Today I am highlighting Victor Davis Hansen.

I have yet to read any of his books, but it is on my to do list.

He is an exceptional writer on Pajamas Media and at National Review Online.

I have enjoyed reading his comments and columns.

I have added links and the starting paragraphs to several of his PJM comments here.

After which, I'll link to some other juicy tidbits...

Enjoy.

The Will of the President

Victor Davis Hanson

When Winston Churchill was ushered in as Prime Minister after the invasion of France in May 1940, the consensus was that he alone had correctly seen the real Hitler, and that he alone would stand fast in the face of calls for negotiations for a peace offering the status quo, and that he would rally the nation for the horrors ahead—and they were plenty from Dunkirk and Tobruk to the fall of the Singapore and catastrophe in the Asia.

Five Years and Running
Victor Davis Hanson

More Whining From Osama

I watched bin Laden’s commemorative tape released shortly before the fifth anniversary of the attack today. All the usual stuff was there: mention of lost honor, the same pathological lying about taking credit for mass murder that he once denied, more gripes about Kosovo, Chechnya, etc.

Do any Americans finally see through these killers? On Monday they are mad about East Timor, on Tuesday Kosovo. Wednesday they wake up and shout about Israel, while on Thursday it’s American troops once in Saudi Arabia. Does anyone see a pattern here, especially when they talk of lost “honor” and “humiliation”? War-torn Rwandans are humiliated. There is no honor in Serbia. But what in God’s name is the complaint of radical Islam, when billions of windfall profits accrue to the Middle East, to countries like Iran or Syria or the Gulf States, who pump oil someone else found at $5 and sell it at $60, and can’t make or mend on their own any of the apparatus needed to profit?

Wars, Books, and Democrats
Victor Davis Hanson

Good and bad wars?

The death toll of allied and American soldiers in Afghanistan these last few months is nearing those of coalition losses in Iraq, and may well rise at a greater rate. For now, this has not affected too much the argument of the Left that Afghanistan is the “good” war, and Iraq the “bad”.

In the former we went after the base where the 9/11 attacks were planned, involved a coalition of NATO allies, and saw the emergence of some sort of consensual government follow the wreckage of the Taliban fairly quickly—and at only about 60 American combat death per year in the first three-years of postbellum occupation.

Depressing Times
Victor Davis Hanson

Oriana Fallaci, RIP, the Pope, and a Sad Age

Rarely has the death of a public intellectual affected me as much as the passing of Oriana Fallaci. I never met her, and only received a brief note once from her accompanying a copy of The Rage and the Pride. The story of her career is well known, but her death, at this pivotal time, was full of paradoxes and yet instruction as well.

Radical Islam is, among other things, a patriarchal movement, embedded particularly in the cult of the Middle-Eastern male, who occupies a privileged position in a society that can be fairly described as one of abject gender apartheid. Islamism is also at war with the religious infidel, not just the atheist—and, in its envy and victimhood, fueled by a renewal of the age-old hatred of the Christian.

But so far, with very few exceptions other than the lion, Christopher Hitchens, the courageous William Shawcross, and a few others, the Left has either been neutral or anti-American in this struggle. And few Christians in positions of influence and respect have publicly defended their faith and the civilization that birthed it.

Drawing the Line?
Victor Davis Hanson

It has been a parlor game of sorts to guess when—but even more so if—the Europeans (Britain included) will sigh, “Enough is enough,” and so get tough with both their own unassimilated angry Muslim minorities and the radical Islamic world at large. There will never be liberal values in the Middle East, no change, no future—as there would not have been in Hitler’s Germany, as there is not today in Cuba or North Korea—without the defeat of Islamic fascism, in its latest Islamic incarnation, as an ideological force.

Wars, then and now
Victor Davis Hanson

The Hate-America Industry

When bin Laden praised William Blum’s Rogue State, it soared to the top of Amazon’s sales charts. So too now has Noam Chomsky’s Hegemony or Survival—as soon as the semi-literate Hugo Chavez held it up at the United Nations. The Left sees it as McCarthy-like to even suggest that our own are the ideological godheads of the enemy. But it is true.

I am going through the rough draft of a new Al-Qaeda reader this morning, translated and edited by Raymond Ibrahim, soon to be released by Doubleday. What do Dr. Zawahri and bin Laden complain about from their caves in Pakistan? Why, of course, the American failure to sign Kyoto, our desecration of the environment, George Bush reading a goat story on the morning of 9/11, Halliburton, and—that critically-important concern of radical Islam— the lack of campaign finance reform in the United States. Much of their rants are simply jottings and notes taken from watching Fahrenheit 9/11 and killing time in hideouts by listening to talking heads on CNN.

We are all very lucky to live in the Civilization of the West
Victor Davis Hanson

Clintonian and Cartesian Angst

I just arrived back to California after a wonderful five-week teaching stint at Hillsdale College in Michigan—to blue skies, raisins safely in the roll, the farm in good shape thanks to the renter and my son, and constant televised clips from Bill Clinton’s embarrassing, but staged rant.

Why when leaving office did we hear little, if any, second guessing—much less criticism of their successors—from Gerry Ford, Ronald Reagan, or George Bush, Sr.—but lots of self-serving revisionism from Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton? Ford and the elder Bush, after all, were both defeated at the polls and might have voiced hurt at their fates?

America and its Discontents
Victor Davis Hanson

Clintonian Neuroses

In the last post I suggested that Clinton needed a thorough psychiatric analysis—and then was apprised that a Pajamas Media contributor, Gagdad Bob, had offered a fine portrait of his narcissist tendencies. Clinton’s furious outburst illustrated a fundamental Democratic fear: even when events favor popular unease—an unpopular war, rising gas prices—contemporary Democrats are not sure that they can still capture 51% of the electorate.

Democratic Paranoia

And why, if not a deep unease with who they are, do Democrats wheel out an Ike Skelton, John Murtha, or Robert Byrd? Is it for no other reason than these supposedly middle-of-the-road crusty types offer a veneer for the ‘real’ Democratic party that drove out Joe Lieberman, and is best represented by Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean, Ted Kennedy, and Barbara Boxer?

The War and Its Critics
Victor Davis Hanson

Pseudo-footnotes

Most genres don’t require footnotes—the memoir, the essay, the journalistic dispatch. I’ve written histories that had too many footnotes—The Other Greeks had citations to ancient sources in the text, explanations with asterisks at the bottom of the page, and formal endnotes at the back of the book—and memoirs like Fields Without Dreams and Mexifornia with no citations.

But when you write history, and especially history of a contentious nature about Iraq, in which so much is at stake, it is incumbent to identify primary sources. The last three books about the supposed mess in Iraq—Cobra II, Fiasco, and now State of Denial—violate every canon of intellectual courtesy. Check who said what in Cobra II and you find the following: “Interview, former senior military officer”, “Interview, former senior officer”, “Interview, former Centcom planner,” Interview, Pentagon Officials,” “Interview, U.S. State Department Official,” or “notes of a participant.”

And now for more juicy tidbits...

This is from FOX News:

CBS News Allows Conservative Point of View and All Hell Breaks Loose
Thursday , October 05, 2006
By Bill O'Reilly

CBS News allows a conservative point of view and all hell breaks loose. That's the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo".

As part of its new evening news format with Katie Couric, CBS now has a "free speech" segment where folks deliver commentary. But when the comments come from the right, the reaction's fascinating.

Brian Rohrbough's 15-year-old son Daniel was killed in the Columbine massacre. Ever since, Mr. Rohrbough has been thinking about just why his son and 11 other children were murdered without reason. After seeing the same thing happened at the Amish school a few days ago, Brian Rohrbough said this on CBS News:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN ROHRBOUGH, FATHER: I am saddened and shaken by the shooting at an Amish school today and last week's school murders. When my son Dan was murdered on the sidewalk at Columbine High School on April 20th, 1999, I hoped that would be the last school shooting.

Since that day, I tried to answer the question why did this happen? This country is in a moral free fall. For over two generations, the public school system has taught in a moral vacuum, expelling God from the school and from the government, replacing Him with evolution, where the strong kill the weak without moral consequences. And life has no inherent value.

We teach there are no absolutes, no right or wrong. And I assure you, the murder of innocent children is always wrong, including by abortion.

Abortion has diminished the value of children. Suicide has become an acceptable action and has further emboldened these criminals. And we are seeing an epidemic increase in murder/suicide attacks on our children.

Sadly, our schools are not safe. In fact, we now witness that within our schools, our children have become a target of terrorists from within the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

A few things that need said

I am posting links to a few things that I feel need to be addressed, or are good issues to be involved with.

