog’s fur will grow back. Script, recording, and editing supervision by Buckley and Bruce Dickinson. Voice over by Dan Pardo. Poor final mix by Potfry.
-end-
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Yemen playboy escapes murder charge
Yemen to refuse extradition in revenge for Abu Hamza.
Bastards.
The Arab playboy who escaped to Yemen after his ex-girlfriend was murdered will never face justice. Authorities there are refusing to hand him over in revenge for Britain's handling of hate cleric Abu Hamza's case.
British detectives urgently want to speak to billionaire's son Farooq Abdulhak, who fled to his home country the day after 23-year-old Martine Vik Magnussen was killed near his central London apartment.
Read it all and spread the word. This pervert playboy needs to pay the price. Abu Hamza be damned.
-end-
Good morning, Pakistan!
Mullah Fazlullah is back on the air.
(Only he's getting jammed. Bwa-ha-ha.)
The illegal radio station of militant commander Maulana Fazlullah has resumed broadcasts in the Swat district of NWFP, BBC Urdu reported on Thursday. It said that official sources had confirmed that Fazlullah’s radio, after a closure of almost three months, was back on air with Fazlullah’s fiery speeches.
“The FM radio station has been broadcasting Fazlullah’s speeches for the last three days, but it has not yet been fully active,” a government official told the BBC on condition of anonymity.
The official said the government had improved the signal strength of the state-run Swat Radio, in order to disrupt and jam the frequency of its counterpart run by Fazlullah. Locals said that Fazlullah’s speeches were not audible, because of frequency disruption by the state-run radio station.
“An unknown person starts to make a speech loudly, at exactly the same moment when Fazlullah delivers his speech; thus making Fazlullah’s words inaudible,” one local said.
According to official sources, the illegal radio station resumed its broadcasts from Matta tehsil. They added that its exact location was being ascertained.
China: Muslim women hijackers from Pakistan and Central Asia.
Ruh-roh 2.
Remember those Muslim women who tried to hijack a Chinese flight?
Militants who tried to attack a Chinese flight this month allegedly came from Pakistan and Central Asia, sources said on Thursday.-end-
Chinese officials say a flight from the Muslim region Xinjiang to Beijing on March 7 landed in Lanzhou after a foiled assault.
“An investigation found that the attempt to cause an air disaster ... was a grave act of sabotage instigated and conducted by Eastern Turkestan separatists from abroad,” Communist Party Chief of Xinjiang province Wang Lequan told the state-run Xinhua news agency.
One source told Reuters the chief suspects are a man and a woman, both suspected Pakistanis. “They were carrying Pakistani passports,” the source said.
The woman hid in the toilet and attempted to light a flammable liquid smuggled on board.
She aroused the suspicions of crew and passengers when she emerged to pick up a second can. Party chief Wang said that suspects had already confessed and a third Pakistani mastermind remained at large.
Those who are merciful to the cruel ultimately end up being cruel to the merciful...
UK Terrorists moved to new jail after death threats.
Poor babies. There were too many whiteys there. (They must have listened to Obama's speech)
Poor babies. There were too many whiteys there. (They must have listened to Obama's speech)
Two of Britain’s most dangerous convicted terrorists have been moved to a different prison after one complained that they were at risk because the jail was dominated by white inmates.
Dhiren Barot, who planned a radioactive bomb plot involving limousines packed with nails and explosives, and Omar Khyam, who plotted to blow up Bluewater shopping centre, asked to be transferred from the high security Frankland prison near Durham after a series of death threats and attacks.
Although the request was initially turned down, Barot, who is serving a minimum of 30years, has now returned to Belmarsh in south east London, while Khyam has been moved to Full Sutton near York.
The move sparked criticism that the Prison Service had caved into prisoners’ demands.
Barot’s solicitor Mudassar Arani asked for him to be moved after another inmate threw boiling oil and water over him last July, causing severe injuries.
The 35-year-old suffered serious burns and spent a week in hospital.
Prisoner Gary Moody was charged with wounding and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, but the case was dropped when Barot said he did not want to take the matter further.
Miss Arani told the Muslim News that Frankland, a predominantly white prison, was “an extremely dangerous environment for ethnic minority prisoners who now fear for their safety.”
A spokesman from her office said both Barot and Khyam had been moved.
Khyam, who was sent to Frankland from Belmarsh last June, had complained of death threats.
“He was threatened that he would be burnt alive or knifed as he was complaining about his situation in prison,” a member of his family said.
His solicitor Imran Khan said the move was “a victory for common sense” which should have taken place earlier without having to apply pressure on the Prison Service.
But Patrick Mercer, a Conservative MP and adviser on terrorism issues, criticised the decision.
“Prisons are not meant to be run for the convenience of the prisoner,” he said.
“Of course prisons are designed to rehabilitate but also designed to punish and we have got to remember the crimes for which they have been convicted.
“They are desperate crimes. Dhiren Barot wanted to use weapons of mass destruction while Omar Khyam was plotting to kill hundreds if not thousands of people.
“We have got to keep these crimes in proportion - it is not up to them to dictate how they serve their sentence.”
A spokeswoman for the Prison Service refused to comment on the movement of prisoners.
Pakistan: Islamabad goes Hollywood
Not everyone is amused. Guess who?
Ameerul Azim, a spokesman for Pakistan's largest Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami, which along with all but one Islamist faction boycotted the February polls, called the new lawmakers' show of wealth "an insult to the poor people of Pakistan."
Flashy lawmakers take seats in Pakistan
Gold-trimmed SUVs idle outside parliament. Among new female lawmakers, black Muslim veils are out and Gucci bags are in.
Civilian rule has returned to Pakistan, and its politicians have come back with bling.
Last month's elections ushered into parliament a new crop of business leaders and wealthy elites opposed to US-backed President Pervez Musharraf's one-man rule.
The new body is headed by followers of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto — secularists who have vowed to fight Islamic extremism.
Many are also veterans of a series of civilian governments that nearly bankrupted the country in the 1990s — an uneasy reminder of the graft accusations that hounded Bhutto and her husband, nicknamed "Mr. 10 Percent" for alleged kickbacks pocketed while his wife was in office.
Eight years after Musharraf took over in a military coup, they're back in power, accessories and all.
