So the Muslim Brotherhood is controlling Egypt (their reward for murdering Anwar Sadat) and expanding their reach throughout the Middle East. Meanwhile in the Philippines, Islamic terrorism in the service of jihad and a world-wide caliphate is rewarded as the Philippine government, with the blessings of the United States government, surrenders. Of course, we, the unenlightened masses, are supposed to see this in a positive light, as a step toward peace.
ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 7, 2012) – The United States on Sunday praised the framework of a peace agreement between the Philippine government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels and vowed to continue supporting the Mindanao peace process.
“We welcome the announcement by the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that the two sides finalized a framework peace agreement. While much work remains, successful implementation of this agreement would improve security, stability, and development for the people of Mindanao,” said Ambassador Harry Thomas, Jr. in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
He said the Washington has long supported peace and stability in Mindanao.
“We will continue to look for ways to support the people of Mindanao as they accelerate broad-based and inclusive growth. We fully support the ongoing peace process and hope the parties can continue to avoid violence as they work toward a final resolution that will last for generations and benefit all the people of the Philippines,” Thomas said.
Thomas statement came after President Benigno Aquino announced the establishment of the Bangsamoro autonomous region that would expand the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to include the municipalities of Baloi, Munai, Nunungan, Pantar, Tagoloan and Tangkal in Lanao del Norte province and all villages in the municipalities of Kabacan, Carmen, Aleosan, Pigkawayan, Pikit, and Midsayap that voted for inclusion in the ARMM during the 2001 plebiscite. And also the cities of Cotabato in Maguindanao province and Isabela in Basilan province. (Mindanao Examiner)
Sure, surrender and appeasement, that's the ticket. It always works against Islamic jihad. Well, that is, it works for Islamic jihad. We know that now that they were handed one piece of the Philippines, they will immediately begin a terrorist war to get more - in defense of Islam, and as always, and - you'd better repeat this over and over until it sticks in your unenlightened brain - in the interests of peace. Or as the article says, the "ongoing peace process."
I wonder how many "ongoing peace processes" we'll have over the next few years as other governments give up their own fights against their Islamic insurgencies. And how long, how many generations, will the "ongoing peace process" last in the Philippines as the jihadists continue their fight, always blaming the other side for the violence that is sure to continue because that is the business of Islam?
Mobs in Egypt and Libya attack our embassies over a movie denigrating Mohammed. In the Libyan attack an American ambassador is murdered. Barack Obama, president of the United States had this to say:
The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing
efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of
Muslims – as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions.
Today, the 11th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks
on the United States, Americans are honoring our patriots and those who
serve our nation as the fitting response to the enemies of democracy.
Respect for religious beliefs is a cornerstone of American democracy. We
firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of
free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others.
That's what I wrote this morning. All through the day more information has been shared. Obama and Romney have both made statements. Romney has been roundly condemned by the mainstream media as they continue their eight-year long school girl crush on Obama. Obama, of course, will always get what he wants from them and knows full well he will never have to call them in the morning. They will always worship him, grovel at his feet, and unashamedly lick the sole of his boot.
No matter how Obama's worshipers wish it were otherwise, Romney is right. Obama offers the same unrequited love to Islam in its worst form that the MSM offers him. And that is the book he licks.
Barry Rubin has an excellent analysis of this sorry situation as Obama continues to embarrass our country and offer better men than himself as human sacrifices to . . . himself and to Islam.
Rather than expose the phony excuse for the demonstration and condemn the Egyptian government’s behavior, the U.S. government groveled. It issued statements in English apologizing for the fact that someone had exercised his right of free speech within its country. The tweets it sent out in Arabic were even worse, pitiful pleas of the we-are-on-your-side-against-this-terrible-Islamophobia variety. And will Egypt’s failure to protect the embassy — because it is on the side of America’s enemies — have any effect on the Obama administration’s helping the Egyptian government get two German submarines (against Israel’s efforts), taking $1 billion off Egypt’s debt, and having a nice meeting with the visiting Egyptian president (while refusing to meet Israel’s prime minister, this supposedly super-pro-Israel president)? You know the answer.
