Saturday, October 07, 2006

GITMO - An Insider Speaks


Updated: Read Part 4 "on the treatment of the detainees" and the Grand Finale, Part 5, "on the media coverage of life at Gitmo." Thank you to both Stashiu3 and Patterico for presenting this Insider's Look - be sure to read the comment threads (hundreds on each segment of the series).


At Patterico's Pontifications, a series of articles are being posted--more coming each day!--detailing Patterico's exclusive interview with “Stashiu,” an Army nurse who worked at Guantánamo, and who spoke on a regular basis with detainees with psychological and/or behavioral problems. Stashiu, going by the handle, Stashiu3 on various milblogs and other locales in the net.world, is a US Army Major and qualified mental health specialist. He's also a remarkably ethical man whose patriotism is unquestionable.

Read through all three parts (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) of the essay available as of now, and bookmark the site to go back and get more of the story as Patterico and Stashiu3 piece it together in a comprehensive and well-written series of essays. Be sure to add your own comments and questions to the comment trail because Stashiu3 is listening--and responding to reasonable inquiries--on the blog.

Don't forget to thank both gentlemen for the time and effort they're putting in to assemble this for us, as well as thank Stashiu3 for his service in the WOT.

DhimmieTube Part 2

Michelle Malkin speaks from HotAir's Studios once more. This time she's offering a "reply" to YouTube's non-response which resulted in not one single word of explanation BUT a silent reinstatement of her account--and a doubling of her Conservative Group's membership! Hey, Michelle, I think you have a real marketing tool here. Just get YouTube to ban you daily and you'll be listing hundreds of thousands of users in the blink of an eye. Well, of course, if YouTube figures out how to "allow" you to accept the hundreds of membership requests still pending!




(I will not submit!)

Abbas Tells Condi "Yes" and PA TV "No way!"

Update: Read a bit about Abu's namesake (well, okay, "cousin") in the American Heritage report on "Terrorism, 1985" H/T VeriSEAL.


Thank you to LGF for the pointer--and I like your cartoon :)

Arutz Sheva (Israeli TV Channel 7) reports that while Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (of Fatah Fame) said this week he would "fire Hamas" if the terror group won’t recognize Israel, but sang a different tune on PA TV.

Abbas convinced U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that he is sincere in his commitment to force the PA government to formally acknowledge the Jewish State’s right to exist. Then, when her back was turned, over on PA TV, Abbas said in Arabic:
It is not required of Hamas, or of Fatah, or of the Popular Front to recognize Israel.

Arutz Sheva goes on to report
“I do not demand of Hamas nor any other to recognize Israel,” said Abbas in Arabic, “but from the government that works with Israelis in day to day life, yes.”
So he is basically saying that for the public eye they should pretend to be admitting Israeli has a right to exist, but privately, in Arabic (which apparently they think none of us can speak or understand or find someone to translate for us?) they can go ahead and hate us and deny our right to exist. I see.

The Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) is a watchdog organization that monitors Arabic-language media throughout the world and issues a report once a week on its findings. To read their entire report, go to the PMW web site. While you're there, be sure to catch some of their Video Library (a Palestinian Self-Portrait of Hate) and of course, the Pallywood Bloopers (WMV file of video clips with falsified additions)

Google, YouTube - Virgins not Included

It would be a match made in Jihadist Supporter heaven. From FOXnews:

SAN FRANCISCO — Internet search leader Google Inc. is in talks to acquire the popular online video site YouTube Inc. for about $1.6 billion in cash and stock, according to published reports.

Mountain View-based Google and San Mateo-based YouTube are still at a sensitive stage in the discussion, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported on their Web sites Friday, citing unnamed people familiar with the negotiations.

The blog TechCrunch had reported on rumors of the acquisition talks. Google and YouTube officials declined comment. Analysts said a Google acquisition of YouTube would make sense for both companies if the reported talks lead to a deal, especially considering Google's $10 billion in cash on hand.



I hope that's not Jihad money they're planning to spend. I hear the terrorists can get pretty feisty when you spend the cash intended for them.

H/T Atlas Shrugs Read the continuing saga over at MyPetJawa, where banners and flags are available for free.

Bellmer Causes a Stir in London

Is it art or is it offensive. According to the western view of surrealist art and sculpture, Bellmer's work is innovative, imaginative, revolutionary.

Let the revolution--and revulsion--begin! The Muslim community in London has imposed its views on the little western town and London bridge ain't all that's coming down. Bellmer's exhibit has been pulled.

PARIS (Reuters) - A London gallery has decided not to show some works of art because it fears they would upset Muslims, a curator said on Friday, a week after a German opera house canned a Mozart production for the same reason.

H/T LGF

Danish TV holding Cartoonfest! :)

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish state TV on Friday aired amateur video footage showing young members of the anti-immigrant Danish Peoples' party engaged in a competition to draw humiliating cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.

The video images have surfaced little more than a year after a Danish paper published cartoons of the Prophet that sparked violent protests worldwide.
Nod to Little Green Footballs on Jack Straw's faux pas "He Shouldn't Be allowed to comment."

Hamas Says "Hell No!"

Some people will do anything to get face time.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh (of Hamas Fame) collapsed on Friday during his speech at the rally in Gaza in support of Hamas and its beleaguered government.

Haniyeh promised that any future Palestinian government would include his party, dismissing PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' halting efforts to establish a unity government as an attempt to remove Hamas from power.

After resting for several minutes, Haniyeh recovered and resumed his speech to the crowd. "Our bodies may tire, but not our spirits."

On Thursday
, gunmen killed a Fatah member in the Gaza Strip and a supporter of rival group Hamas was critically wounded in separate incidents amid an escalating power struggle between the two groups.

Friday, October 06, 2006

Hezbollah's Community Service: Hate for Kids

In their capacity of civil service to the Lebanonese people, Hezbollah's Hate Program has fully-targetted the Lebanon youth to be sure indoctrination into the Religion of Hate is early and complete. Watch this video (2m:52sec) by Israel's Arutz Sheva (Channel 7 TV), presented in Windows Media Format (.wmv) for your viewing pleasure.