Support Dunkin Donuts and Applebees

By Michelle Malkin

Open-borders extremists are starting a boycott of the donut franchises and the restaurant chain. Why? Because they won't hire aliens whose bogus Social Security numbers don't check out:

A local group fighting for immigrant rights is calling for a boycott of two nationally known companies. Dunkin Donuts and Applebee's are accused of discriminating against immigrant workers whose names don't match their social security numbers.

On the 10th anniversary of what immigration reform advocates call stringent changes to immigration laws, supports of the legalization of the undocumented are once again speaking out -- only this time, they are hoping not only to mobilize their vote, but also use their buying power to force the kind of change they want.

"The social security administration says it plans to send out 8 million no match letters," said Martino Unzuerta, Chicago Workers Collaborative.

The initial purpose of the social security administration's 'no match' letter was to credit workers unclaimed social security earnings. The agency routinely sends out 'no match' letters to a company when employees' names and social security numbers don't match possibly because of a spelling error, omission of information or a unreported name change. But immigration activists say some employers are now aggressively using the letters to fire immigrant workers.

"The Bush administration wants to give the appearance that they are cracking down on undocumented immigration and workers are an easy escape goat," said James Thindwa, Chicago Jobs with Justice.

Groups accuse several companies of the practice using 'no match' letters to immigrant workers who don't have valid social security numbers. They want the public to boycott businesses, including Applebee's and Dunkin Donuts. Neither company could be reached for comment.

What's there to say? You can't reason with people who cry "racism" as a response to businesses who abide by the law.

This is a good case for border enforcement and I will be happy to continue patronage of both of these fine franchises. The illegal alien issue is a sore point for me, especially since my wife came to America from Korea, legally, had to apply for removal of her conditional status on her green card after residing in the USA for two years, then had to wait another 3 years just to apply for citizenship. After many trips to L.A. and a lot of paperwork, time and money, she became a citizen. In my opinion, hers as well, if you want to be a part of America, we're all for it; just do it legally. If you are here illegally. then you do not have the right to dictate to me, or any other American legal resident/citizen amy demands for clemency, or anything else. Get the hell out of my country!
Also from Michelle:

Women with spine

By Michelle Malkin · October 02, 2006 03:49 PM

Wafa Sultan returns.

Brigitte Gabriel speaks at Heritage.

Listen and learn.

Wafa Sultan has a sack, er chutspa!

Wow, I am truly impressed. You go girl!

This one is about George Soros, what a maroon!

An "Extremely Evil Person"
By Cliff Kincaid | October 3, 2006

Speaking at a Washington symposium on the continuing threat posed by illegal drugs to American society, Calvina Fay of the Drug Free America Foundation declared billionaire George Soros to be an "extremely evil person" who wants to legalize dangerous mind-altering drugs. Sounding a battle cry as critical November elections approach, Fay told the assembled conservative activists that Soros, an atheist who is a major funder of the Democratic Party and liberal-left causes, is "our common enemy" and that he is determined to subvert traditional values and undermine America's families.

This guy is out to lunch. His grip on reality must be drug impaired.

A CON JOB FROM AL-JAZEERA'S RIZ KHAN

Riz Khan of Al-Jazeera International made a dramatic appearance in Washington, D.C. on September 6, assuring an influential group presided over by conservative activist Grover Norquist that America has nothing to fear from the new channel being launched by the Arab regime of Qatar.

Accuracy in Media disagrees.

If the United States wants to win the war against Islamic terrorism, Khan and his Arab backers should be told in no uncertain terms that an English-language affiliate of Osama bin Laden's favorite TV channel is not welcome on U.S. cable and satellite systems.

The stakes are high: If Al-Jazeera International gets access to American households, it is probable, if not inevitable, that we will lose the war, not only in Iraq but worldwide. Such a channel could not only further tilt global media coverage against the U.S. position in the world, but could incite Arabs and Muslims inside the U.S. to engage in jihad and commit terrorist acts. That is exactly what the Arabic version has done in Iraq, and that is why it is banned by the new democratic government there.

Don't be fooled by these Islamist propaganda artists. They are invading our air waves to passify the left even more than they already are. The funny thing about the left and Islam, should Islam become a force in America, their way of life would no longer be an option.
Ironic isn't it?

The Terrorists' Legal Team

by Matthew Vadum
Posted Oct 03, 2006

America’s barbaric terrorist enemies have a friend in the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), an ultra-leftist public-interest law firm that for four decades has protected the supposed constitutional rights of those who would destroy the United States. From its founding in the tumultuous 1960s, CCR has used what it calls “innovative impact litigation” to aggressively attack U.S. anti-Communist policy, the war on Islamist terror, and American businesses. CCR lawyers agree with Islamic Fascists’ critique of American society and ritualistically denounce the U.S. for its supposed hegemony and imperialism, denying that America has a right to defend itself and regulate its borders.

CCR inhabits a paranoid, nightmarish parallel universe. In it, America is a land of breadlines, racism and totalitarian tyranny. In today’s America, “political dissent and protest are under grave attack ... This political repression is accompanied by economic hardship for millions, while racism and environmental devastation flourish along with the fattened bank accounts of the war profiteers who run our government,” wrote CCR’s legal director, William Goodman, in its 2005 annual report.

These morons need to be thrown in jail at the least, but definately belong on the N2BK list.

Is U.S. Surrendering Technique That Extracted Intel From 9/11 Mastermind?

by Amanda B. Carpenter
Posted Oct 02, 2006

Is the U.S. government giving up the interrogation technique that extracted vital intelligence from 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed?

On Fox News’s “The O’Reilly Factor” on September 20, Brian Ross, chief investigative correspondent for ABC News, reported that a tough interrogation technique called “waterboarding” had been used by the Central Intelligence Agency to break Mohammed, inducing him to surrender “very valuable” information.

Once again, America's hands are tied in the war on terrorism Islamic fundamentalism.
Here's more...

White House Won't Touch Waterboarding

Whether or not the new legislation governing interrogation of prisoners outlaws waterboarding -- the practice of simulating drowning that has worked in the interrogation of captured al Qaeda terrorists -- the White House refuses to say.

But days before the measure was enacted by the Senate and signed into law, one of its premier sponsors was strongly suggesting waterboarding would now be banned in future interrogations. Appearing on CBS-TV’s Face the Nation September 24, Sen. John McCain (R.-Ariz.) was asked by John Harris of the Washington Post about past claims about the legislation that “severe punishment, pain -- should not be inflicted but serious pain can. What can that possibly mean in concrete terms?”

“In concrete terms,” replied McCain, “It could mean that waterboarding and other extreme measures such as extreme deprivation, sleep deprivation, hypothermia and others would not be allowed.”

“Waterboarding” was singled out in a report by ABC News’ top investigative reporter Brian Ross as an effective means of securing information from captured al Qaeda terrorists -- among them Khalid Sheik Mohammed, one of the architects of 9/11.

The Left’s Seminaries
How times change.

By David French

It is tough not to admire the campus Left’s mental agility. Over the past few decades, we have seen the architects of the free-speech movement become the authors of speech codes, and those who formerly glorified dissent clamp down on campus with a mind-numbing level of intellectual conformity. Scientific inquiry is welcome, unless it results in tough questions about possible innate gender differences. Open debate is the hallmark of the academy, unless of course that debate intrudes into areas where policy should be settled and morality decided (like when dealing with race, class, gender, war, peace, and sexuality).

Given the remarkable ability to reinvent its position on the free-speech clause of the First Amendment (from protesters to censors), it was only a matter of time before the Left began to rethink the religion clauses as well, especially the establishment clause. “Separation of church and state” has been a battle cry of the hard Left for many decades, but what if the Left ran the state — or at least dominated an important state agency? Would the Left remain dedicated to this allegedly bedrock principle?

Hypocites...
Liberalism is a mental disorder!

Deanonomics Is Pure Deanogoguery
Responding to the DNC chair’s dangerous economic manifesto.

By Thomas E. Nugent

In a recent Wall Street Journal editorial, Howard Dean provided voters with a thumbnail sketch of the new economic direction Congress will take if the Democrats gain control on November 7. In what follows, I provide you with Dean’s outline — call it “Deanonomics” — while responding in kind to the anointed spokesman for the out-of-power party.

Excellent slap-down of the left's poster child.

Have a good day all.

The forbidden op-eds (Michelle Malkin)

From Michelle Malkin's site:

Here's Redeker's full piece (via Paul Belien, Extreme Center, and others; thanks also to Fausta, vigilantly blogging the story):

What should the free world do while facing Islamist intimidation?

The reactions caused by Benedict XVI’s analysis of Islam and violence highlight the underhanded maneuver carried out by Islam to stifle what the West values more than anything, and which does not exist in any Moslem country: freedom of thought and expression.