"It's their cars, their fashion. They have all the latest models," said Sana Asad, a Pakistani journalist covering parliament. "They're richer and more secular."
"Perhaps it's because they're connected to the previous administrations — the wealthy elites," she said.
Parliament's parking lot was crowded on Wednesday with new Mercedes and Toyota sports utility vehicles festooned with flashy tire rims and hood ornaments. Women in bright colours clogged past in heels and huge designer sunglasses. Bodyguards fanned out...
The February 18 elections saw a hard-line coalition of religious groups lose control of the country's northwest along the Afghan border, and only six Islamists win seats in parliament, compared to 68 in the previous legislature. Many conservative-minded allies of Musharraf also lost their seats.
In the last parliament, about a dozen female lawmakers from the religious alliance wore body-shrouding black veils that concealed everything except their eyes.
But as parliament elected its first female speaker on Wednesday, just a single lawmaker — one of 74 women in the 342-seat house — covered her face with a light beige wrap. Others wore traditional flowing gowns, some with bare heads and others with their hair only partially covered by loose scarves.
Fehmida Mirza, a medical doctor, is the first woman elected as National Assembly speaker in Pakistan's 60-year history.
Half a dozen other female lawmakers touched her shoulders as Mirza, wearing a diamond nose ring and an elegant lavender tunic embroidered with silver rosettes and a deep V-neck, rose to take her oath.
"We are writing a new chapter in history," she said, diamond-studded pearl droplet earrings and a pouf of dark hair springing out from under her sheer veil. She repeatedly touched her forehead in a gesture of thanks to her peers a thick gold bracelet sliding down her arm.
"Benazir's dream has come true," said fellow party member Farzana Raja. "We have proven we're not only chanting slogans for women's empowerment — we're taking practical steps," she said, shoving the designer sunglasses back on her head and letting her headscarf slip off.
Nasim Zehra, a Pakistani analyst and fellow at Harvard University's Asia Centre, cited "a different texture in politics now."
"The orientation of this parliament is different, with a different kind of people with different backgrounds," Zehra said.
On Wednesday, many male lawmakers arrived in designer clothing, including one who accented his tailored black suit with a bright pink tie. There were notably fewer beards and traditional turbans than in the previous parliament.
In the parking lot, Khaled Mahmood Javed sat behind the tinted windows of his shiny sedan flying the flag of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party.
His brother, Rai Ghulam Murtaza, is an incoming lawmaker who first served under Bhutto in the 1980s.
"A lot of them are businessmen, and none are poor. They're big men — important men — and they're less religious too," Javed said of the new breed of legislators.
Pakistan has seen annual economic growth of about 7 per cent for the past five years — much of it due to cash sent home by Pakistani expatriates. Murtaza was among them, his brother said.
"My brother lived abroad for the past 15 years. He's a dual citizen of Canada," Javed said proudly.
Many of Pakistan's top politicians are feudal landlords. Others amassed fortunes in Pakistan's booming banking and telecom sectors while they sat out politics under Musharraf.
Not everyone is amused.
Ameerul Azim, a spokesman for Pakistan's largest Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami, which along with all but one Islamist faction boycotted the February polls, called the new lawmakers' show of wealth "an insult to the poor people of Pakistan."
"These people today proved that they have no sympathy for the poor," he said.
Even Shah Mehmood Qureshi, a Bhutto loyalist and contender for prime minister, acknowledged the lawmakers' ostentatious display of the trappings of wealth could raise doubts about their commitment to solving the problems of ordinary Pakistanis.
"Austerity should be exercised, given the economic compulsions that we have," Qureshi told Dawn News television on Tuesday. He said the country faced "huge challenges," with high inflation and power shortages.
Economic hardships persist for most Pakistanis. Millions live in poverty despite the recent growth. The country has yet to fully overcome a severe shortage of wheat flour — a staple here — and fuel prices have spiked sharply in recent weeks.
Outside parliament on Wednesday, policemen sat in clusters under pine trees, watching new lawmakers parade past multicoloured banners lining the drive up to the legislature's marble pillars.
"Rich candidates always do better. They have more connections," said one officer, lazily picking at wild dandelions. A policemen earns just over $100 a month.
"Islam doesn't allow women to unveil themselves, but the atmosphere in Pakistan is changing day by day. You can see it in the fashion here," he said, requesting anonymity because he was not allowed to speak to the media.
"It's a bit of a charade, but it's also a big sign of democracy and hope," he said.
Obama, you're like blog crack to me. I can't quit you
Rev Wright has left the building. Barack Obama's minister, Jeremiah Wright, heads South (literally)
Barack Obama's passport file hacked into: State Department employees sacked.
My question, what were they looking for? I wonder, could it possibly be related to this?
"Doubts about Barack Obama's presidential credentials have crystallized during the past two weeks over his stewardship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on European Affairs, which has convened no policy hearings since he took over as its chairman last January."Hamas Terror Manifesto published in Obama's church newsletter. (per Jawa)
"Obama's Chicago church reprinted a manifesto by Hamas that defended terrorism as legitimate resistance, refused to recognize the right of Israel to exist and compared the terror group's official charter – which calls for the murder of Jews – to America's Declaration of Independence."
Clintons honored Jeremiah Wright at White House. (per Gateway Pundit) Now, why am I not surprised?
McCain Aide Suspended, Reprimanded (per David Freddoso over at The Corner) for circulating this YouTube video by email.
"Grandma got run over by a reindeer." (per Powerline) Not really, but I'm sure she feels like she has been. Especially with this latest from her famous grandson. I'm telling you, Obama has issues with whitey and it seems to start and end with Granny.
Meanwhile Geraldine Ferraro gets ups swinging. "To equate what I said with what this racist bigot has said from the pulpit is unbelievable,"
-end-
Obama: The words of a constitutional scholar
Fisk-fisk-fisk.
It's only words. (courtesy of Gateway Pundit)
We the people, in order to form a more perfect union.”
Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America’s improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787.