Bullets...can you identify these?

Click to view image full-size (1024x768) Update 09-Oct-2006: These are definitely .50 calibre armor piercing cores, to be delivered to Olin and/or General Dynamics for assembly into rounds destined for the US Army.


(image adjusted for light and hue)

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Crusader18 Soon to be Back on Video

Crusader18 hasn't updated his own site but appears to have attempted to create a new YouTube profile which was squashed by the DhimmieTubers post haste.

MyPetJawa has the scoop. Stay tuned. Just not to YouTube, obviously, since they don't want anyone to speak but them. See also MyPetJawa's followup on the DhimmiTubers new policy (including a pretty good new video--hosted for the moment on YouTube--and updates to DreadPunditBluto's historical (no pun ;-)) coverage of this trend's development.

OfficiallyScrewed BANNED BY YOUTUBE

Welcome aboard!! At first glance, it looks as though OfficiallyScrewed screwed up, but no! The alleged copyright infringement is the front. You see it's like this, OfficiallyScrewed has uploaded hundreds of right-wing, PRO-MILITARY, Anti-Jihad videos for months. DhimmiTube has just used this recent debate footage (in which, btw, OfficiallyScrewed, naturally, takes the Right side of the debate) as the means of siccing an American law firm on a Canadian Free Thinker who supports the War on Terror.

You'll recall he's the one who personally videotaped "Red Friday", the Canadian rally at which tens of thousands of Canadians showed their support for the CF presence in Afghanistan and Iraq and both acknowledged their military's valor and fortitude, as well as honoring those who have fallen in the WOT already (and Canada has lost more than we have, in the US)

I really think Flurl, which does not censor as broadly as DhimmieTube or selectively as GoogleVideo, is going to see a lot more business. We can only hope OfficiallyScrewed will preserve some of his great pro-military, anti-idiotarian videos for sake of the Jihad. That's the YouTube Jihad Against Free Speech; OfficiallyScrewed is for free speech in the Free World *grin*



In addition to the "Red Friday" set noted above, some "must see" clips still remaining in OfficiallyScrewed's YouTube space (many have been removed, you have until Sunday to see these):

Lunatic Fringe
Smackdown September 25th, 2006
NDP Promote Surfin On Heroin

And an OfficiallyScrewed Favorite:
UN Ambulance Transporting Terrorists

Israeli Police Shoot Illegal Immigrant Worker

In a sad story of Palestinian terrorists up to no good--and paying dearly for it with their lives--we find the Israeli Police not showing so "lily-white" either.

The Post reports "a Palestinian working illegally in Jaffa panicked when caught by police, and tried to grab a policeman's gun, which misfired, killing him. But within a few hours, the policeman broke under questioning and confessed that the worker did not attack the policeman who shot and killed him."

Under questioning, the policeman admitted to loading his weapon without any prior instigation by the Palestinian worker or his companions. The policeman involved in the shooting was arrested, and following his questioning was released to house arrest.

The man killed, a 29-year-old resident of Tarkumiya, near Hebron, was working on a nearby construction site. Neither he nor his brother, who was working with him, had permits to work in Israel.

Ynet News has additional coverage, with more strong opinions, as always.

Not to sanctify the policeman's unprovoked shooting, but gee, guess if these two Palestinians weren't illegal immigrants in a country with which they are currently at war, they might not have run into trouble with Israeli Police. I thought the Palestinians wanted to live in their own state under their own laws? Or am I ignoring that they want to have their cake and eat Israel's, too?

The Second Lebanon War - an Update

The Jerusalem Post's latest Lebanon headline is "Soldiers can open fire if threatened." Hmmm, okay, define "threatened." Let's look at my earlier coverage here:
Given the way the "Second Lebanon War" was "fought" (read: terrorist action, not a war at all), I don't really see how we're supposed to redefine Rules of Engagement (see earlier discussion on ROE) when none have been set to date. According to the Post:
"There are new procedures for opening fire, and if there are demonstrations that endanger soldiers, they can shoot at the feet of the main inciter," [a high-ranking IDF] officer said. "If there are circumstances that endanger soldiers, then they can open fire to remove the risk."

"First we call UNIFIL and they notify the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF)," he said. "The use of fire is a last resort." The officer said that the IDF did not expect UNIFIL to open fire at Hizbullah operatives even if they were on their way to perpetrate attacks against Israel. "We see them as a motivator for LAF," the officer said. "But we don't expect them to storm and engage Hizbullah."

No kidding! The UNIFIL folks are gonna stand around and cheer Hezbollah on! Wake up. As to the IDF flyovers that allegedly are in violation of the mythical ROE in Lebanon:
The IDF officer said the IDF would continue flying over Lebanon until the kidnapped soldiers - Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser - were returned to Israel and the military felt that Syria was not smuggling weapons into Lebanon for Hizbullah.

The last little bit of this--until the military feels Syria is not smuggling weapons into Lebanon for Hezbollah--is pure weasel wording. That's been going on for decades and is a loophole to continue air defense if I ever saw one. Now, I'm not saying Israel shouldn't continue air defense of its northern border, since it's still occupied by an enemy Terrorist State, but at least admit that's what you're doing.

Lovin' Them Tunnels

As Ynet News reports, them darn Hamas dogs are a-diggin' tunnels again! It's how they get around, don't you know? And how they plan to move their supply lines. Just call them Digger Dogs--armed digger dogs that should be put down as any rabid dog must be eventually.

Read my earlier coverage on the Digger Dog's (Hamas) Tunnels.

3 Down, Only...How Many Hundreds to Go?

The small but still lethal group, Islamic Jihad, or rather "Palestinian Islamic Jihad" (PIJ) to distinguish them from all of the other Islamic Jihad groups *grin* has lost 3 more of their terrorist ranks in 2 separate incidents today and yesterday in Israel.