Islam tries to impose its rules on Europe : opening of public swimming pools at certain hours reserved exclusively for women, ban on caricaturing this religion, demands for special diets for Muslim children in school cafeterias, struggle to impose the veil at school, accusations of Islamophobia against free spirits.

How can one explain the ban on the wearing thongs on Paris-Beaches* this summer? The reasoning put forth was bizarre: women wering thongs would risk “disturbing the peace”. Did this mean that bands of frustrated youths would become violent while being offended by displays of beauty? Or were the authorities scared of Islamist demonstrations by virtue squads near Paris-Beaches?

However, the authorization of the veil on the street is more disturbing to public peace than wearing a thong, because it invites complaints against the upholding the oppression of women .This ban represents an Islamization of sensibilities in France, a more or less conscious submission to the diktats of Islam. At the very least it is the result of the insidious Muslim pressure on the minds: even those who protested the introduction of a “Jean Paul II Square” in Paris would not be opposed to the construction of mosques. Islam is trying to force Europe to yield to its vision of humanity.

As in the past with Communism, the West finds itself under ideological watch. Islam presents itself, like defunct Communism, as an alternative to the Western world. In the way of Communism before it, Islam, to conquer spirits, plays on a sensitive string. It prides itself on a legitimacy which troubles Western conscience, which is attentive to others: it claims to be the voice of the oppressed of the planet. Yesterday, the voice of the poor supposedly came from Moscow, today it originates in Mecca! Again, today, western intellectuals incarnate the eye of the Koran, as they have incarnated the eye of Moscow. They now excommunicate people because of Islamophobia, as they did before because of anti-communism.

This opening to others, specific to the West, is a secularization of Christianity that can be summarized thus:the other person must come before myself. The Westerner, heir to Christianity, is the that exposes his soul bare. He runs the risk of being seen as weak. With the same ardor as Communism, Islam treats generosity, broadmindedness, tolerance, gentleness, freedom of women and of manners, democratic values, as marks of decadence. They are weaknesses that it seeks to exploit, by means of useful idiots, self-rigtheous consciences drowning in nice feelings, in order to impose the Koranic order on the Western world itself.

The Koran is a book of unparalleled violence. Maxime Rodinson states, in Encyclopedia Universalis, some truths that in France are as significant as they are taboo. On one hand: “Mohammed revealed in Medina unsuspected qualities as political leader and military chief (…) He resorted to private war, by then a prevalent custom in Arabia (….) Mohammed soon sent small groups of partisans to attack the Meccan caravans, thus punishing his unbelieving compatriots and simultaneously acquiring the booty of a wealthy man.”

There is more: “Mohammed profited from this success by eradicating the Jewish tribe which resided in Medina, the Quarayza, whom he accused of suspect behaviour.” And: “After the death of Khadija, he married a widow, a good housewife, called Sawda, and in addition to the little Aisha, barely ten years old. His erotic predilections, held in check for a long time, led him to ten simultaneous marriages .”

A merciless war chief, plunderer, slaughterer of Jews and a polygamist, such is the man revealed through the Koran.

Of , the Catholic church is not above reproach. Its history is strewn with dark pages, for which it has officially repentaed. The Inquisition, the hounding of witches, the execution of the philosophers Giordano Bruno and Vanini, those wrong-thinking Epicureans, in the 18th century the execution of the knight of La Barre for impiety, do not plead in the church’s favor. But what differentiates Christianity from Islam is obvious: it is always possible to go back to true evangelical values, the peaceful character of Jesus as opposed to the deviations of the Church.

None of the faults of the Church have their roots in the Gospel. Jesus is non-violent. Going back to Jesus is akin to forswear the excesses of the Church. Going back to Mahomet, to the conbtrary, reinforces hate and violence. Jesus is a master of love, Mahomet is a master of hatred.

The stoning of Satan, each year in Mecca, is not only an obsolete superstition. It not only sets the stage for a hysterical crowd flirting with barbarity. Its importis anthropological. Here is a rite, which each Muslim is invited to submit to, that emphasizes violence as a sacred duty in the very heart of the believer.

This stoning, accompanied each year by the acciedental trampling to death of some of the believers, sometimes up to several hundreds, is a rite that feeds archaic violence.

Instead of getting rid of this archaic violence, and thus imitating Judaism and Christianity (Judaism starts when it abandons human sacrifice, and enters civilization; Christianity transforms sacrifice through the Eucharist), Islam builds a nest for this violence, where it will incubate. Whereas Judaism and Christianity are religions whose rites spurn violence, by delegitimizing it, Islam is a religion that exalts violence and hatred in its everyday rites and sacred book.

Hatred and violence dwell in the book with which every Muslim is brought up, the Koran. As in the Cold War, where violence and intimidation were the methods used by an ideology hell bent on hegemony, so today Islam tries to put its leaden mantel all over the world. Benedict XVI’s cruel experience is testimony to this. Nowadays, the West has to be called the “free world” in comparison to the Muslim world; likewise, the enemies of the “free world”, the zealous bureaucrats of the Koran’s vision, swarm in the very center of the frre World.

And here is a translation of German Professor Egon Flaig's piece (thanks to Michelle Malkin reader David by way of Diotima - if there is a link for this, please send):

Islam wants to conquer the world by Egon Flaig

"For we want the flag of Islam to fly over those lands again, who were lucky enough, to be ruled by Islam for a time, and hear the call of the muezzin praise God. Then the light of Islam died out and they returned to disbelief. Andalusia, Sicily, the Balkans, Southern Italy and the Greek islands are all Islamic colonies which have to return to Islam's lap. The Mediterranean and the Red Sea have to become internal seas of Islam, as they used to be".

These are not the words of Al Qaeda, they were taken from the programme formulated by the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan Al Banna, in a speech. The Brotherhood today has millions of adherents and spread out far beyond Egypt. Its intellectuals are working in Europe and the United States; they count as "moderates" and are treated accordingly by the media. Re-conquest of "lost" territory according to plan is part of the agenda of states, that is political communities, fighting about territorial power. How can it be part of a religion's programme? Is Islam a religion like any other?

Since the beginning of the classical period between the ninth and the eleventh century Islamic jurists have divided the world into two parts, namely the "House of Islam" and the "House of War". This dichotomy is independent of where Muslims live in large numbers, or even form the majority, but depends on where Islam rules supreme - by applying Shariah - or where it does not rule. So, this dichotomy is not religious in nature, but political. Between these two parts of the world naturally exists a state of war, until the House of War is no more and Islam rules the world (Sura 8, 39 and 9, 41). Thus, according to classical teaching, for the Muslim community there is a duty to wage war against the disbelievers, until those either convert, or submit. This war is called jihad.

While Jesus' missionary call meant to convert all peoples, but to leave their political order untouched, Islam's aim is to submit all non-muslims politically, but to leave their religion untouched, if it is a religion of the book. God's general call to jihad is based on surah 9, 29. It is true though, that minute factions of islam did not accept this interpretation. The Shiites accept it, but demand that a true imam must be leading the Muslim community (and has been waiting for such a one for more than 13 centuries), so that for the time being they only feel bound to defensive jihad, in the case of attacks on the Muslim community.

On the other hand, the other factions, e.g. the so-called Kharijites, have radicalised the content of Sura 9.29: for them, jihad is an individual duty of each able-bodied muslim, which counts as a sixth pillar next to the other five cardinal duties. In the consequence of such teachings: when everyone has to either take part in the collective war against the unbelievers, or, should the Muslim community be too weak for the time being, has to wage war alone or in small groups, then assassinations and terror attacks are right. What the Kharijites demand for offensive jihad, most proponents of orthodox Sunnah-teachings demand for defensive jihad: when Islam is being attacked, or islamic territory is being invaded by infidels, jihad becomes an individual duty, e.g. a fatwa of the Grand Mufti of Cairo's Al-Azhar university - against Israel - leaves no doubt about that. Any enemy power that acts according to the Hague rules of warfare and strictly distinguishes combatants and non-combatants will be in great difficulty. The state of war lasts so long, until the House of War is destroyed, and the world is conquered. This is why Majid Khadduri calls Islam a "divine nomocracy on imperialist foundations". Peace treaties, which Islamic rulers closed with non-Islamic rulers, were only considered as cease-fires; this is why as a rule, they were only closed for no more than ten years. Two schools of jurisprudence permit no more than three to four years of peace. The short deadlines made it possible for the militarily superior Muslims to constantly blackmail their adversaries; this way throughout the centuries huge amounts of money and humans went to the Muslim side. When the paradigm of power shifted, Muslim rulers had to change their practice.