For claiming to be a constitutional law professor, Barack Obama failed miserably on the historical facts at his talk this week- the most important speech of his political career:
** The United States Declaration of Independence is an act of the Second Continental Congress, adopted on July 4, 1776.** The Constitutional Convention began May 25, 1787 and ended September 17, 1787 - though Barry Obama says it ended in the spring of 1787. **
Obama also refers to people who came across the ocean at the convention - hogwash - they were men who were born in America. Only eight of the 55 delegates were born elsewhere: four (Butler, Fitzsimons, McHenry, and Paterson) in Ireland, two (Davie and Robert Morris) in England, one (Wilson) in Scotland, and one (Hamilton) in the West Indies. **
And, they formed a Republic, not a Democracy.
It is truly sad that his team could not look in a history book and sad that so few knew he had failed to use the facts. (Hat Tip Flag Gazer)
Bonus vid: Barack, where is your outrage?
(hat tip to FReeper Comedylover)
-end-
UK: Issuing Sovereign Sukuk
Alistair DarlingThe man who is selling us down the river to dhimmitude.
Putting the UK in SukUK.
The fact that the UK Treasury is taking powers in the Finance Bill 2008 to issue a Sukuk should the occasion arise in the near future, is a positive sign of the Labour government's intent and commitment to the Islamic finance sector in the UK.
Sukuk set to be law before next UK budget.
Sovereign Islamic bonds could be issued before the next Budget thanks to ongoing government support, Junaid Bhatti, director of Islamic Finance consultancy Ballencrieff House, has claimed.
Mr Bhatti said he was pleased Islamic finance continued to receive the support of Alistair Darling and said the chancellor's Budget laid the foundations for the UK government to issue a sovereign sukuk.
He said: "Several measures have been announced, which will help with the implementation of this project. The main changes will be the introduction of modifications to the stamp duty and taxation regulations, which will ensure that the Sukuk, or Islamic bond, is given the same tax treatment as conventional bonds.”
I wonder if that's the modification that will correct the loophole allowing approximately one billion pounds worth of sukuk product to avoid paying stamp duty up to now...
Here's their angle. Sukuk will take that nasty sub-prime taste out of your mouth!
Mr Bhatti said the sector could flourish in light of global credit turmoil as the ethical structure of Islamic finance (joke)ensured lenders looked to its responsibilities before issuing loans.
He said: "Capitalist economies are suffering severe liquidity shortages due to the global credit crunch some of which is due to irresponsible lending and the gambling of customers' money.
"Islamic finance is the perfect antidote to this, because it forces banks to act more responsibly and with greater prudence. It does this by balancing the risks between banks and their customers, and through an insistence that all transactions must be supported by tangible assets."
Meanwhile the UK government stands ready, willing and able to sell us down the river to the Islamists.
The government said it remained committed to examining the issuing of Sukuks and would take legal powers to facilitate any potential future issuance in the Finance Bill 2008.
More beneath the fold
2008 London Sukuk Summit.
Sukuk market to be worth $200 by 2010
Islamic finance expert welcomes UK support of "Halal Finance" in budget.
And what did I tell you? Bahrain: Sukuk is solution to US sub-prime crisis.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Hanging chads in Tehran
Khatami calls for a re-vote. (Reminds me of the Democrats and Michigan and Florida. They can't even run their own elections for president without major snafus, think what they'll do to the country. )
Iran's former reformist president, Mohammad Khatami, has called for a recount of votes cast in the capital in last Friday's general election - in the presence of candidates. Khatami made the request in a letter sent to Iran's Guardian Council and co-signed by former parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi. The letter does not refer directly to electoral fraud, but it calls for a fresh vote count in the politically important Tehran constituency "to be able to defend the correctness of the polls."
"There are rumours circulating and some concerns exist," the letter said.Conservatives seem set to obtain a majority and retain their control of the parliament. Iran's official news agency Irna, said on Tuesday that two thirds of the 30 seats contested in Tehran went to the conservative "United Front" group, while the remaining 11 will be appointed after a second run-off ballot in April or May.
Iran's Guardian Council is an unelected religious oversight body that vets all election candidates. It disqualified nearly half of those who applied to run in the election, many of them reformists and opponents of Iran's hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The European Union (EU) called the Iranian elections unfair, due to the disqualification of certain reformist candidates.-end-
Algeria: We kill you with God's consent
Al Qaeda attacks moderate Moslems.
Members of the al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb militant group in Algeria have reportedly attacked members of a moderate organisation opposed to its terrorist activities.
A report on Tuesday in the Algerian newspaper el-Khabar said an al-Qaeda militant carried out a raid against a mosque in the Algerian province of al-Wadi on Sunday night and killed two men while they prayed.
According to the report, eyewitnesses said masked men entered the mosque as evening prayers were being held forcing everyone to fall to the ground.
The armed militants called for the two men, Harun Ahmad, and his cousin, Harun Abdel Jabbar, to step forward. They were then taken to the courtyard in the mosque where they were shot to death as the killers, speaking in an Algerian dialect, said: "We kill you with God's consent."
The two victims were part of a group of moderate Salafites who are opposed to the terrorist activities carried out by the al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb group. According to investigators, the two men were murdered by a local leader of of the Islamic terrorist group, Masoudi Muhammad al-Hafith. Another moderate Salafite was killed in the same area in a similar situation in March 2006. Salafites are Muslims who adhere to a pure interpretation of the Koran and are inspired by the lives of the first Muslims.
UK: Sleepy Cornish village angered over call to prayer
Sort of. There are plenty of dhimmis who think it's just lovely.
Residents living in a sleepy Cornish village say they face a rude awakening every day because hundreds of Muslims are using a loudspeaker system to broadcast the call to prayer. A large group of Iranian Muslims have gathered to celebrate the Persian New Year at the Trevelgue Holiday Park in Porth.
Every day at sunrise, noon and sunset the group use a loudspeaker system to broadcast their prayers - known as Adhan. But some local residents have complained about the noise - claiming it is shattering the idyll of the quiet village near Newquay.
Neighbour Emma Brewer, 35, said "the novelty soon wore off" after the group arrived at the camp last weekend. She said: "It lasts about 20 to 30 minutes and it is rather loud. I'm a bit naffed off by it, to be honest.
"Approved by environmental department"
"It's like music for a while and then chanting and the call to prayer."
Another resident added: "We are going to have to put up with this all week. It's going off in the morning, at 5am."
But Mike Finnegan, park manager, said prayers were sounded at a lower volume in the morning to avoid upsetting the neighbours.
He said: "We actually did a sound check with environmental health to make sure it was OK.