While actual numbers of the PIJ are difficult to ascertain (because the group has remained small since its founding in 1979, maxing at--I think--about 250 members) the PIJ has certainly spilled its share of blood.

According to Ha'aretz
On Wednesday, two [...] members of the Islamic Jihad were wounded when the IAF struck a car in Gaza. Another missile hit a car carrying gunmen from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, the armed wing of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement.
In an incident today, an IDF spokesman said, IDF'ers shot [21-year-old Yussef Kabalan] as he approached the border fence south of the Kissufim crossing point and tried to plant explosives. In a text message sent to reporters, PIJ confirmed the man was a member of the militant group and said he was shot while approaching the border with Israel.

The IDF press release carries the same facts with the added note that the targetted terrorists were responsible for earlier rocket attacks on the Israeli town of Sderot.

The IDF has a related news release telling of "an aerial attack, targeting a building used for the manufacturing and storage of weaponry, west of Khan Yunes in the southern Gaza Strip."
Prior to the attack on this terror facility the IDF warned the population not to stay in structures that are used by terrorist organizations for the storage of weaponry, in order to ensure the safety of civilians in the area. Terror organizations operate from within civilian population, while cynically exploiting uninvolved civilians and using them as human shields, exploiting their homes to store weaponry and launching rockets at Israeli towns from populated areas.

Tuna Noodle Comfort Casserole


It don't get much easier or better than this (short of involving chocolate ;-))

Muslim Cop Refuses to Guard Israeli Embassy--thank you!!

To be honest, a Muslim guarding the Israeli embassy is kinda like Sylvester and Tweety, no?

According to the Jerusalem Post, "Police Constable Alexander Omar Basha, a member of the Metropolitan Police's Diplomatic Protection Group, was reassigned after he refused to guard Israel's embassy in Kensington, West London." The London Times has similar reports. Alas, they aligned with the BBC (to whom I won't ever link, thanks!) in noting [emphasis added by me]:
Superintendent Dal Babu, the chairman of the Association of Muslim Police, said that the officer had asked for dispensation due to concerns about his welfare rather than political objections. "This is about the welfare of an individual and not about a moral issue," Mr Babu told the BBC today.
[...]
"I think we are going down a very, very slippery road if we start having postings based on individual officers’ conscience," he said. "As police officers we have to deal with some very, very difficult situations and we need to be objective and make sure that we police all members of the community fairly. We can’t pick and choose."

Hebron Bonfire Photos

Blackfive has this AP News image posted and a discussion ensuing about its validity. The concensus of thought is that the photo was posed and possibly, fauxtog'd in Photoshop (I'm in the camp that says both).

But here's something interesting. The photo on B5 is alleged to have been taken in Hebron on Sunday, October 1, 2006. While cruising the Jerusalem Post's "Pictures of the Week" today, I ran across this photo, which is also provided by AP and allegedly taken in Hebron on the same date of the same incident.

Is it just me or do these two photos look like they were taken on the same street--at different times, granted, but same location? And don't the folks in the crowd look just as merry as can be building their bonfire?

My suspicion about the first photo is it was taken after the crowd got the bonfire all flaming high and the gunman posed--period. I don't see any indication in the images (between the two photos) of a sudden turn of events.

The day of these events, Sunday, October 1, 2006, has been dubbed "Bloody Sunday" by the Jerusalem Post. Certainly, the 11 deaths by the end of it made it bloody, but it's looking more and more like the entire day of violence was staged. Why would they do that, you ask? Sunday, October 1, 2006 was Erev Yom Kippur, the start of the holiest of Holy Days on the Jewish calendar, our Day of Atonement and forgiveness. Gee, guess the "Palestinians" didn't get the memo.

Meet Hamas, In YOUR Neighborhood soon!

I've gotta love the blogosphere - I saw this on Anti-Jihad Pundit, who got it from Little Green Footballs last spring when it apparently hit the blogosphere. "Meet Hamas" is a little review of the history of Hamas - and a look at what influence or effect they might have on YOUR neighborhood next! Watch the flick now, then post a link to it on your blog.

My Pet Jawa - Having Too Much Fun

You have to see this one for yourself. Be warned all Star Wars fans, the Force has gone to the Dark Side!!

Woo-hoo!

Banned by YouTube!!

In response to YouTube's Jihad against Free Speech, I hope you'll join us in the blogosphere revolution and link to some of the "inappropriate material" on your own blog.

If you aren't up on what this lates Jihad move is, please do yourself a favor and listen to the hilarious Michelle Malkin explain the gist of it in her Open Video Letter to YouTube or check out My Pet Jawa or DhimmiWatchfor updates.

I've collected a few of the snazzy entertainment clips YouTube saw fit to ban from the public domain of the Free World in my Video Keepers section at the top of my home page. Any video in the list that has been CENSORED is tagged with a little DhimmiTube Logo for your easy reference. Please feel free to use this mini-logo to tag videos yourself (thanks to MyPetJawa for providing the large version! Anyone with a cleaner version please let me know so I can Photoshop it down to size).



Please collect links from my list on the home page or in my posts if you don't have them from other sources in the blogosphere, and embed them on your own blog.

Please embed them or link to them from your blog - the more of us who broadcast the objection to DhimmiTube, the sooner we can stop YouTube's Jihad against Free Speech.

Post a comment here (if you're not having the OldBlogger/BetaBlogger NoCanComment Conflict) telling me about any new videos DhimmiTube has banned that are missing from my list!

Viva la Resistance!

RocketRide (Hezbollywood Remix)

I dunno, are we Truth Sayers just getting snazzier in our music selection or is it just too easy to find snappy tunes to go with the catchy fauxtography? Yes, well, I'm following up on the DhimmiTube Scanda. In case you hadn't heard the buzz in the last several days, YouTube's making Jihad against Free Speech - get the gist in Michelle Malkin's hilarious Open Video Letter to YouTube, embedded for your listening pleasure).