Thus in 1535 Suleiman the Magnificent made a peace with the French king which was to last for the lifetime of the Sultan - a break with tradition. Christian theologians tried to define, in the face of a plurality of states, what could be deemed a "just war" and what could not be deemed such. To wage war just in the interest of faith for the most part was not considered just. For Muslim scholars on the other hand, the "house of islam" is a political unit, which does not permit internal war, therefore only war for the sugjugation of infidels was considered legitimate and even a duty, as the famous fourtheenth-century scholare Ibn Chaldun categorically states: "In Islam the jihad is prescribed by law, because it has a universal calling and is supposed to convert all of humanity to Islam, be it of their own free will, or by force".

The rules of engagement for jihad are flexible. According to Khadduri, anything is possible, from mercy to mass enslavement to mass killing, just like with Greeks and Romans. This is a fundamental difference between the holy war of islam and of Old Testament Judaism, which prescribed the killing of all males outside of Israel, and the killing of every living thing within Israel (Deuteronomy 20, 10-20). We usually are outraged at what the Crusaders did in Jerusalem in 1099. Yet, the Crusaders acted in accordance with the ius bellum of the times, Muslim conquerors did the same all the time and everywhere: 698 they hit Carthage, in 838 Syracuse; the notorious vesir of the Cordoban Caliphate, Al Mansur, led 25 wars in 27 years against the Christian realms of northern Spain, enslaving, destroying, laying waste. They hit Zamora (981), Coimbra (987), Leon, Barcelona twice (985 and 1008), then Santiago de Compostela (997).

The worst destruction was wreaked by the jihadis on Byzantine Anatolia, which was then still full of cities; the massacre of Amorium (838) has remained a symbol for a long time; the urban culture of Anatolia never recovered from it.

The Seljuk Alp Arslan had entire Armenian cities massacred, the worst being the capital Ani in 1064. Bat Ye'or's evaluation therefore is more than justified: "Its lack of measure, its regularity and the systematic character of the destructions, which Islamic theologians had decreed to be law, make the difference between jihad and other wars of conquest".Certainly, mass enslavement remained the favourite aim of the wars. That was the way in which, as early as the eight century, the biggest slave-holder society developed that world history has ever known; it demanded a permanent influx of new slaves, transformed the African continent into the biggest supplier of slaves, a destiny which Europe narrowly avoided.

The incredible speed, in which in 90 years an Arabian empire spanning from the south of France to India developed, with no single conqueror guiding the expansion, is unique. The world's most succesful imperialism was admired by no less than Hegel: "Never has enthusiasm as such done bigger deeds". If "enthusiasm" could do such a thing - what was its source? The answer is simple: martyrdom. Something happening in 963 in Constantinople may illustrate this: the emperor Nikephoros Phokas had just swept the Muslim invaders from Crete; now, he was planning a big war, to liberate eastern Anatolia and northern Syria from muslim rule. A council should help him: he pleaded with the bishops, to elevate soldiers dying in the war to the status of martyrs. Paradise would then have been assured for those soldiers. The patriarch stood up against the emperor: no church council could be empowered to anticipate God's decision, only God could decide on eternal salvation.

A scene of historical significance. The emperor knew what was at stake. Again and again, the Byzantians had to witness the Muslim troops fighting with a ferocious courage that the Christians could not emulate. Fallen Muslims were considered martyrs of the faith and marched straight to paradise. The concept of a martyr is fundamentally different in the two religions. Christian martyrs imitate the passion of Jesus, passively submit to torture and death; Muslim martyrs are active fighters.

Decisive for the warriors' acceptance of death was the firm promise of eternal salvation for those who die for the faith (surah 4, 74-76). Muslims should withstand a tenfold force (surah 8, 66-67); retreat was judged to be acceptable by later scholars if the enemy was at least double as strong, as Khadduri describes. As the decisive factor in any war is the fighting human being and his readiness to sacrifice himself, being on a par technically with the Arabs and Seljuks - in the long run, they had to succumb, if their morale was not of the same kind. Higher readiness to die is an enormous advantage in a fight- foolhardy operations can be waged and dashing manoeuvers to surprise and confuse the enemy; in that way, victory can be forced, that is technically and materially almost impossible, and battles are won, that would be lost under the usual circumstances.

Nikephoros knew about the military consequences of surah 4, 74-76; he was the first who tried to correct the conceptual military disadvantage of the Christian religion. But the bishops of the Eastern Church found themselves incapable of manipulating their theology in a way to create warlike martyrdom. This was it. The Byzantine emperors had to wage their heavy defensive wars against the permanent Saracen and Seljuk aggression without the help of religion, where they needed that help most.

Only the Western Church changed the theological-political situation: when Pope Urban II called the first crusade in 1095, he promised the Christian warriors forgiveness for their sins: fallen crusaders avoided divine judgement and were put on a par with martyrs in that respect, although they were denied that name.

The Pope as head of a monarchic church did just that, what the Council of Eastern bishops had not been able to do: he dispensed salvation. The papal church now could have the kind of "holy war" islam had been waging for centuries. What is the difference between Crusade and jihad? A Crusade could only be called by the Pope, and thus remained a rare occurence - compared to the countless, neverending and ubiquitarian jihads of the islamic world.

And the goals of the Crusades remain precisely defined; in November 1095, Urban II defined reason and aim of the crusade: "it is obvious, we must give help to our brothers in the east as soon as possible. The Turks and Arabs have attacked them and have invaded the realm of Romania (Constantinople) and by invading the lands of these Christians ever more deeply, they won seven battles, killed or captured a huge number of the Christians. If you don't oppose them now, the faithful servants of God in the Orient will not withstand this storm much longer". The first Crusades were meant to either help Christians in need, or to liberate the holy places in Palestine or to liberate Christians that had been subjugated by Muslims. On the other hand, the Muslim scholars always kept firm to their final goal, to conquer the "house of war" and subjugate all infidels.
Urban II was right. Had Constantinople fallen in 1100, the enormous military power of the Turk armies would have plagued Europe four hundred years earlier. Then the manifold European culture probably would never have been: no free urban constitutions, no constitutional debates, no cathedrals, no renaissance, no scientific boom, because in the Islamic world, free - Greek! - thinking was dying just at this time. Jacob Burckhardt's evaluation - "A stroke of luck, that Europe as a whole could ward off Islam" - means, we owe about as much to the Crusades, as to the Greeks' victory against the Persians.

But, have the Crusades not been abused? Certainly. Crusades "derailed" and were "abused", like the one that led to the conquest of Christian Constantinople in 1204. But that happened much more often with jihads. When slaves became scarce, emirs did not merely wage wars against non-Muslim peoples, who had to be enslaved anyway, but more and more often against Islamized peoples, under the pretext, that they were no true Muslims. That happened mainly in Africa and against black Africans, e.g. when first in 1468 Songhay and then the Moroccans in 1552 invaded Mali, or when in the 18th century religious reformers waged their jihad against Muslimized Hausa cities, which led to the creation of the Sokoto-caliphate - containing the third largest number of slaves after Brazil and the American south. Africa to this day suffers from the consequences of this permanent jihad with its genocides and mass-enslavements

Well, and what was the political order that the Muslims waged their holy wars for with such vehemence and success? For Shariah. A political order, which for one strictly separates masters from the subjugated and secondly takes political and social order away from human influence for the most part. Let's talk about the first aspect: According to the Shariah, the Muslims are masters, the followers of other "book religions" - Christians, Jews, Parsees, Buddhists, are subjugated, Dhimmi. These were not religious minorities, but huge majorities, especially in Syria, Anatolia or the Christians of North-Africa.

The subjugated were not allowed to carry weapons, they were unarmed, thus not 'real men'. Christians and Jews had to wear special colours or pieces of clothing (this discrimination was the origin of the "Judenstern") so as to be visibly "dhimmi"; they were not allowed to ride on horseback, only on mules, to remind them of their subjugation; they paid a special tribute (jizyah), that they had to pay personally, while being given a slap on the head. They had to let themselves be beaten by any Muslim, without being allowed to defend themselves; if a dhimmi retaliated, his hand would be cut off, or he would be executed. A dhimmi's witness did not count against a Muslim, who only had to pay half the fine for any crime committed against a dhimmi, and could never ever get executed for any such crime. On the other side, the most cruel methods of execution were reserved for the dhimmi.

Even the discrimination against the Jews, installed by the Western Church in the 4th Lateran Council in 1215, four hundred years after Islam, and which seems so barbarian to us, did not intend and did not lead to such a degree of humiliation and demeaning of people. A special horror was brought by the Turkish rule: from 1360 up to a fifth of Christian children were abducted into slavery. They were forcefully converted. The number of slaves through four centuries must have been millions; hundreds of thousands of choice boys among those were raised to be fanatical Muslims and elite fighters, the notorious Janissaries: a politic meant to systematically increase the Muslim population and slowly exterminate Christians. It was successful. "Dhimmitude" put non-muslims in a state of radical "otherness". To call people in this state "second class citizens" is a euphemism.