"They are lovely family people and they have invited me and my staff to join in their celebrations."
A district councillor for Porth says more than 700 Muslims are staying at the park - but denied the call-to-prayers was a noise nuisance.
Cllr Harry Heywood, of Restormel District Council, said the group arrived on Saturday and are booked in for six days until Friday.
He said: "I haven't heard anything - only a very few people seem to be annoyed. It really isn't a problem. We get thousands of youngsters here every year when GCSEs finish and they make more noise.
"It's only a call to prayer and better than the 'thump thump thump' we get from teenage parties. I did have a couple of complaints from concerned residents who were worried about the potential noise.
"I contacted the appropriate people at the council who arranged for a sound test to
be conducted on the Friday, the day before the group were due to arrive.
"Environmental health officials and the park owner agreed a sound level and there has been no problem since then. I have received no more complaints since.
"I've got to say that this is one of the quieter events. To think that there are 700 people there is amazing. I walk my dog nearby and haven't heard a sound."
But one resident, from nearby St Columb Minor, says he was offended because he could hear the chanting as he made his way back from church.
He said: "Why was this broadcast at such a high level of volume so as to be heard miles away?
"Do the Christian church bells ring out in amplified volumes on Fridays in areas where they are at prayer? I feel that this was totally unnecessary especially on such an important day in our Christian calendar."
But other residents are more sympathetic and say the daily alarm calls is "lovely".
One said: "I loved it, I was hanging out of the window trying to hear.
It's such a unique sound that reminds me of travelling and I'd much rather hear it than church bells."
The event, organised by the Islamic Students Association, is a six day celebration of
Persian and Islamic culture.
-end-
The FLU not terror, is UK's biggest threat. Climate change is bigger than the both of them!
(The Democrats get in this is the kind of stuff we are going to be forced to listen to.)
-end-
OBL Video released and...
Update: He warns that "revenge for republishing offensive cartoons will be severe." Reprinting cartoons worse than killing women and children.
Bin Laden concludes his message by saying if there are no checks on the Europeans' freedom to speak, then there will be no checks on his freedom to act.
-end-
Is Vogue's LeBron cover racist?
Just when you thought it couldn't get any squirrelier, the moonbats are getting their panties all up in a wad about this:
Racially charged image.
-end-
Racially charged image.
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ superstar is on the magazine’s April 2008 “shape”Rosenfeld is white. Robin Givhan's, the Washington Post's fashion editor and former associate editor of Vogue is black and she has a different take on it - sort of. It still all comes down to evil whitey in the end.
issue, mouth gaping, face twisted in a grimace, muscles bulging and arm slung
around supermodel Gisele Bundchen.
“Here you have an image of a black male athlete in an exceptionally aggressive stance, wide footed, bending over, clutching her with his arm,” said Jason Rosenfeld, professor of art history at Marymount Manhattan College. “It’s one thing to have an athlete in that kind of pose and with that kind of expression on a court after he or she has done something miraculous. It’s another thing to couple it with someone who is of an entirely different ilk and gender. That turns it into a racially charged image.”
“It’s so exhausting that every time people see an image of a black person they
work themselves into a tizzy that somehow it doesn’t adhere to the way in which
they think a black person should be presented,” she said. “The whole LeBron
thing really comes down to … maybe Vogue should have more people of color on
their cover, male and female,” she said. “Maybe then they won’t be so
scrutinized when they do put a person of color on their cover.”
-end-
UK: Sharia marriages not legal
(h/t Islam in Europe)
Parents tried to marry off son with the mental capacity of a three year old.
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a marriage recognised in Bangladesh under Sharia law is not legal in the UK.
The 26-year-old British bridegroom had the mental capacity of a three-year-old and could not consent to the marriage, the court decided. His marriage with a woman in Bangladesh took place in August 2006 over a speaker phone. Since the man's family planned to bring his bride to the UK, English law on consent must prevail, said the court.The man, identified only as IC, was said to be highly suggestible and vulnerable.
Really. Are there even words to describe the perfidy of these parents. Or the Mullah who officiated over this sham Sharia marriage?
-end-
Barack and his church...all the old white women - under the bus!
That speech yesterday was pretty shameful. And IMO very revealing.
There was so much material there, I could spend a day fisking it - alas, Dinah's a busy girl and she has a jihad to fight and her NCAA brackets to fill! Here are some random thoughts.
I was surprised that moral equivalency was going to be the order of the day, although I should have seen it coming from a mile away. He seemed subdued and flat. And for someone who's oration skills recieves raves, I found this speech uninspiring and dull as dishwater. Reading it off the teleprompter didn't exactly help and I questioned the choice of venue...but onto the show.
Could they have fit one more flag on the dais behind him? For someone who refuses to put his hand over his heart during the anthem or wear a flag pin as a display of his patriotism, he had no problem wrapping himself up in it yesterday.
And he sure was throwing all the old white women under the bus, wasn't he? Holding Geraldine Ferraro with her one stupid remark up as an example of white racism to offset the Rev Wright's 20+ years of bigotry and anti-Americanism seemed like a lame, political jab to me.
And Grandma got a big shove, too. I was struck how resentful Obama sounded when he talked about his white Granny's 'many sacrifices' for him and her alleged racist remarks. I heard the tone of his voice and said to myself - uh-oh. There's trouble there. I can see how that type of remark heard by a young boy who's father had taken off, whose mother had taken him from awesome Hawaii and dumped him in Kansas with his whitefolk relatives could have inflicted a deep hurt and judging from the sound of his voice, it did. And still does.
He sounded amazingly conflicted about his multi-racial heritage, too. That surprised me.
He tried to hide it but you couldn't help but hear the bitterness in his words.
And for someone stumping for a 'post-racial' society, he sure still seems to be carrying around a lot of baggage from the 1860's.
Amen.
I think Obama is still a pretty troubled soul. Perhaps he should consult his minister? What? Oh, that's right he already has.
P.S. Did you ever wonder where Michelle Obama has gone to church her whole life?
I'm betting it was Trinity United.
-end-
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Well, this sucks 2
Semper Fi bill goes down to defeat in the Senate 41-57. The U.S. Senate has shot down an amendment by a South Carolina senator to pull more than $2 million earmarked for Berkeley school lunches, ferry service and police communication equipment and transfer it to the Marine Corps.