One of the "Banned by YouTube" videos is RocketRide - the Hezbollywood Remix, preserved for the Free World by Flurl (who are definitely going to be seeing more business in the near future if DhimmiTube doesn't wise up!!) Embedded here for easy listening (snappier than easy listening). Visit all of your old fauxtography friends and screaming ladies. Watch Rocket Ride now.

Fly Pen eToy Tutor

I've been seeing ads for this on TV for a couple of months and keep forgetting what it's called (ironic, huh?) so it wasn't until now I could check it out online.

The "Fly Pentop" is a handheld device with a miniature camera, mini-speaker and mini-CPU that "watches" as you write and provided you "ask" it for help, will coach you in the limited subjects available. The product just launched last year, at the start of the school year, and is aimed to elementary and middle school ages, with school subjects like Math (multiplication/division, fractions, basic algebra) or English (check out the "Writing" module with its Simile Starter--I kid you not!)

The NY Times article from November, 2005 gives a good overview of the Fly's capabilities. I don't see the term "pentop" catching on just yet but I do wish them luck. The Fly's source, LeapFrog company, has accomplished more than merely coining new terms, producing some of the best learning aids and games around for children and young adults. The Fly looks like it would be a pretty fun eToy for adults, too. I think they need to consider, however, some kind of jack to plug in your earpods or another way to control the volume on the voice the Fly uses to give feedback. It's a great idea but definitely will see changes and improvements in second- and third-generation designs. Can't wait!

At a cost of only $100, with add-on modules (Flyware) running about $35 each for the learning modules or games at $10-$20 each, the Fly is going to start showing up everywhere--provided any of us can remember it's name.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Condi Meeting with Terrorists in Jerusalem?

Update: found it--from 2 days ago, sorry for the false alarm. Ha'aretz covered the meeting between Condi Rice and Hussein al-Sheikh in the last paragraph:
At the U.S. Consulate in East Jerusalem, Rice will meet with Hussein al-Sheikh and Kadura Fares. Also invited to the meeting will be members of the Palestinian parliament, Hanan Ashrawi and Mustafa Barghouti.
Great. Could she squeeze anymore known terrorists into that meeting? Very sad news.


From Atlas Shrugs today, I learned:
Shurat HaDin - Israel Law Center is protesting today's meeting between the American Secretary of State and a Palestinian terrorist leader, Hussein al-Sheikh, who was responsible for organizing and financing several Jerusalem suicide bombings. The terror attacks killed several Israelis and injured hundreds of others including numerous American citizens. Secretary Rice is due to meet the Fatah Tanzim leader at the American Consulate in East Jerusalem today as part of her week-long visit of Middle Eastern states.

Shurat HaDin has written to the Israeli police demanding that they arrest al-Sheihk if he enters Jerusalem to attend the meeting. The letter notes that information detailing al-Sheihk's involvement in the terror attack came from the confessions of other Fatah Tanzim terrorists who were convicted of carrying out the bombings and shootings. In once instance, the letter states that the involvement of al-Sheihk in a deadly Jerusalem suicide bombing in March 2002 which killed three Israelis and injured more than 85 others was included in a military court indictment for which several terrorists have been convicted.
Naturally, I went to my usual sources to corroborate this, since Condaleeza Rice has been meeting with Abbas of Hamas, not Hussein al-Sheikh of Fatah.

The Jerusalem Post makes no mention of it in their coverage of Condi's visit to Israel. The Ha'aretz also doesn't seem to be covering this alleged meeting. Both papers have Condi meeting with Abbas and, sadly, listening to that lying Propagandist Saeb Ereket, but that can't be helped, I suppose. Hopefully, she's not listening to all of Ereket's hatespeak.

Ha'aretz did say "The secretary of state held talks with officials of Abbas' Fatah party at the American Consulate-General in Jerusalem before heading to Ramallah for her parley with Abbas." which is kinda messed up, since Abbas is of Hamas, not Fatah, but given this is the only mention of Condi going to the East Jerusalem office in the same sentence as mention of Fatah, I guess this is all we're gonna get.

Ha'aretz notes "On Thursday, Rice will meet Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Defense Minister Amir Peretz, and is then expected to leave Israel - possibly for an unscheduled visit to Beirut." so if Condi has or is meeting with Hussein al-Sheikh, no one's talking about it. Even Ynet isn't saying nuthin' Odd, huh?

I don't recognize who Naomi Ragen is, the source cited by Atlas Shrugs, but I think she needs to fact-check better or the Israeli press needs to have covered this meeting. One or the other has made a mistake here. The fact that Condi went to East Jerusalem while in Israel is newsworthy--East Jerusalem is 100% Arab-occupied still.

It's in the Koran! Banned on YouTube

Because the following video has been banned on YouTube for speaking out against Jihad, I felt compelled to share it with you. Besides the fact that the message is great, the tune is pretty catchy, too! :) Enjoy, embed, link to Terror Free Oil and help prevent DhimmiTube--I mean, YouTube--from censoring the Free World's opinions.

Oops, Michelle Did It Again!

You have to play this video. But put down any liquids or don't blame me for screen-sprays. Michelle really should have been a standup comic, huh?


The banned video--well, you can't watch it on YouTube anymore, but never fear, in the spirit of Free Speech, it has been preserved. The banned video, titled "First They Came" is available as a Windows Media File (.wmv) for downloading and viewing offline from HotAir or backed up here if the HotAir link overloads (they need to double up their servers for this one!)

What was so offensive? A simple little Anti-Jihadist video montage. I can see a similar accounting of major Jihadist mass murders over the last several years right here on YouTube and embedded on my blog here - why didn't they pull it like Michelle's? Obviously, when Muslims speak out against Jihad, it's okay, but when victims of the Jihadists respond, it's not.

Keep up the good work, Michelle!!

Historical Amnesia?

Comparing the current Islamic Jihad against the Judeo-Christian world to the Christian Crusades (which were, in fact, mass forced-conversion or death to Jews worldwide--IOW a Christian Jihad against all Jews--but is typically reported in history texts as the Christian "rescue" of the Holy Land) is a little far-fetched. The Brussels Journal has what appears to be a rather comprehensive overview of the "history of Islamic Jihad" and more pointedly, the Muslim world's attempts at world domination since the moment of Islam's inception.