In the same way national socialism divided humans into master-race and subhumans on racial grounds, so Shariah did it on religious grounds. As the first world-religion, Islam created an apartheid, where Christian or Parsee majorities were colonised and slowly Islamized. Islamic tolerance meant: tolerate the subjugated as humiliated and demeaned. All this is well known via studies about "dhimmitude". But who wants to hear about the millions of victims?
Islam religiously "cleansed" huge territories: the second Caliph made the Hijaz, Arabia except Yemen "judenrein" and "christenrein"; the alternative was either to convert, or to be forced into emigration. Except for some Old Testament cases no religion ever before had done that. In the same way the Almohadis and Almoravids "cleansed" Spain after the breakdown of the Caliphate in 1031: tens of thousands of Jews and Christians had to either convert or flee to the Christian north of Spain, or the Levant. Certainly, English and French kings and the kings of Spain later on did the same - they applied the Muslim recipe in doing it. And the pogroms? Since the Caliph Al-Mutawakkil (847-861) waves of persecution again and again hit the Orient and North Africa, where Jews and Christians were forcibly converted, kicked out or massacred. The destruction of churches went on and on right until the century before last. Slowly, the rosy picture of Muslim Spain created by European anti-imperialism in the 19th century loses its fake colours. A scrupulous study of documents shows a different picture below that. In 889 in Elvira and in 891 in Seville, there were massive pogroms against Christians. In Moroccan Fez in 1033, 6000 Jews were massacred. 1058 Christian Antioch was forcefully Muslimized with torture and threats of death.

The first large pogrom against Jews on European soil happened in 1066 in Muslim Granada, 1500 Jewish families were killed. In 1135 the Jewish quarter of Cordoba was burnt down, it might be good, not to know the number of people massacred then. In 1159 all the Christians in Tunis had to chose between conversion or death. At this time, the vital Christianity of North Africa was completely wiped out. The pogroms in Christian lands are nothing to be proud of in European history, but their scope lags behind the ones in the Muslim world. We urgently need a comparative study of religious oppression.

Let's talk about integration of the Jews? Nowhere under the rule of Islam, not even in the Spanish Caliphate, were Jews citizens of their own cities, they always remained subjugated. In some German cities - Worms, Augsburg and others - during the high Middle Ages the Jews were citizens, albeit of special legal satus. They had the right to carry arms and were better off than poorer Christian people. Right until the 14th century, when their situation got worse, they were far better integrated than Jews in Muslim Spain could ever hope to be. Who thinks highly of political integration cannot but prefer Augsburg to Cordoba. All this has been well known in academic circles for fifteen years. But who wants to hear it?

To ignore the past means to re-live it. He who keeps on spreading the fairytale of muslim tolerance, stands in the way of those Muslim intellectuals, who seriously work towards a reformation of islam, which started out so promisingly in the 19th century. He steals away their chance to overcome a past, which threatens to become a horrible presence. If the reformers could achieve a radical de-politicization of islam, the muslims could become real citizens of their states. That would leave the highly spiritual religion, which fascinated not only Goethe. Hegel called Islam the "religion of sublime". It could become that.

Couldn't pass this up!

New prophet slap nuts, er prophet Mohammad bobblehead toys!

Islam still sucks and so does Mohammad.



Go and buy a few for you muslim friends.
Let's get the riots started!
Woohoo!

Islam Still Sucks!

Another shot at Islam at its finest...

New Tucker and Menchaca Video: Bodies Desecrated by Terrorists

A new video released by the Mujahidin Shura Council of Iraq shows new footage of the desecration of the bodies of Thomas Tucker and Kristian Menchaca. The Jawa Report has obtained a copy of the video.

From a great source... Al Jazeera,

Fighter held

Meanwhile, Iraqi state television reported that the leader of Ansar al-Sunna, a group with links to al-Qaeda in Iraq, had been captured along with two of his aides.

Muntasir al-Jibouri was arrested in the town of Muqdadiya, about 80km northeast of Baghdad, in the troubled province of Diyala, the report said.

Ansar al-Sunna says it has carried out numerous attacks including car bombings as well as the beheadings of Shia and Kurdish hostages.

Documents and assault rifles were seized with the three men.

Take note, it is at the end of the article.


This is from Michelle Malkin...

Indonesian Christians executed;
girls to be stoned in Iran

My initial post prompted much caterwauling from tone-deaf moonbat bloggers who accused me of hypocrisy for simply noting that the defendants' supporters had raised concerns about the fairness of the trial. Profanity-laced messages poured in: "You *&^%$. How can you object to the Indonesians' case while supporting the indefinite detention of AP photographer Bilal Hussein in Iraq?"

I Reiterate, Boycot CITGO

Couple of things.
Playing catch up, since I've been gone a couple days.
First this and then the next post.

Boycott Citgo

Time to boycott Citgo.

Nice Promo!Citgo Corporation sponsored Hugo Chavez
at a Harlem rally today where he again called President Bush the
devil.
Chavez, dressed in his signature red shirt, was introduced at the
podium by activist actor Danny Glover.At one point Chavez told the crowd,
"sometimes the devil takes human form," a comment that drew some boos — and
applause — from the crowd who interpreted the reference to mean President
Bush.Chavez was visiting the church as part of ceremonies to announce the sale
of discounted home heating oil to qualified low-income families.The appearance
came after reports circulated early Thursday morning that the Venezuelan
president had left the country overnight after delivering an insult-riddled
speech at the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday in which he called President
Bush the 'devil.'The crowd chanted "Chavez, Chavez, the people are with you" in
Spanish as he walked into the Mount Olivet Baptist Church on Lenox Ave. in
Harlem.The event, one of a series designed to boost the Venezuelan leader's
popularity in the U.S., was organized by Citgo, a Houston-based energy company
that is owned and controlled by the Venezuelan government. Under a Citgo
program, and in partnership with Citizens Energy, a program started and run by
former Congressman Joe Kennedy II, families from low-income neighborhoods in New
York, Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia have the ability to purchase discounted
home heating oil over winter months.Venezuelan officials and Citgo employees
handed out T-shirts prior to the event with the name of the program — "From The
Venezuelan Heart To The U.S. Hearths" — printed across the front.

And his buddy Danny Glover. Another moron from Hollyweird/Old Pork that can't figure it out.

Today's Stuff.

THE former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey of Clifton has issued his own challenge to “violent” Islam in a lecture in which he defends the Pope’s “extraordinarily effective and lucid” speech.

Lord Carey said that Muslims must address “with great urgency” their religion’s association with violence. He made it clear that he believed the “clash of civilisations” endangering the world was not between Islamist extremists and the West, but with Islam as a whole.
"Muslims must address with great urgency their religion's association with violence." Really? Ya think?!

Refer to my previous post regarding the "Religion of Peace"...

Here is a brave lad:










Salman Rushdie
Rather outspoken critic of Islam. Still has a death threat hanging over his head...

Gotta love the Aussies!
Muslim animosity strange: Howard

THE Islamic world's angry reaction to comments by Pope Benedict was disproportionate, strange and disappointing, the Prime Minister, John Howard, said last night.

"We should take a deep breath on these things and all have a sense of proportion. We seem to be living in a world where people have no sense of proportion," he told the ABC's Lateline program. "OK, they don't like what was said. I'm sure the Pope was not intending to attack Islam. He's expressed his regrets, and I think we should really move on."

Do you really think they'll move on?
I think they'll keep up this charade that Islam has been attacked by the "bearers of the cross" and Islam will once again continue to prove that it is NOT A RELIGION OF PEACE!


Christians in Indonesia
Allowing persecution to happen.

I first became aware of central Indonesia eleven years ago,
when I bought a map in an airport shop in Cebu, in the middle of the Philippines.
A portion of this 17,000-mile archipelago was taken up by a huge island shaped like a
pinwheel: Sulawesi. In 1999, horrific stories about Christian persecution in that part
of the world started to leak out. A radical Islamic group called Laskar Jihad was
terrorizing Christians in a group of islands called the Moluccas, just east of Sulawesi.
Christians who refused to convert to Islam were killed; those who did convert were then
separated from their families, given Muslim names, and forcibly circumcised —
without anaesthetic, and with dirty instruments. Scissors were used on the adults.
They were then told to wash in the sea to disinfect their wounds. The women underwent
female genital circumcision.