After calling the US Marines unwelcome and uninvited intruders, the Berkeley Mayor took time out of his busy schedule to say this:
"We are thankful that people realize that earmarks for such important things should not be in jeopardy because of some action taken by any local government."
I'm sure you'll recall the organic lunch program provided by chi-chi Chez Panisse as just one of the important things covered in this "important earmark."
The listing of Senators who should have their support of the troops questioned can be found beneath the fold.
The listing of Senators who should have their support of the troops questioned can be found beneath the fold.
The Guilty Republicans are:
Bennett (R-UT)
Cochran (R-MS)
Hagel (R-NE)
Lugar (R-IN)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)
Also, Lieberman and Sanders (I)
Bennett (R-UT)
Cochran (R-MS)
Hagel (R-NE)
Lugar (R-IN)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)
Also, Lieberman and Sanders (I)
Monday, March 17, 2008
The Chaos trade
In the end financial markets are nothing more than a massive confidence game fueled by information and smart young things in fine suits and expensive shoes. (Don't get me wrong - I loved every minute of it.)
When you trade, your word is your bond. And you are only as good as your last trade.
So when the whispers questioning Bear's solvency drowned out the word of their traders on the street, the jig was up.
And Wall Streeters all gossip like old ladies. You'd be surprised.
And that is what ultimately brought down Bear Stearns.
Interestingly enough, the source of all this chatter on the street, the mortgage desk, had turned a profitable first quarter - thanks to the chaos trade. (Basically the chaos trade is the Wall Street version of the Clinton campaign "kitchen sink" strategy. You crunch the numbers and throw everything but the kitchen sink at it. It's a massive crapshoot.)
Another oddity in this deal centers on Bear's mortgage trading desk. While much has been justifiably made of that desk's central role during the wide-ranging global credit collapse - it was perennially the first- or second-biggest underwriter on Wall Street - the embattled desk actually made money in the first quarter, Bear execs said.
Over the previous three months, Bear's mortgage and asset-backed trading desks shifted a portion of their capital into a series of proprietary trades designed to profit from the ongoing maelstrom. Notionally called hedges, in reality they were a series of free-standing bets that Bear executives dubbed The Chaos Trade, given the current climate.
The trades were bets pretty far afield from the standard trading of standard Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae guaranteed securities. The trades speculated on the decline of value in specific tranches of mortgage securities, futures on bond indexes, the shape of the yield curve and individual brokerage and bank bonds.
The payoff for Bear from the so-called chaos trade was impressive: $1.9 billion in one quarter, nearly off-setting the $2.5 billion write-down, Bear execs said. On top of that, one senior Bear executive told Fortune that in the quarter, the firm made $800 million on a series of other mortgage trades, giving its desk a profit for the quarter. The senior Bear executive declined to characterize the nature of the trades.
Read all about it here: JP Morgan and the Fed inherit the chaos trade.
Could they have pulled it out? Maybe. Maybe not. If I knew the answer to that I wouldn't be fighting the jihad in my pajamas, I'd be swilling champagne and flying in my G-5 to my private island in the Caribbean for a few days. I do know that this post subprime market is a boil that needs lanced. And that's what we're seeing. The good news. The markets are working. Confidence in the market held. For today. Stocks and treasurys rallied. The dollar held. Oil advanced and retreated. The bad news: It's not over yet: MF Global is causing a stir and will be closely watched. Lehman and Goldman are reporting tomorrow and they will be important. Citibank, Washington Mutual are also on the rumored list. No doubt there are more lurking out there. Another Fed action is expected Tuesday and the Captain still has the seatbelt sign illuminated, possums.
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Well this sucks.
The term "special relationship" is no longer to be used to describe Anglo-American relations according to the government of Gordon Brown.
Per Tim Montgomerie of CentreRight:
Quite a sad piece in yesterday's Sunday Telegraph about the decline in the special relationship between Britain and America.
The term "special relationship" is no longer in use at Britain's Washington Embassy. One British diplomat told Sunday Telegraph journalist Tim Shipman that the term wasn't much of a career enhancer.
The new British Ambassador to the USA "frowns on the phrase". Meanwhile Gordon Brown hasn't had dinner with America's Ambassador to Britain since becoming Prime Minister.
Gordon Brown (who hasn't spoken regularly to George W Bush) prefers to work with EU allies rather than focus on the transatlantic relationship.
The world is a safer, stronger place when Britain and America are close. It will be a terrible tragedy if Brown's lack of interest in foreign affairs undermines important historical ties.
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Rasmussen: Rev Wright's approval rate at 8%. Obama slipping and sliding.
Too bad Trinity United Church's website sanitization plan didn't get started just a wee bit earlier. (And it's a really good thing you can still SEE what the church doesn't want YOU to see over at LGF.)
Meanwhile, The latest numbers from Rasmussen:
Pastor Jeremiah Wright, who has become part of the national political dialogue in recent days, is viewed favorably by 8% of voters nationwide. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 58% have an unfavorable view of the Pastor whose controversial comments have created new challenges for Barack Obama’s Presidential campaign.
Seventy-three percent (73%) of voters say that Wright’s comments are racially divisive. That opinion is held by 77% of White voters and 58% of African-American voters.
Most voters, 56%, said Wright’s comments made them less likely to vote for Obama. That figure includes 44% of Democrats. Just 11% of voters say they are more likely to vote for Obama because of Wright’s comments.
However, among African-Americans, ...
...29% said Wright’s comments made them more likely to support Obama. Just 18% said the opposite while 50% said Wright’s comments would have no impact.
Overall, voters are evenly divided as to whether Obama should resign his membership in the Church—42% say that he should while 40% disagree. White voters, by a 46% to 33% margin, say that Obama should leave the Church. African-American voters, by a 68% to 16% margin, say he should not.
The story became big news in the past several days and has had at least a temporary impact on public perceptions of Obama. Last Thursday, 52% of voters nationwide had a favorable opinion of Obama. That figure has fallen to 47% on Monday (see recent daily results). In recent days, Obama has also lost ground to John McCain in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.
Sixty-six percent (66%) of voters say they have read, seen, or heard news stories about Wright’s comments.
Obama: He don't listen to those stinking sermons!
Not when he got the tapes!