The overview is stilted, in a number of ways, and is not really as comprehensive as it looks on first glance. For one thing, the entire discussion is founded on a mistaken suggestion that there was only one Crusade by the Christians against the Jews. This is revisionist history, isn't it?

In fact, there were multiple periods of mass slaughter "in the name of G-d." Wikipedia, not the most reliable source but good enough to make this point, claims there were NINE Crusades (others say TEN) against non-Christians. The Medieval Crusades were not the first, nor the last (even ignoring Hitler's Nazi-led genocide attempts). Although it might be a painful and troubling truth for today's Christian world to admit, given the violence this kind of extremist behavior can do to the world--not just the slaughtered victims, individually--it's very, very important not to skim over or pretend anyone is "without sin" or start casting the first stones of pure hate.

The Brussels Journal makes a sincere and well-placed effort to focus on the sins of today's perpetrators: the Islamic Jihadists. I agree, they are extremely dangerous and need to be understood and stopped, but to change our history--any of our history--to frame a context for hating the Jihadists enough to want to wipe them out is a disservice to ourselves. Yeah, to ourselves.

Despite all of this slanting to diminish the Christian world's past sins, the Brussels Journal does succeed in noting that the Jews didn't cause nor are we at "fault" for the current Islamic Jihad against the west--it's been going on for hundreds of years before the State of Israel as it exists today was founded.

Again, while I appreciate the sentiment, this is a bit more of revisionist history. Reality is, the Nation of Israel has existed for thousands of years. We have been a nation of people without a home. We were invaded and conquered by the soon-to-be-called-Muslims and our people were "carried off" to Babylon (most of them; A small number of Jews remained in Jerusalem and Jews everywhere have never given up the fight to reclaim possession of Jerusalem, which we see as our G-d given right and obligation to protect against the profanities still going on today by, for example, the Waqf Muslims.) To say Israel didn't even exist is misleading without the qualifier "the current State of Israel" and diminishes the Jewish people to a 50-year-old group, ignoring our 3000+ year history.

The Brussels Journal overview does, however, offer a very comprehensive reading list on Jihad, the history of Muslim attempts at world domnination and of course, other genocidal movements throughout history. It's well-worth your time to visit and read some of the books cited. There are dozens. It'll fill your reading list for a year!

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Blame Them Dogs at Just Barking Mad

I've been avoiding saying anything about the whole "Palestinian situation" even with the so-called "Bloody Sunday" (that's Palestinian-speak for the Jewish Holy Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur) but those guys over at Just Barking Mad pushed every button when they posted this one.

So I had to reply.

Then I had to start quoting. Then I linked in articles. Then I realized, gee, I'm blogging on JBM and I have got a blog of my own!!

Here's what I said there (I think it was too long 'cause it didn't show up). It figures an Atrocious man like Marcus and a Quilly Mammoth would manage to convince me to blog someone else's blogspace ;-)


You guys didn't cite your source (*tsk tsk*) though I can recognize The Jerusalem Post rehash of AP News reporting anywhere *grin* The JPost has a whole series of articles on this weekend's latest -- they're calling it "Bloody Sunday"! What a joke! It's a sick joke, but it's a joke because this Sunday was no more (or less) bloody than any other Sunday. The Post reporters were just feeling all holy given it was Yom Kippur this Sunday-Monday. Sadly, Ha'aretz isn't much better and Ynet is much worse. I don't dare look at Yediot (the Hebrew language, usually WSJ-like newspaper).

The poll of which you speak, I think is the one conducted between Sep 19 and 22 and in fact, only polled 1200 Palestinians and the results only said Hamas and Fatah each had about a 1/3 backing, not 50/50 as you suggested. From this JPost article:
In the survey, 56% said a national unity government was the best way out of the current crisis. If an election were held today, Fatah would get 32% of the vote, compared to 30.5% for Hamas.
To be honest, callous though it may sound, I'm getting damned sick and tired of hearing how Hamas has attacked Fatah, Fatah has attacked Al-Aqsa Brigade and Al-Aqsa, naturally, has attacked Hamas--or was it the Islamic Movement? I can't keep track of the players, they seem to breed new names and factions overnight!

The bottom line is, the Israelis have cut off the money-launderers and unless the US offers one or the other of the players (Hamas or Fatah, being the 2 largest) some kind of U$D aid, they are just gonna keep shooting each other and beating themselves into the ground. They have been given chance after chance after chance. The Israelis pulled out, let them totally alone in Gaza and they did NOT use the money they then had available to do humanitarian aid (food, medicine, construction of homes, subsidizing farmers) but rather , bought more weapons. Yeah, that was smart infrastructure planning. Right.

I want that WALL to go up and NEVER to come down. Just wall them out of Israel and they can kill themselves off with their good friends, the Egyptians, supplying the weapons and means of escape.

And now, I shall STOP blogging here at JBM and go bark up my own tree, erm, blog ;) You guys really know how to push my buttons, don't you? Have you noticed there's been not one single word by me either on the blog or in Ringo's Tavern about the "Palestinian situation"? It's been deliberate but I just can't keep it in anymore when you go pushing those buttons! Thanks *groan*

-sry

Al-Mahdi Army talks to the Times

Over the weekend, I stumbled upon a new name in the WOT: Abu Maha, a leader of Hojatoleslam Moqtada al-Sadr’s al-Mahdi Army in western Baghdad, Iraq. I'd never heard of this group or this guy--mistakenly called it the "Mehdi Army" in my earlier post. The London Times has managed to actually interview this maniac. Got some pretty chilling stuff, too:
The thousands-strong militia and a political power base of 32 seats in [Iraq's] Parliament have made Hojatoleslam al-Sadr’s militant Shia movement the strongest in Iraq. The group is blamed for many death squad killings, but has such grassroots appeal that even the Shia premier cancelled plans to clear Sadr City, its Baghdad stronghold.