Why, I wondered, weren't journalists reporting on this tragedy?
It turns out that getting a journalist's visa to enter that part of the country
is next to impossible. One has to first go to Jakarta to state the purpose of one's
trip, and then wait for approval. But there are planes or ferryboats to these islands
daily, so a truly dedicated reporter could slip in. One gets the impression that, when
it's Christians being murdered or tortured, the international press isn't really
interested.

Where is the outrage? Where is the coverage in the MSM? I hear crickets...

From Hot Air
It's long, but worth the read...

I probably shouldn’t wade into this, but it does dovetail with something I’ve been pondering lately. Namely, that an essentially post-Christian West comes to the battle with Islamism, Islamofascism, caliphascism, or whatever you want to call the demon that animates al Qaeda and apparently millions of Muslims across the globe to hate the West and work toward our destruction, ill-equipped to understand and confront the foe. This inability to get into the enemy’s head and heart makes it harder for us to win. Yes, for all our weapons and the superiority of our forces versus theirs, we are ill-equipped to fight because we’re increasingly incapable of understanding what motivates them and therefore are less likely to find the means of removing that animator. Those who say the Islamists can’t defeat us militarily miss the point entirely, and those who throw out a quote from Leviticus to counter quotes from the Koran miss the point even more. And the point is this: If a holy writ holds sway in the life of an enemy, then that writ and its authority need to be understood on their own terms by us or we won’t formulate an adequate response to it.

Religion of Peace my Ass!

I started writing this on the 25th of August, but decided to hold off on my scathing reproach of Islam, but in light of the recent BS from Islam in relation to the Pope's comments, and his later apology, (I'll deal with that later) , I've decided to revive this and add more to it....

Islam a religion of peace...my ass it is.

Where and when has Islam ever been a religion of peace?
Here are a few examples of this peace loving religion:

The persecution of Lina Joy

We have been hearing that Islam is a religion of peace, and in fact that Islam means peace. Both of these assertions are in error. Islam means submission. Check with any good Muslim dictionary and "submission" will be the definition of Islam. Redefining the word Islam is an attempt to deceive people about the real nature of Islam.

The argument is made based upon the idea that the Arabic word salaam means peace. The word "Islam" shares a common root with salaam, therefore Islam means peace also. It is true that Islam and salaam share a common root, but according to the dictionaries, they do not mean the same thing.

According to A Basic Dictionary of Islamic Words by M Zakiuddin Sharfi, Islam means, "Submission or resignation to the will of Allah, completely. He does not define salaam, but does note that one of the ninety-nine attributes of Allah is as-Salam, meaning "The Peaceful One’

A common greeting is Arabic is "as-Salam-u’Alaikum." This means "Peace be upon you." It is easy to see that it is not Islam, but Salam.

Do not be deceived by claims that Islam means peace. It means submission. Islam has always been a religion of violence.

When the US discovers that their soldiers have mistreated Muslim prisoners of war, they condemn it and charge the soldiers with a crime and try them as criminals.

Islamic militant groups capture innocent civilians, like Nick Berg, who was beheaded in a video tape sent to the media by Muslims.

This is where I left off, so here is where I'll start...

Islam is a junk religion.
Islam is garbage.
Islam is a hateful religion.
Islam is not about peace.
Islam sucks.


Here is a real martyr:

Murdered Nun Asked Forgiveness For Killers As She Lay Dying, Colleagues Say

An elderly nun shot four times at the Somali hospital where she worked forgave her killers as she lay dying, colleagues said Monday in the wake of a murder that has focused attention on Islamic radicalism in the Horn of Africa country.

God rest her soul.


Meanwhile...
Islam at its finest:

Meanwhile, they burn the cross and firebomb Christian churches because they know they have nothing to lose--not their heads, their lives, anything. But if we so much as drop a Koran, joke about Muslims, or draw Mohammed...

Michelle is all over it...

Catholic Priest Missing In Baghdad

A third priest may now have become a victim of the violence and lawlessness in Baghdad. Father Basil Salem Yaldo was last seen leaving a church building in the Dora area of Baghdad. He is the personal secretary to the Catholic Patriarch for Iraq. At the time of his disappearance, a car bomb had exploded in the vicinity and a round-up of suspects took place by Iraqi and Coalition Security Forces. It is not known if Father Basil was taken into custody, is being held for ransom, or worse.

Just Outside Westminster Cathedral Today...

I thought I'd refrain from posting anything substantial about this uproar about the Pope's speech, since I'm sure other bloggers can put things more eloquently than me. ( here and here and here : "If the Pope does not appear on TV and apologise ... we will blow up all of Gaza's Churches" and here: a priest's calm take on things.).

Brave bunch aren't they? Always covering the face. Wimps.

Somali Cleric Calls For Pope's Death

A HARDLINE cleric linked to Somalia's powerful Islamist movement has called for Muslims to "hunt down" and kill Pope Benedict XVI for his controversial comments about Islam.

Sheikh Abubukar Hassan Malin urged Muslims to find the pontiff and punish him for insulting the Prophet Mohammed and Allah in a speech that he said was as offensive as author Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses.

Muslim Backlash at Pope Proves His Point

The New York Times carries water for the outraged Muslims and as Captain Ed so accurately says, the Pope apologizes for being prophetic. I mean, how better to demonstrate that your religion does not advocate violence in proselytization than to burn down some Christian Churches? How better to prove the point of the Pope in his appeal to “reason” than to react unreasonably?

Religion of peace my ass.

Oh yeah...
Muhammad is an ass.
Muhammad sucks.
Muhammad lied.
Muhammad and his followers are a bunch of thieves.
And any other anti-Muhammad comment you want to throw in there.

Muslim fanatic fascist piece of bottom feeding scum.

More later infadels!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As promised:

The Pope must die, says Muslim

A notorious Muslim extremist told a demonstration in London yesterday that the
Pope should face execution.
Anjem Choudary said those who insulted Islam
would be "subject to capital punishment".

Pope burned in effigy in Iraq as Mideast anger simmers

Iraqis have burned effigies of the pope and Al-Qaeda have vowed to pursue holy
war, as an apology by the pontiff failed on Monday to quell anger in the Middle East.
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei said last
week's controversial comments by Pope Benedict XVI linking Islam and violence
were "links" in a US-Israeli conspiracy aimed at creating conflict between
religions.

Iran leader says pope remarks part of US-Israeli conspiracy

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei has said remarks by the pope on Islam and violence were just the latest "links in the chain" of a
US-Israeli conspiracy aimed at creating conflict between religions.
"Leaders
of the arrogant imperialists have already defined the links of the chain in this
US-Zionist project by attacking Iraq," Khamenei said in comments broadcast on
state television.

Islam and the Media

We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.

Benjamin Franklin

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Qaeda "leader" claims beheading of Sudan editor

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A man purporting to lead an African branch of al Qaeda claimed responsibility on Tuesday for the beheading of a Sudanese newspaper editor who was found dead last week.

The man, in a statement distributed to Sudanese newspapers, called editor Mohamed Taha a "dog of dogs from the ruling party", and accused him of insulting the prophet Mohammad.

Is anyone really surprised?
Islam at its finest!
Fascist pigs.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyone catch this?

ONE ARAB'S APOLOGY

September 12, 2006 -- WELL, here it is, five years late, but here just the same: an apology from an Arab-American for 9/11. No, I didn't help organize the killers or contribute in any way to their terrible cause. However, I was one of millions of Arab-Americans who did the unspeakable on 9/11: nothing.

Too little, too late.
Where are the rest of the "moderate" muslims?
Apology not accepted.
However, you are correct in your initial statement and it is still the same today: "I was one of millions of Arab-Americans who did the unspeakable on 9/11: nothing."
And this continues today: "nothing."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Somali radio shut by Islamists re-opens without music

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A Somali radio station closed by Islamists for playing local love songs deemed to encourage immorality returned to the airwaves on Monday after pledging to stop broadcasting music.

Are you seeing this Hollywood morons?
Your singing/acting days are numbered if the Islamo-fascists get their way.
Keep appeasing them you idiots, it's exactly what they hope you will do.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When pictures lie

A TV report that helped fuel the deadly Palestinian intifada appears to be false. So how is truth supposed to compete with a video fraud?

More fauxtography from the all mighty media.
Can't believe a damn thing from these idiot

Related:

Storm Clouds Over Paris

A gathering storm comes to a head in Paris this week as a series of lawsuits get underway. Three individuals who criticized France-2 TV’s world-famous footage of Mohammed Dura were sued for defamation by the powerful state-owned TV company. Specifically singled out for criticism were correspondent Charles Enderlin and cameraman Talal Abu Rahma. We encourage readers to see the video at Second Draft.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A small leak can sink a great ship.

Benjamin Franklin

A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.