From the NY Times, April 30, 2007 (h/t Perfunction)
"Services at Trinity were a weekly master class in how to move an audience. When Mr. Obama arrived at Harvard Law School later that year, where he fortified himself with recordings of Mr. Wright’s sermons, he was delivering stirring speeches as a student leader in the classic oratorical style of the black church."
I thought this was special, too.
He has said that he relies on Mr. Wright to ensure “that I am speaking as truthfully about what I believe as possible.” He tends to turn to his minister at moments of frustration, Mr. Wright said, such as when Mr. Obama felt a Congressional Black Caucus meeting was heavier on entertainment than substance.
And is Obama "the token African" over there at Trinity United Church?
The church’s Afrocentric focus makes Mr. Obama a figure of particular authenticity there, because he has the African connections so many members have searched for.
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Sunday, March 16, 2008
Again, I would be remiss...if I didn't mention the Bear in the living room
and if I didn't comment upon JP Morgan Chase's tendering an offer in principle to acquire Bear Stearns for $2.00 per share. The offer is shockingly low, and it's sad to see such an ignominous ending to a long-time scrappy player on the street. Lots of whispers about the long term viablility of Goldman Sachs and Lehman. This would truly be shocking as Goldman and Lehman are two of the last of the old time, white shoe investment firms on the street.
The signs are bearish.
I also don't remember the last time the Fed cut rates on a Sunday. The formation of a new lending facility for broker dealers is big news, too. Way.
Buckle up, possums. Monday looks like it could be a bumpy one. Japan stocks slide 4%, credit fears abound.
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Accusations of 'Electronic Lynching' in 5...4...3...
Wright's character being assassinated.
"The domesticated donkey says..."
"Nearly three weeks before the 40th commemorative anniversary of the murder of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr.'s character is being assassinated in the public sphere because he has preached a social gospel on behalf of oppressed women, children and men in America and around the globe,'' the church said in a statement released Sunday.
There's only one gospel and the politics of an afro-centric, race-baiting church play no part in it.
More beneath the crack.
Sen. Barack Obama's church staged a strong defense of its senior pastor Sunday, comparing criticism of Rev. Jeremiah Wright to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Obama's Democratic presidential bid has drawn scrutiny to Wright's outspoken comments on race and U.S. policy, as well as the Afro-centric flavor of Trinity United Church of Christ. Critics have said Wright is wrong-headed, militant and divisive. The church says Wright's commitment to social justice is a flashpoint for some conservatives.
During a Sunday evening service, Pastor Otis Moss III spoke of "external forces" that want to "box us in and vilify us."
In a Palm Sunday sermon laden with symbolism, Moss seemed to liken a biblical donkey or colt to the oppressed. To undermine it, "You have to assassinate the colt's character," Moss said to shouts of "Preach."
"....The domesticated donkey says, 'You need to stop talking that social justice stuff" and speak only of Jesus, Moss said.
In the church's prepared statement, Moss criticized basing Wright's legacy on a few comments. After 36 years of preaching, "It is an indictment on Dr. Wright's ministerial legacy to present his global ministry within a 15- or 30-second sound bite,'' Moss said.
"It saddens me to see news stories reporting such a caricature of a congregation that has been such a blessing,'' said church president Rev. John J. Thomas in the statement. "It's time for us to say 'No' to these attacks and declare that we will not allow anyone to undermine or destroy the ministries of any of our congregations in order to serve their own narrow political or ideological ends."
A horndog is a horndog is a horndog.
via Memri: Egyptian Polygamist Cites Koran and States: This Is the Nature of Men
Dinah says Bwa-ha-ha! This is the nature of Moslem horndogs.
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The Ultimate Smackdown.
Hamas MP Fathi Hammad Slams Arab and Islamic Regimes for Being Ruled by "4 Million Brothers of Apes and Pigs" (via MEMRI)
Dinah says Bwa-ha-ha, don't forget the possums!
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UK: Brown to conduct inquiry into Iraq
to avoid having people look at what's going on in the UK now.
(Okay, I admit it. That's just my take on it. That's not the official position or anything.)
Gordon Brown has promised that the Government will hold a full-scale inquiry into the mistakes made in Iraq before and since the invasion five years ago.
His concession marks a significant break from his predecessor, Tony Blair, who steadfastly refused to hold a wide-ranging inquiry into the war. Mr Brown, however, insists it is not the right time for an immediate investigation as the situation in Iraq remains "fragile" and British troops are still trying to bring stability to the country.
The Prime Minister said: "There is a need to learn all possible lessons from the military action in Iraq and its aftermath."
On the eve of the fifth anniversary of the invasion on Thursday, Mr Blair's former chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, warned it could take "decades" to bring calm to Iraq. He also admitted the British and US governments had seriously underestimated the scale of the task before them in 2003.
Mr Brown's promise came in a letter to Sunder Katwala, general secretary of the Labour-affiliated Fabian Society, who had urged him to mark the anniversary by announcing a public inquiry.
"There will come a time when it is appropriate to hold an inquiry," said Mr Brown. "But whilst the whole effort of the Government and the armed forces is directed towards supporting the people and government of Iraq as they forge a future based on reconciliation, democracy, prosperity and security, we believe that is not now."
The Prime Minister added: "Despite the progress made on the security, economic and political fronts in Iraq, the situation remains fragile and could easily be reversed. At this critical time it is therefore vital that the Government does not divert attention from supporting Iraq's development as a secure and stable country."
Insisting that "real progress" is being made in Iraq, Mr Brown said the transfer of all four provinces in the south of the country to the Iraqi authorities was "ample evidence" of the sterling work done by UK forces and its coalition partners. "But the work is not complete," he said. "Our troops will remain in Iraq to train and support the Iraqi army, whilst our diplomatic missions will continue to work with the government of Iraq to use the space created by the improved security environment to make real progress on political reconciliation and economic development."
Mr Katwala welcomed Mr Brown's statement, saying: "It is very good news that the Prime Minister is personally committed to an inquiry on Iraq. I wrote to him to make the case for an inquiry because I was not aware of any previous statement from Gordon Brown since he became Prime Minister, or from the current Foreign Secretary, making the Government's policy clear."
He added: "Many people who believe this is important should be pleased to see the Prime Minister confirm that there will be an inquiry."