Accompanied by The Times, Abu Maha cruises past Iraqi soldiers as he plans an attack in Ghazaliyah, a mixed neighbourhood that has been a battleground for months. Ghazaliyah abuts Shula to the north, another enclave of the al-Mahdi Army, and Abu Maha is looking to extend his militia’s influence. He has been watching Sunnis who fled to the neighbourhood from another part of western Baghdad, convinced that they are in league with the Sunni al-Qaeda terrorists. He says that his men will target them — just business as usual for the militant who has no qualms about shedding blood in his mission to protect the Shia.
[...]
In July, when Sunni insurgents were firing mortars toward Shula, Abu Maha and a team of fighters received calls from an informer and chased down four suspects by the telephone exchange. They beat the men, forced them into their cars and drove back to Shula. There, Abu Maha says, he took out his 9mm pistol and shot one of the suspects in the head. His gang killed the other three.

His company generally detains people for several days before deciding whether to kill them. In one recent case, Abu Maha says his men abducted a guard from a Sunni mosque. They were convinced that he belonged to a Sunni death squad called the Omar Brigades, known for killing Shias, but after beating and questioning him in a building behind Hojatoleslam al-Sadr’s Shula office, they decided that he was innocent and released him.
The article goes on to outline the whole command structure, describing Abu Maha thusly:
Abu Maha, who used to be a gun seller, is just one of the many foot soldiers in the al-Mahdi Army’s intricate command structure.

Read the entire article and be sure to let me know (post in the comments) if you find more stuff on this. I really can't believe I haven't heard these names more often, since this is, basically, the War in Iraq, isn't it? We shouldn't be using so many vague references in our discussions. Just name the names and splash photos of the faces wherever we can--just like one does with any other sort of criminal!

British Soldiers Need Your Moral Support...Now More than Ever!

Updated at 11:30AM CDT: The Sun notes "Troops may receive pay perks" though actually it's tax breaks, not more pay.
PM Tony Blair has ordered a major review of pay and perks for brave troops on missions overseas — in a massive victory for a Sun campaign. His plans were revealed just hours after Tory leader David Cameron told The Sun he wanted tax breaks for Our Boys abroad.

UK Armed Forces are the only ones in NATO who pay income tax during combat.
Hard to swallow isn't it? They not only get ignored or disparaged in public, not only get treated with no dignity or respect in hospitals when wounded, but they also must pay income tax on their combat duty. I had no idea. Please read on and send a letter to a British soldier!!


In a followup to my never-ending plea for folks to write to troops in A-stan and Iraq, the British press this weekend has given us lots more reasons to reach out to the UK soldiers fighting for our freedom in Afghanisan.

At EU Referendum, you can read the politics of it all. The British press isn't helping the to support the troops, and the troops can feel it. A related story in the Daily Telegraph tells of the indignities suffered even when British troops have served and made it home, injured. Read the story about the hospitalization of injured British troops, then write a letter of thanks to one of them to try to compensate for this blow to their morale and human dignity.

To refresh your memory, my plea to support troops--all troops, not just US troops--started when I saw the note on Sept. 18, 2006 in David Frum's Diary referencing Charles Moore's Sept. 9, 2006 column in the UK Spectator:
[...] When soldiers take part in campaigns which are politically unpopular at home, their courage and dedication are less appreciated. I am told by the father of a British soldier just returned from six months in Iraq (and soon off to Afghanistan) that our troops in Basra receive very few letters of support from people at home, whereas their American counterparts have many letters, cards and parcels from complete strangers. He says that such messages cheer the soldiers up tremendously.

Actually, my enthusiasm started even before that, when I founded the Barfly Baking Brigade, but this was too much to take. Just think about it. Letters are a lifeline to a soldier cut off from the world he or she knows, getting no letters, no supportive words, no baked goodies or CARE packages--no acknowledgement at all for the sacrifice you made and are making every single day.

Now imagine sitting next to someone, your NATO colleague, allegedly working side by side on equal terms--but they are getting supportive letters and packages in droves. Okay, maybe not droves, but US troops have the support of a huge number of organizations. The Brit's seem to have fallen through the cracks. They bleed and die just the same as we do and are sacrificing their sons and daughters to the same cause.

If the British people as a whole can't or won't write to their own troops, we in the blogosphere can, can't we? To make it really easy for you, here are the addresses again. Just write to anyone, anonymously, say anything but WRITE and let these folks know they are not forgotten, they are appreciated and their presence on the front lines of the War on Terror matters to someone in the Free World. It's your freedom they're fighting for, isn't it?

British Soldiers in Iraq:
HQ MultiNational Div (SE)
Basra, BFPO 641

British Soldiers in Afghanistan:
HQ Helmand Province Task Force
Camp Bastion, BFPO 792.t

British Torries Excluding Jews out of ... Ignorance?

Mind-boggling though it seems, the British Conservative Party scheduled its annual conference in Bournemouth to begin on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar - Yom Kippur. It's mind-boggling not because non-Jews have not a single clue when Jewish Holy Days fall (though Jews and the rest of the world certainly know when Christian and Muslim holidays are happening often enough!) but rather the Torries are "a party with several Jewish MPs including Oliver Letwin and Malcolm Rifkind."
"What message does this send out to the Jewish community, if the party if not sensitive to their needs," said one Tory supporter. "We are reaching out to all sections of Britain’s diverse community, but I fail to understand how we could have forgotten it was Yom Kippur, there are many Jews who would want to attend, but now cannot."

I don't buy for a minute that anyone "forgot." I don't buy for a minute that anyone even checked. It's truly sad to see this level of "closet bigotry" - people who don't even realize or won't admit they are being bigoted or limited in their very thinking - but take note, the British press is covering the conference but not the absence of the Jewish MPs. Not the Daily Telegraph, not the The Guardian, not even the sensationalist rag, The Sun, made use of this headline.

Funny, it's like the Jews in the nation's leading Party don't even exist, right? Yeah, right. No, no blinders on these folks!!