Gerald R. Ford

The 9-11 Brewhaha

Again the left can't shut their mouths and let it be.

Again the left has to disgrace the memory of the fallen.

When will they learn?

How George Soros and the Left Remember 9-11

Too bad the left can't see the true color of their politics.

Time says: "Bush can't spin terrorism anymore."

If you go to the Time website, you'll notice that they are "powered by CNN," what more needs to be said about that?

Speaking of propaganda:

Former DC Islamic Head Says 9/11 Was An Inside Job

More liberal diatribes:

The Shoe on the Left Foot Seems to Pinch

Are Canadians Stupid?

Other intereseting tidbits:

The Myth of the "Fightin' Dems"

Spook Spin

Debunking 9/11

An interesting piece on the bias of the MSM as usual...
The Hard Cell

Talk about hypocrisy! The government cannot establish a religion, but it damn sure can censor one! Go figure...
Navy chaplain pleads not guilty in prayer case

Clinton aide says 9/11 film 'correct'

Remember 9-11 and Ivan Perez along with the 2996

In Tribute to Ivan Perez
37 years old. From: New York, N.Y.
Died in World Trade Center 9-11-01

Rest in peace.

A shot of Michelle Malkin

Michelle Malkin on Hot Air

Michelle Malkin

News for the day...

From Newsmax:

Today's Democratic Party Intellectually and Morally Bankrupt by David Limbaugh

In their desperation to regain the power they held for decades, Democrats have seized on a few isolated scandals and manufactured others, trying to paint Republicans as fostering a culture of corruption. But the real systemic corruption is in the Democratic Party, from its highest positions of leadership to the bowels of its Bush-hating, anti-war base.

Asleep at the Switch: The Path to 9/11 by W.H. Mann

NEW YORK -- Granted, five hours is a major time commitment for a TV program. But ABC's controversial miniseries, "The Path to 9/11," is worth it.


The drama, based largely on the 9/11 Commission reports, is not another rehash of the dark day the World Trade Center was attacked. Instead, it shows, with patience and no small amount of artfulness, what led up to that attack, starting years before.

Do Nothing, Congress! Please! by Lowell Ponte

"No man's life, liberty or property is safe," the old saying goes, "while the Congress is in session." This is truer today than ever before as voters find themselves trapped between Big Government Republican and socialist-led Democrat lawmakers.

Neither Side Deserves to Be Re-elected by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann

Sorry, but you don't.

At the start of Congress, right after Bush's re-election, two topics dominated your agenda: Social Security and Immigration Reform. Neither passed.

From National Review Online:

Who’s Really Ignoring the Geneva Conventions? By Alykhan Velshi & Howard Anglin

In a landmark speech Wednesday, President Bush announced that all captured terrorists will receive the protections of Common Article Three of the Geneva Conventions. This concession was compelled by the recent Supreme Court decision in Hamdan v. Rumsfield, where a narrow majority of the Court substituted its preferred detainee treatment policy for that of the president. Though bowing to the Supreme Court’s ukase, Bush acidly observed that this decision has “impaired our ability to prosecute terrorists.” This was too kind. The Court’s ruling in Hamdan established a deeply flawed framework for dealing with terrorists motivated by an implacable religious desire to destroy us.

Where Maria Elena Salinas Stands NOW By Mary Rose Rybak

NOW’s recognition of Salinas isn’t the only sign that the organization has progressively sought to get Hispanic groups on board with their mission over the past few years. In fact, just last year NOW recognized Josie Ashton — who is known for her efforts to decrease domestic violence in the Latina community — as another “Intrepid Woman” at their gala. NOW has also started presenting Spanish-spoken workshops at its annual conference, and this past July it showcased a workshop entitled, “Immigration is a Feminist Issue.”

Failure of Proof By Peter Kirsanow

The Supreme Court will be considering two cases in the coming term that will determine whether the benefits that flow from racially diverse K-12 classrooms constitute a compelling state interest. The Supreme Court held in the 2003 University of Michigan affirmative action case, Grutter v. Bollinger, that the benefits that flow from a racially diverse elite college campus constitute a compelling state interest permitting the use of racial classifications. The alleged benefits in Grutter were 1) breaking down racial stereotypes, 2) promoting cross-cultural understanding, 3) preparing students for a global marketplace, and 4) promoting spirited classroom discussions.

Cole Case By David White

Juan Cole’s supporters have taken to portraying the antiwar University of Michigan history professor as a victim of a neoconservative cabal that deep-sixed his job application at Yale. There’s only one problem with that conspiracy theory: It’s not true.

More News:

Bush Acknowledges Secret CIA Prisons By Nedra Pickler

President Bush has transferred 14 key terrorist leaders from secret CIA custody to the U.S. military-run prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to be prepared for eventual trials, a senior administration official said Wednesday.

Once again France defends Islamic Fascism by denegrading the US.
France rejects "war on terror" by Elizabeth Pineau

PARIS (Reuters) - France issued an implicit criticism of U.S. foreign policy on Thursday, rejecting talk of a "war on terror".

Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, speaking in parliament, expressed these views on global terrorism, while President Jacques Chirac backed France's claims to the international front rank with a fresh defense of his country's nuclear arsenal.

One Leak and a Flood of Silliness By David S. Broder

These and other publications owe Karl Rove an apology. And all of journalism needs to relearn the lesson: Can the conspiracy theories and stick to the facts.

Pollster guilty of fake data conspiracy by Michael P. Mayko

BRIDGEPORT — A polling company owner admitted participating in a conspiracy to falsify data in order to meet deadlines for clients, which included the campaigns of President Bush, U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Mayor John M. Fabrizi.

Ivan Perez

In Tribute to Ivan Perez
37 years old. From: New York, N.Y.
Died in World Trade Center 9-11-01

Rest in peace.

Remember the Victims of 9-11!

Remember the victims of 9-11.
My blog is part of the 2996 bloggers that are remembering one victim each for 9-11.
Please join the effort and emember those that fell on that day.

News Tid Bits

MEDIA BLAME BUSH FOR CLINTON LEGACY


Controversial Muslim group gets VIP airport security tour Feds show CAIR latest screening steps, sensitive counterterrorism procedures


Dem angst escalates


Israeli government faces deep post-Lebanon crisis


Hizbollah hands out cash to Lebanese


Bush and Blair are not the root cause of jihad

Changing My Tune...News for Today

Just going to post links for a while.
If I feel like adding comments I will.
This particular thread of news is mostly related to the threat of islamofascists and their muslim ilk.
I may tend to spend most of my time and posts dedicated to exposing the muslim lies and distortion, along with the terrorism that is associated with it.

3 Egyptian Students Taken Into Custody

Plan to blow up 6-10 planes in mid-flight over ocean

'Mass murder' bomb plot

Israel says BBC not reporting war fairly

AL-JAZEERA PROMOTES GLOBAL TERRORISM

AIM Report: "Impartial News" With a British Accent?

Bold Distortions and Outright Lies

Media Downplays SeattleTerror Attack

De Borchgrave: The U.S. and Iran are fighting World War IV—and Lebanon is the current battlefield

Beaudoin: Hezbollah, not Israel, is using civilians as ‘cannon fodder’

Apocalypse Now?

Hot Rockets
Hezbollah turns ball bearings into WMDs.

How to Speak Liberal . . .
Start by obfuscating.

Anti-war, Anti-Israel, Anti-Joe
The New Democrats.

Army Awards for Valor

Gen. John Abizaid, commander of U.S. Central Command, congratulates Staff Sgt. Matthew Blaskowski, one of several Soldiers who received awards during the recent ceremony at Kandahar Airfield. SSG Blaskowski received the Silver Star.


Two Silver Stars

The Silver Star, awarded for gallantry in action, was presented to two Rangers for actions while deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Capt. Christopher A. Molino was awarded the Silver Star while serving as the ground commander when his Soldiers were attacked. Molino was conducting combat operations when his element came under direct small arms and hand grenade fire from a determined enemy. According to the award citation, Malino'a personal courage, tactical expertise and professional competence contributed to saving the lives of wounded Rangers and the success of the task force.

Staff Sgt. David M. Edwards was awarded the Silver Star while serving as a squad leader for the task force. Edwards’ unit was conducting combat operations when his element came under an intense enemy attack. According to the citation, while under direct fire, his outstanding leadership, dedication to duty and commitment to excellence were fundamental in saving the life of a wounded Ranger and success of the task force.

“These men represent extraordinary heroism. They fought for each other, their families and to get the mission done,” said Lt. Col. John G. Castles, commander, 3rd Bn., 75th Ranger Regt. “Their actions are representative of others on this field today.

“Rangers often downplay individual actions, because nothing can be done without the entire force.”