Mr Katwala said he understood Mr Brown's desire to focus on current efforts in Iraq but urged him to clarify the nature and timing of the inquiry.
"With a good deal of public reflection around the fifth anniversary of the war, this strikes me as an appropriate context for Government to make a public statement about this," he said.
Mr Blair had insisted a public inquiry was not justified as the background to the war had been examined four times – by the Hutton and Butler inquiries, by the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee and by the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee.
He said during the 2005 general election campaign: "We have had inquiry after inquiry we do not need to go back over this again and again."
But critics have argued that the terms of each of the inquiries were tightly drawn and failed to establish a full picture of the war and its aftermath.
The Conservatives, who backed the invasion, plan to force a Commons vote shortly in the hope of forcing an independent investigation by privy councillors into the origins and conduct of the war. William Hague, the shadow Foreign Secretary, told BBC1's The Andrew Marr Show yesterday: "If we are not going to start it now, five years on from the beginning of the war, then when on earth would we have such an inquiry?"
Labour MPs who opposed the conflict had been hoping Mr Brown would use the anniversary to set up an inquiry. They argue that this would enable him to draw a line under what is widely seen as "Tony Blair's war" and enable Labour to win back disaffected supporters.
Mr Powell told The Andrew Marr Show that the Blair government failed to prepare properly for the consequences of Saddam Hussein's removal. He said: "The trouble with Iraq is we were kind of preparing for the wrong sort of aftermath. We made lots of preparations for humanitarian disaster, for the lack of water, of all that kind of thing, and what we hadn't in my view, thought through, was the long-term nature of this."
Mr Powell admitted: "We probably hadn't thought through the magnitude of what we were taking on in Iraq, this is something that will take many decades to sort itself out.
"We were pushing [the Americans] to be prepared; we were pushing our own side to be prepared but I don't think any of us really thought through this much bigger question of what we were dealing with."
'ey Taliban - 'ere comes the 'ellfire
'appy days are 'ere again.
New missile will kill the enemy by crushing their lungs, sinuses, ears and intestines.
The British Army is about to unveil its most destructive weapon yet for the war in Afghanistan.
Apache helicopters will be armed with missiles that kill the enemy by crushing their lungs, sinuses, ears and intestines.
The next-generation weapons have been slammed by human rights campaigners as “particularly brutal”.
But gunship crews in Afghanistan are looking forward to delivery of the AGM-114N Hellfire thermobaric missile. They say it will give them extra ability to kill Taliban hiding in caves and bunkers.
Makers of the missile boast it can destroy the first floor of a building – and everyone in it – while leaving upper floors untouched.
When it hits its target it releases a fine cloud of aluminium particles which spreads and burns far more effectively than a normal bomb.
A CIA report said: “The effect of the explosion within confined spaces is immense.
“Those near the ignition point are obliterated. Those at the fringe are likely to suffer many internal and thus invisible injuries, including burst eardrums and crushed inner ear organs, severe concussions, ruptured lungs and internal organs and possible blindness.”
Another US government report said: “It is possible victims are not rendered unconscious by the blast but instead suffer before suffocating.”
Thermobaric weapons are horrible, critics say. A February 2000 Human Rights Watch report said: “These weapons kill and injure in a particularly brutal manner over a wide area.”
The Ministry of Defence is touchy on the use of thermobaric weapons.
It has denied a new shoulder-launched bunker-busting missile is thermobaric, instead calling it an “enhanced blast munition”.
Back in 2002 then MoD minister Lewis Moonie said: “There are no thermobaric weapons in service with the British Army and we have no plans to procure any.”
Last night an MoD spokesman said: “We are in the process of acquiring new missiles for the Apache. We make sure our forces on operations are equipped to face threats with the most efficient weapons for the task.
“All new weapons are acquired in accordance with the UK’s responsibilities under international humanitarian law.”
Italy: Former Iraqi hostage to run in elections.
Wants to defend "Christian identity."
A former hostage in Iraq, Salvatore Stefio, said on Monday that he plans to run in Italy's upcoming elections on April 13-14 under a right-wing conservative party, in order to defend what he calls "Christian identity".
Stefio, 38, said that he plans to leave the post-fascist Alleanza Nazionale party, run by Gianfranco Fini, to join La Destra, a right-wing conservative party led by Francesco Storace.
Stefio was one of four Italians abducted near Baghdad on 12 April 2004 while working as a private security guard.
One of those kidnapped, Fabrizio Quattrocchi, was later executed and his death was recorded on video by his captors. Special forces later rescued the other men, Salvatore Stefio, Umberto Cupertino and Maurizio Agliana.
"In the past Fini's party would have had more respect for the victims of Islamic fundamentalism," said Stefio. "Today instead the party is thinking about bringing the Koran into schools and letting Muslim citizens (of Italy) to run in the elections," he said.
"I am with La Destra to reaffirm the right to defend the Christian identity and civilisation against the threat of Islamic fundamentalism."
I do believe it will ultimately come to the point where you will be forced to choose a side...
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An update: The 6th pillar of Islam - Vicar Bashing
Survey of London clergy finds that nearly half have been attacked.
Last night we talked about the cowardly attack on the vicar of St. George-in-the-East church in Wapping, East London. I was shocked to read this statistic in a related article.A survey of London clergy by National Churchwatch, which provides personal safety advice, found that nearly half said they had been attacked in the previous 12 months. The organisation suggested that vicars should consider taking off their dog collars when they are on their own.
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Bomb Scare - Passengers Evacuated From Amtrak Train In Virginia
Yemeni man yells he has a bomb. It was a hoax.
Reports of a bomb on an Amtrak train in Emporia forced hundreds of people onboard to evacuate.
A number of streets were shut down overnight around where the Amtrak train stopped in the middle of town. Hundreds of passengers on board the train bound from New York down to Florida were forced to evacuate after a man on board said he had a bomb.
The nearly 300 passengers are rushed off the train around 10:30 Saturday night and taken by bus to Greensville Elementry School. “
Investigators tell 8News a 23-year-old Yemeni man named Basel Saleh Salem Kassem got into an argument with another man on the train and then yelled that he had a bomb.
“Allegedly he was causing a disturbance on the train and the conductor attempted to move him to another part of the train, that’s when he said he had a bomb and the bomb was in his bag” says Emporia Police Chief Bernard Richardson.