Moosehead Beer Lovin' the Canadian Troops!

SAINT JOHN, N.B. -- Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan will soon be able to battle the heat of the southern Afghan desert with some beer from the largest Canadian-owned brewery.

Moosehead Breweries, based in Saint John, N.B., is sending more than 1,700 cans of its Moosehead Lager to Canadian troops stationed in Kandahar, after some of them specifically requested the suds.

American military and postal regs prohibit us from trying to do the same, but here's a good reason to buddy-up to your Canuck neighbor. With a meager supply, you'll have to offer some pretty serious baked goods in trade if you want a Moosehead brewskie. Register with the Barfly Baking Brigade to get your bartering power today ;)

Mehdi Army Fighters

As seen on Hello, Iraq (from July, 2006) links to what appear to be actual photographs, not fauxtography, though I'm reserving a portion of my judgment still.

The photos are disturbing, for a couple of reasons. For one, the level of hatred, the hatred for life and the level of hatred for the west, is so glaringly obvious, it's seeping from the pages.

Second, the attitude that these depictions are "a good thing" is clear. These people actually think they are depicting themselves in a good light. As a propaganda piece, the message is clear "RIFs strong, Americans/west weak" but honestly, it shows me instead the utter lack of humanity and the uselessness of people who feel or think nothing but murder and "death to the world." I don't find the RIFs in these pictures to be strong, but definitely, weak.

Third, the depiction of life--lack of a life--is driven home by the fact that the children in these shots do not look at all under the impression there is anything wrong with this picture. They are being raised (if you can call the brainwashing to which they are being subjected "raised") to believe cars burning on the streets, broken buildings and angry men running, yelling through the streets armed with grenade launchers and other weapons is normal. For a RIF, I guess it is. For the rest of humanity, it's stealing a child's right to be a child, to be innocent for a few years, to just play. The ball-playing next to a fire is not the kind of play I had in mind.

Lastly, obviously, it is disturbing to see what appear to be US troops suffering injuries, to see bodies that appear to be US soldiers who have been killed then "pillaged" for their gear and left to rot. That's the message the photos want to communicate but even if I believe these photos were not Photoshopped, I'm not fully-convinced if they were US troops or not, esp. the shot of the two ransacked corpses. In the case of the men on fire, I'm really not sure if it is fire or Photoshop fire. I realize the expressions indicate extreme emotional response to a situation, but it could be "bug out" as much as a person on fire. Fact is, I can't tell and in my heart, I don't want to think about it.

War is ugly. The RIFs have given us here an even UGLIER face for it--dozens of ugly, scarfed-covered faces.

Fatwa on the Pope

As seen on Little Green Footballs:

Acting on behalf of the International Islamic Front (IIF) for Jihad Against the Crusaders and the Jewish People, which is headed by Osama bin Laden, the Markaz-ud-Dawa (MUD) of Pakistan, which is the political wing of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET), is reported to have issued a Fatwa calling upon the Muslims to kill Pope Benedict XVI for a recent speech of his delivered on September 12,2006, which has been projected as anti-Islam by Al Qaeda and other jihadi terrorist organisations of the world.

2. The issue of the MUD fatwa came a few days before the latest video message of Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden’s No.2, in which he has made a severe attack on the Pope.

3. A report on the the MUD Fatwa to kill the Pope has been carried by the Pakistani journal “Ausaf” in its issue dated September 18,2006. It has reported as follows:

“Pakistan’s Jamaat-ud-Dawa has issued a Fatwa asking the Muslim community to kill Pope Benedict for his blasphemous statement about Prophet Mohammad. The Jamaat-ud-Dawa has declared death to Pope Benedict and said that in today’s world blasphemy of the Holy Koran and the Prophet has become a fashion. The leaders of the Jamaat were speaking at a Martyrs’ Islamic Conference in Karachi. Prominent Jamaat leader Hafiz Saifullah Khalid said that in the present circumstances, jehad has become obligatory for each Muslim. Muslims are being declared terrorists and our battle for survival has already started.

The Muslim world has rejected the Pope’s apology and decided to continue protests and demonstrations in big cities. The Pope’s apology is just a drama and no political leader has any power to pardon him. It is part of a crusade initiated by the US in the name of terrorism.

Instead of accepting fake apologies, Muslims should realise Europe’s enemity towards Islam and Muslim Ummah should prepare itself to defend its faith. Jamaat-ud-Dawa leader Hafiz Abdur Rahman Makki said the West and Europe have started a campaign against the Holy Koran and the Prophet and have abused jehad. We should take appropriate steps to deal with the champions of crusade. It is time for Muslim leaders to open their eyes and understand that the West had never been a friend of the Muslims and will never be so.”

Visit LGF for click-throughs to more on this.

Fred, Who?

From the Toronto Sun over the weekend, we learn who "Fred" is:
When retired phone company man, Frederic Arthur Clark, died in a car crash last Father’s Day, his family expected to be the ones to carry on his memory.

But the Virginia dad of two had the last laugh — and word.

In the months that have followed his death, his rare spirit has been carried, via ethernet and modem and torn clippings tacked on refrigerators, to far corners he likely could never have imagined. There was just something about his written legacy which people have found, well, very human.

Clark — not a professional writer, or a politician, or an entry in a Who’s Who — has joined an unusual, post-mortem fraternity. They are the dead who are remembered, and often revered, by countless strangers, as much for their well-penned obituaries as their well-lived lives.

Read the rest of this story now, at The Toronto Sun or better yet, go read Fred's Obituary, as it was published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch (preserved online for posterity's sake). Be sure to view (or even sign) Fred's Guest Book and think of Fred, next time you get into a phone booth. "Fred, who?" :-)

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Yom HaKippurim & Kol Nidrei

On Rosh Hashanah, the Book of Life is opened. When the Shofar is blown, so the mythology goes, not only has G-d decided not to destroy all of His Creation (that would be the Known Universe ;-))) but the Angels of the L-rd descend to Earth and begin to move among us mortals.