He explained that the awardees’ actions were significant and that “fellow Rangers are standing here today because of the valorous actions of these Rangers.”



Soldier's Medal

The Soldier’s Medal was presented to Sgt. Mark T. Alperin while serving as a mortar platoon squad leader in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. This medal is awarded for personnel who distinguish themselves by heroism involving personal danger and the voluntary risk of life, though no contact with the enemy was made. This award requires the same level of heroism as the Distinguished Flying Cross.

According to the award citation, Alperin displayed the highest degree of professionalism, sound judgment, technical and tactical knowledge and an overwhelming concern for the welfare of his Rangers. His exceptional performance and dedication to duty were contributing factors in saving a Ranger and success of the task force.

11 Bronze Stars

Bronze Star Medals for Valor were awarded to 11 Rangers for actions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. This medal is awarded for heroic actions. Awardees were: Sgt. 1st Class Andrew T. Bristow, Sgt. Jeremiah A. Dagel, Cpt. John F. Detro, Sgt. Ian B. Hunter, 1st Lt. Ryan M. Kelly, Spc. Casey M. Loose, Staff Sgt. Joseph G. Lynch, 1st Sgt. Edward L. Noland, Staff Sgt. Michael N. Rach, Spc. Webster J. Slavens, and Staff Sgt. Jared N. Van Aalst.

Loose, a Ranger medic, said that he received this award with great esteem and honor.

“It is my privilege to have served with the caliber of men such as those in my unit,” he said. “I believe, however, that any one of my fellow Rangers would do, and have done, the very things that I received this award for.

“It is the Rangers’ constant endeavor to live the Ranger Creed and exceed the standards,” he explained. “That makes us who and what we are, especially on the battlefield.”

Detro, the battalion physician’s assistant and acting battalion surgeon, echoed the sentiments of teamwork and skill during the mission for which he and five of his medics, including Loose, received valorous awards. He said that his men used their battlefield knowledge to prepare for the mission and then competently applied their training in accordance with the plan, allowing them to effectively assist wounded Soldiers.

Ranger medics support missions on the front lines with their fellow Rangers, working together to accomplish the mission and bring everyone back.

“We would not have made it off of this objective and saved the injured men without the entire force fighting together,” Loose said.

16 ARCOMs with Valor

Sixteen Rangers received the Army Commendation Medal for Valor, awarded for a valorous act distinguished by heroism, meritorious achievement or meritorious service.

In Memory of my Friend Douglas A. La Bouff

I am putting this on my blog because Doug deserves it.
He gave the ultimate sacrifice in defense of freedom.
We are all indebted to him, and many others that have given their lives in the line of duty.




Army Maj. Douglas La Bouff, 36, La Puente; Killed in Chopper Crash
By Scott Glover, Times Staff Writer

Army Maj. Douglas La Bouff wasn't ordered to go to Iraq; he volunteered.

That gung-ho spirit typified La Bouff, who dreamed of becoming a soldier from the time he was a boy running around his La Puente neighborhood in combat fatigues, his brother said.

"He told me he was over there to protect us from harm," said George La Bouff, who traded e-mails with his younger brother during his deployment in Iraq. "He believed in what he was doing."

Douglas La Bouff, 36, was killed Jan. 7 when the Black Hawk helicopter he was in crashed outside Tall Afar, west of Mosul, according to military officials. Eleven others — seven soldiers and four civilians — also died in the crash, which remains under investigation.

La Bouff, assigned to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Ft. Carson, Colo., was married and had two young children. He had been scheduled to return to the United States next month.

"This is the tragic loss of a genuinely good man," said Army Capt. Robert Medina, a longtime friend. "Everyone is finding this very hard to accept."

La Bouff was born in Baldwin Park and reared in La Puente. He attended elementary school at St. Joseph School and served as an altar boy.

"There was a loyalty about him that was obvious," said Msgr. Patrick Staunton, then the parish priest at St. Joseph Catholic Church. "He was a very serious-minded young man. You knew you could trust him."

La Bouff went on to Bishop Amat Memorial High School, where he played football, served in the student senate and developed an anti-drug program for which he received a medal from Congress, according to friends and family.

Ron Woolsey, La Bouff's history teacher during his sophomore year, said that, even as a teenager, La Bouff impressed him as "somebody who had some real leadership qualities."

"He was a real likable kid," Woolsey added.

After graduation, La Bouff went to Whittier College, where he earned a bachelor's degree in history in 1992. He then earned a master's in the same subject from Cal State Fullerton, where he enrolled in the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps program. He joined the Army in 1995, doing two tours of duty in South Korea.

Last year, a colonel he knew asked him to accompany him to Iraq to serve as his top intelligence officer, friends and family said. Though the informal request did not compel him to go, La Bouff agreed to do so.

Medina said La Bouff put off his desire to pursue a teaching post at the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"He did this out of selflessness," Medina said. "He wanted to make a contribution where it mattered the most."

George La Bouff, a Long Beach resident, said his brother, who stood 6 feet tall and spoke with a deep voice, was a devout Catholic and deeply principled.

"He was the type of person who, if he did not believe in the mission that we're doing in Iraq, he would not have volunteered to go," he said. "His brothers and sisters are very proud of him."

Douglas La Bouff lived with his wife and children in Colorado Springs, Colo. He moved his mother in with the family after his father died so she wouldn't be lonely and could be close to her grandchildren, Medina said.

La Bouff's wife, Karen, declined to talk to reporters. Through Medina, she said: "He was a devoted father, a perfect husband."

La Bouff also is survived by two other brothers, a sister and 12 nieces and nephews.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Doug was my last Platoon Leader. He came to E Troop, 2nd Squadron 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in 1997. He was given the 3rd platoon, which I was the Platoon Sergeant.

Doug was a 1st Lieutenant when we met. He was a Military Intelligence Officer assigned to an Infantry platoon. This made it rather odd. This was done because the Regiment was short on officers.

Doug and I got off to a great start in our relationship as Platoon Leader and Platoon Sergeant. I had the benefit of having a 1LT, which means he has some experience in the Army, but I also had the good fortune to have a man that was willing to learn the ways of the Infantry by listening to his PSG. He was like a sponge!

After being together for over a year in 3rd Platoon, I moved up to the Regimental HQ due to a back injury.
We stayed in touch, which for me was easy to do.
He moved back into a MI job as the Regimental Support Squadron S-2.

After I retired in 2001, Doug and I remained close friends through the years. In fact he was my son's Godfather.

We spent time together on a few occasions when he came home on leave, his family and mine. We enjoyed each other's company immensly.

I am a better man for having known Doug and thank God that he blessed me with his friendship.

He is survived by his wife, Karen, and their two children, Cassidy and Doug Jr.

You will never be forgotten my friend.
Your sacrifice for this nation is the highest price one can pay for the freedoms that we all enjoy.
May God bless his family and keep Doug by His side.

Hiatus

My temporary hiatus shall be coming to an end shortly.
I have been quite busy with work and school.
Both are winding down some and I will be back at it shortly.

Until then, Happy Thanksgiving!

“We’re not quite as bad as the Democrats”

I think it is high time that the Republican Party wake up to the fact that "We're not quite as bad as the Democrats," as the Party slogan isn't going to win them any elections.

The Republican Party needs to get back to its core beliefs and values and stop pumping up the pork in bills that are unnecessary and in my mind a fraud.

The Transportation Bill that was recently passed, needs to be rescinded so that the recovery of the Gulf Coast can be paid for without reaching into my pocket more than it has to.

The $286 billion transportation measure contains a record 6,371 pet projects inserted by members of Congress from both parties.

According to transportation officials, "the vast majority of the measure is geared toward road construction and public transit projects, with the money doled out over five years according to formulas designed to provide state and local governments considerable flexibility."
There are nearly 6,500 member-requested projects worth more than $24 billion, nearly nine percent of the total spending.
Read that last line again!

The Congress is out of control, the Republican Party no longer stands for fiscal conservatism, and the Democrats aren't any better.

It is time for the true Conservatives in this country to kick out those in the Republican Party that can't stand up to the true calling that we as a people have expected from them.

Vote them out, don't replace them with Democrats either!
It is time for a new Conservative Party movement to commence!
In fact, I think that should be the name of the Party, "The Conservative Party of America" has a nice ring to it.

Get rid of these bums that call themselves conservative and merely cave into the crap that the Democrats spew. They are spineless weasels and have made a mockery of the Republican Party.

I hereby resign as a card carrying member of the Republican Party.
I will maintain independent status until such time as a true Conservative Party is born.

I will maintain Independent status until such time as a true Conservative Party is born, or the old one decides to come back to its base.
You no longer have my vote, or support.
If you want it, you have to earn it.