Advertisement
This is a policy of institutionalized cowardice unprecedented in U.S. history.
Read the whole thing. Later on he says:
After meeting Egypt’s new president, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said, “I was convinced that President Mursi is his own man,” adding that the new president is committed to democratic reforms and to representing all Egyptians.
It kind of reminds me of when Bush looked into Putin's eyes,
"I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straight forward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialogue.
"I was able to get a sense of his soul.
"He's a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country and I appreciate very much the frank dialogue and that's the beginning of a very constructive relationship," Mr Bush said.
If it's true that we get the politicians we deserve, we are in for the roughest ride this country has ever seen.
So this "war on terror" is a big deal that's been going on ever since 19 Islamic jihadists, who were in our country legally, flew some airliners into some prominent buildings and murdered almost 3000 Americans in the name of Allah. In response, then President Bush sent our armed forces after the perps - well, the ones who didn't sacrifice themselves in the name of the Ummah, rather they went after the brains behind the attack, and thanks to the tenacity, training, and skill of our armed forces, got the suckers.
In addition, we've had troops battling jihadists in Afghanistan and Iraq ever since. Our soldiers have removed tens of thousands of these terrorist scum (or Michael Moore's minutemen depending on the accuracy of your moral compass) from polluting our Earth. So why, oh why, does our government, under both Bush and Obama continue to welcome them into our country?
Before being granted refugee status in the U.S. and settling down in Bowling Green, Ky., Waad Ramadan Alwan was allegedly a sniper and skilled bomb maker targeting U.S. forces who bragged that his "lunch and dinner would be an American."
Alwan is one of two Iraqi refugees who the Justice Department announced Tuesday had been charged for participating in an alleged plot to send cash, explosives and Stinger missiles to Iraq for use against Americans.
The men are among 56,000 Iraqis who took advantage of special programs to come to the U.S. for people who demonstrated they were in danger from militias in Iraq for their religious beliefs or because they were translators for U.S. government or media organizations.
Alwan was admitted into the U.S. even though his fingerprint was found in 2005 on an unexploded roadside bomb that was set to blow up a U.S. convoy in Iraq. The print was loaded into a Department of Defense database, but a search of that database was not then a part of the application process for refugee status in the U.S.
So all the jihadists have to do to survive the onslaught from American forces, is to claim their lives are in danger for proper and politically correct reasons and get relocated to a comfortable American suburb. Once acclimated to life in America and added to local welfare lists, they are free to resume their Jihad against the Great Satan.
Even better, if they're caught committing jihadist activities, rather than facing the business end of a Hellfire missile or a marine's rifle, and ending up as temporary decoration scattered over portions of the landscape, they get a jail cell, three meals a day, a Qu'ran untouched by infidel hands, (probably fan mail and marriage proposals) and a team of lawyers as dedicated to the overthrow of the United States as they are. And if they're convicted, they get a nice long prison stretch where they have years and years of access to the most deranged members of American society who they can convert to Islam in order to spread their poisonous message. Because some of them will get out and will be only too happy to engage in the same anti-social behavior that got them locked up in the first place. But this time, as a special bonus, their violence, any murder or mayhem they wish to engage in, is done in the name of Allah. For them it's win-win. Slaughter to their heart's content, and gain paradise because of the slaughter.
It's not so great for the rest of us, but I don't think that's of any concern to the DHS or State Department weasels who are supposed to be working in the interest of the American people, not phony Islamic refugees who are invited into Dar al-Harb to wreak havoc.
I don't have to tell anybody which religion I'm talking about when I say that. Even the defenders who use that as their big talking point and try desperately not to think of Islam when they try to excuse each new terror attack can't help but think of Islam, because - do I really need to say it?
Besides the fact that "they're not all terrorists" is at best, damning with faint praise, and at worst, setting the bar embarrassing low, there are other pathologies to consider. Honor killings have been imported to the United States by members of the Religion of They're Not All Terrorists. Just to keep everyone happy, please allow me to admit that not all Muslim fathers murder their daughters, even if the daughters do become too westernized.
A homicide case that drew attention to so-called honor killings moves into the trial phase this month for an Iraqi immigrant accused of killing his daughter because he believed she was too Westernized.