Around 2am the bomb squad determined the threat was a hoax. The Yemeni man was taken into custody by the FBI and is facing a felony charge of making a threat on a public conveyance. The hundreds of passengers were finally able to continue on their way.
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Pakistan: Taliban leader offers truce
IF government stops supporting President Pervez Musharraf.
Another truce. This time the Taliban want to start anew, again, although their "commander" also claims that US plans to train Pakistani paramilitary troops is an insult to one of the "world's best armies' and that the crimes committed are due to anti social elements (I guess that means yutes) not the Taliban. The sad thing is - the new government is all lined up and ready to do just that.
Militant commander Maulana Faqir Mohammad on Saturday offered the new government a ceasefire and opening of dialogue if it stopped supporting President Pervez Musharraf.
Speaking at a gathering in Mamoond sub-district, he said Pakistani Taliban could not trust the government as long as Gen (retd) Musharraf was around.
He said that militants wanted better relation with the government, but the new leadership also needed to stop supporting Mr Musharraf’s pro-US policies and safeguarding American interests.
He warned that a durable peace would remain elusive so long as Pakistan continued its support for American policies. The militant commander criticised US plans to train Pakistani paramilitary forces.
“This is an insult to one of the world’s best trained armies,” he said.
He also warned against any action against militant leader Baitullah Mehsud. “The government should desist from deliberately creating a law and order situation in the country,” Faqir Mohammad warned.
He said the Taliban had put a ban on using hoods and wearing of battle fatigues by militants in Bajaur to help improve law and order.
He claimed that anti-social elements were involved in petty crimes in the guise of Taliban.
Faqir Mohammad said that Pakistan’s soil would not be allowed to be used in support of the US-led forces.
The militant commander also warned Afghan refugees in Pakistan against serving in the Afghan army or ‘facilitating’ foreign troops.
“Stop serving the Afghan army and the coalition forces or leave Pakistan. Action will be taken against refugees who live here but are serving the Afghan army and the coalition forces.”
Pakistan: Four FBI agents wounded in Luna Caprese bombing
Bastards.US Embassy had posted warning on website on Saturday urging Americans to keep a low profile and avoid areas where Americans liked to congregate.
Four of the 12 people wounded in the weekend bombing of an Islamabad restaurant are U.S. FBI agents, a high-ranking federal source told CNN on Sunday.
None of the agents were critically hurt in the blast, which occurred at 8:45 p.m. local time. The agents' wounds included deep lacerations, concussions and fractures, the source said.
The four, who were eating dinner together at the time of the attack, were not believed to have been targeted, the source added.
An air ambulance took the agents to a hospital.
Government officials have not said who they believe is responsible...
for Saturday's attack, but they suspect al Qaeda and Taliban-linked militants from Pakistan's tribal region, who have carried out similar attacks in the past.
An FBI spokesman in Washington had no comment, but National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe told CNN that President Bush "appreciates the hard and dangerous work that U.S. officials engage in around the world, and our thoughts are with them and their families as they recover from this attack."
He added, "The U.S. condemns the latest in a series of bombings in Pakistan that have taken the lives of over 500 people since January.
"Extremists that are targeting innocent Pakistanis, as well as Americans and others in the international community in Islamabad and elsewhere, must be stopped. These terrorists offer nothing but death and destruction, and we will continue to work with the Pakistani government as they go after these thugs."
Saturday's bombing came on the heels of another deadly attack targeting a federal investigative agency. Last week, a suicide attack killed 25 people at a federal police building in Lahore.
Officials say the building housed a counter-terrorism unit funded by the U.S. and its allies in the war on terror.
The U.S. Embassy posted a notice on its Web site Saturday warning American citizens to keep a low profile and avoid areas where Westerners are known to congregate.
Here is the beginning of my post.
Al Qaeda extends deadline on Austrian hostages.
Update: Qaradawi urges al Qaeda's North Africa wing on Sunday to free two Austrian hostages
"I urge you in the name of God, Islam, the Koran and the interest of the (Islamic) nation to free the two hostages for the sake of the dignity of this religion," Egyptian scholar Youssef al-Qaradawi said on Al Jazeera television.
In his televised message, Qaradawi told the captors that Islam bans taking innocent people as hostages to apply pressure on others. "They have no guilt. They are innocent civilians used to punish others or apply pressure on them. In Islam people are only responsible for what they do individually," said Qaradawi, who is based in Qatar. I urge the captors, our brothers and sons, to let them go," he said. "Austria has a good stance on Islam."
It sounds like they are haggling over a used car.
Hostage-takers who seized two Austrian tourists last month in Tunisia have extended a deadline for their demands to be met, Austria's Foreign Ministry said Sunday.
Austria was in possession of a message «making more time available for efforts to free Wolfgang Ebner and Andrea Kloiber,» said ministry spokesman Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal.
The spokesman did not specify where the message had come from or say if a new deadline was set.
I will say that 5 million Euros will go a long way in establishing a foothold for Al Qaeda in their latest version of the terrorist rathole, Africa.
And is this the conduit they are using to negotiate with these dirty rotten terror scum?
Earlier Sunday, the ministry said a former Austrian ambassador recently met with the president of Mali to personally inform him about the case.
The real crime? The Malian Military know exactly where the hostages are.
A senior Malian military officer confirmed information reported by an Algerian Web site, Ennahar, which said that the two hostages were being held captive in northern Mali.
"Intelligence shows their presence in Malian territory, in the Kidal region, more precisely in the Tegargar sector," the officer, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.
Please. I beg of you. If I ever get taken hostage by these dogs send missiles and Marines...do not send a former ambassador to horse trade with the terrorist enabler President of some third world country. And for God's sake, don't send any of those nutjob Libyans either.
Add in Algeria and Libya and you've got a picture of what's going on. Nations like Algeria and Libya enabling terrorism by facilitating their acquisition of blood money.
In neighbouring Algeria, security sources said Austria had accepted the principle of paying a ransom and discussions were focused around the sum of five million euros.
Libya had agreed to act as an intermediary to help finalise the deal, using its influence with a local Tuareg tribe known as El Barabich, the security sources said.
More on the negotiations and location of the hostages beneath the fold.