For the next week and a half--called the Nine Days of Awe--we are to make atonement to each other, to our fellow humans, for sins and transgressions we may have committed against one another over the past year. The lack of malice is assumed and forgiveness is granted universally. It's an interesting week and a half between Rosh Hashanah and Yom HaKippurim, or in Americanspeak, Yom Kippur.

On Erev Yom Kippur (tonight around sunset), the Book of Life is closed to the tune of the single-most haunting "song" you will ever hear--at least when it is sung "right" or by a really good Cantor. It is called Kol Nidrei** which loosely translates to "All Vows" and it is a dramatic plea to Hashem to hear our prayers of atonement and "wipe the slate clean" for us for one more year. This particular annual custom has been one of the greatest joys and sorrows of the Jewish people. It is a joy for what I hope are obvious reasons--not having to live your entire life under the weight of hopeless despair you have sinned beyond forgiveness? Yeah, a bit of a joy.

It is a sorrow because non-Jews have used this annual custom to twist and pervert and destroy the beauty of "forgiveness" - the concept of forgiveness which is at the core of Judiaism - and instead these anti-Semites try to claim that Kol Nidrei "proves" Jews cannot be trusted to keep their word. In fact, Kold Nidrei "proves" nearly the opposite, as it is the epitomy of "owning up to one's obligations" and making atonement for any shortcomings--all wrapped up during the Nine Days of Awe before one has to go stand before the L-rd in Final Judgment. But this little aspect gets overlooked. Easier to say Jews are liars and cheats and just go about with your daily slaughter. Guess what? Jews pray on Yom Hakippurim for the forgiveness of non-Jews, too!! So there.

By the end of the 26 hours of this Holiest of Holy Days, the Book of Life will be sealed for another year. Those who have atoned in their hearts for their sins against others (other people) are granted a place in the Book. However, from just before sunset to just after sunset, we ask forgiveness for promises broken to G-d, we atone to Him for our transgressions and He, hopefully, grants us forgiveness, nulls and voids all vows that were not yet kept and seals our names into the Book of Life.

The slate is wiped clean for the next year.

Jews do this "wiping the slate clean" each year--not to avoid obligations as the anti-Semites in the world would have you say--but rather, to cleanse and renew, to take one step closer to G-d, to expand our hearts and souls to the point we can find forgiveness in ourselves that will be enough to stamp out the hatred which surrounds us. That's the goal: wipe out hatred, fill up with loving forgiveness, all in one swipe. Trust me, it's not an easy swipe. Not a one, two, three, done. And it's not a matter of doing this or that and/or doing it well enough. No, no, that'd be too easy. We're Jewish, remember? If there is an easy way and a hard way, we take the hard way everytime, just in our nature. Yom Kippur is a day of "not doing." I hear you scratching your head with a Huh?

Yom Kippur's more than just a day of "fasting." It's also a day of consciously removing many things from our consciousness that might normally distract our minds from the job of connecting spiritually with our Maker. I'm not so sure about a lot of Jewish customs, but I get the point of this one. The "not doing" is a deliberate and conscious act designed to "separate" Yom Kippur from the rest of the year. It is called the "Shabbat of Shabbats" but is not a day of rest. It is a day of prayer but not the loud, rejoicing prayer of Shabbat. It is a quiet day, a day of reflection and introspection, and yes, a day of quiet prayers and requests for absolution from our L-rd for our human sins and humanity as a whole.

The Five Basic Prohibitions of Yom Kippur are:

1. Eating and/or drinking*
2. Anointing with perfumes or lotions
3. Sex
4. Washing
5. Wearing leather (incl. shoes)

To look at the list, you'd think it's merely a matter of being smelly, horny and undecorated when we come before our L-rd. It's a bit more complex than that ;) We're supposed to be bearing our souls before our Creator. Without a spirit that fully understands this, without a mind that fully-focuses on this and only this, we will have failed to "not do" enough. Ain't that double-negative but a classic Jewish mode of thought? Heh heh. Besides, if you've "prepared" for Yom Kippur properly, you just spent the 24 hours before Erev Yom Kippur, eating, drinking, umm, well, we won't say whoring around but just getting everything out of your system once and for all is generally the best idea. Then you come to Erev Yom Kippur--to the Kol Nidrei--and it strikes you to the core. Holy Ghost Bumps, definitely gotta get those Holy Ghost Bumps or you're still not "not doing" it right. Or wrong. Or something. Here's a simpler list than those 5 prohibitions:

1. Purge (This might look like gorging but the day before Yom Kippur is for purging all of your "sins of the flesh" right out of your system - get it overwith and move on)

2. Humble (You have to really grasp in your heart, your soul, your mind, that this is a private moment with your Creator. No one will know if you have had a good moment or not. Except you and Him)

3. Forgive (You must forgive yourself. G-d cannot forgive you if you do not permit it. You must forgive yourself and allow Him to agree with you.)

Three easy steps, then you can move on and start the new year--and better get busy "gathering ye branches" because Sukkot is only 5 days away and you have to build that Succah and fill it with gourds, fruit and naturally, HONEY CAKE!!! :-)



*Drinking water in order to take medications is definitely allowed and no fasting should be observed if one's health would be put to risk because of it. Smoking of any substances is also prohibited as it is considered in the "consumption" category of food and drink. Smoking is prohibited on the basis of it being a Shabbat, as well.

**I keep trying to find an MP3 of someone singing Kol Nidrei to post here but there are lots of sermons, a myriad of versions of the instrumental, a few "contemporary" interpretations but no Chazzan singing Kol Nidrei (or not well, found a lousy one on Yahoo! or Google videos, no thanks). Even YouTube doesn't have anyone singing last year's Kol Nidrei. I think I see an unfilled need here on the net--and I wish we had recordings of some of the Kol Nidrei performances from 2001--on September 25, 2001, can you imagine?! All gone now....or so it seems. I'll update if I can ever find a halfway decent recording. Sung right, Kol Nidrei will give you Holy Ghost Bumps to quote a Christian friend of mine.