Faleh Hassan Almaleki, 50, faces life in prison if convicted. In October 2009, he slammed his Jeep into Noor Almaleki, 20, prosecutors said.
The woman, who longed to live a normal American life, laid in a coma for two weeks before succumbing to her injuries, which drew outrage from people nationwide.
First question for the murderer: Why move to the West if you object to your children becoming "too westernized?" Second question: Have you stopped beating your wife, or would that make you "too westernized"?
In a stunning development, the Detroit News did, near the end of the article, mention that this whole concept of "honor killing" has been brought to our doorstep by the Religion Whose Depravity is Regularly Ignored or Excused. In reviewing past murders of Muslim women by their families,
In the Dallas suburb of Lewisville, Texas, Yaser Abdel Said, of Egypt, is accused of shooting his two Texas-born teenage daughters in the back of his taxi cab in 2008 in what the FBI calls an honor killing. Family members say Said felt the girls were acting too Western and had shamed him by dating non-Muslims.
In Buffalo, N.Y., Muzzammil Hassan is accused of beheading his wife in 2009, about a week after he was served with divorce papers. The body of Aasiya Hassan was found at the offices of Bridges TV, the station the Pakistan-born couple established in 2004 to counter negative stereotypes of Muslims.
Peoria police spokesman Mike Tellef said Noor Almaleki's killing raised awareness about honor killings in the U.S.
"Raising awareness," he says. Many of us have been aware of this pathology for years. How about if our law enforcement officers and our main stream media stand up for themselves and the people who depend on them, and stop kowtowing to CAIR, the multiculturalists, and the other enemies of Western Civilization. Maybe then, we could put a stop to this madness.
No, I have not been paying much attention to this blog. Sometimes life takes over, and some things have don't get as much attention as you would like to give them. This argument by Gabriel Latner though, is amazing and is one of those posts that just might grow into an Internet phenomenon. I posted the entire speech, but you can refer to the link, if you want the introduction and the link to where it was originally posted, which strangely enough is an ugly, nasty, anti-Semitic site. I also posted it at the Garbanzo Annex, where I have been posting a lot of collected articles and videos. I don't feel obligated to offer any commentary at the annex, so it makes it easier on me.
Please forgive any spelling or grammar errors, this was an oral presentation. Square brackets denote impromptu comments that were added into the text after the fact. I may have strayed from the text at a few points, but this was the gist of it.
This is a war of ideals, and the other speakers here tonight are rightfully, idealists. I'm not. I'm a realist. I'm here to win. I have a single goal this evening – to have at least a plurality of you walk out of the 'Aye' door. I face a singular challenge – most, if not all, of you have already made up your minds.
This issue is too polarizing for the vast majority of you not to already have a set opinion. I'd be willing to bet that half of you strongly support the motion, and half of you strongly oppose it. I want to win, and we're destined for a tie. I'm tempted to do what my fellow speakers are going to do – simply rehash every bad thing the Israeli government has ever done in an attempt to satisfy those of you who agree with them. And perhaps they'll even guilt one of you rare undecided into voting for the proposition, or more accurately, against Israel. It would be so easy to twist the meaning and significance of international 'laws' to make Israel look like a criminal state. But that's been done to death. It would be easier still to play to your sympathy, with personalised stories of Palestinian suffering. And they can give very eloquent speeches on those issues. But the truth is, that treating people badly, whether they're your citizens or an occupied nation, does not make a state' rogue'. If it did, Canada, the US, and Australia would all be rogue states based on how they treat their indigenous populations. Britain's treatment of the Irish would easily qualify them to wear this sobriquet. These arguments, while emotionally satisfying, lack intellectual rigour.
More importantly, I just don't think we can win with those arguments. It won't change the numbers. Half of you will agree with them, half of you won't. So I'm going to try something different, something a little unorthodox. I'm going to try and convince the die-hard zionists and Israel supporters here tonight, to vote for the proposition. By the end of my speech – I will have presented 5 pro-Israel arguments that show Israel is, if not a 'rogue state' than at least 'rogueish'. Let me be clear. I will not be arguing that Israel is 'bad'. I will not be arguing that it doesn't deserve to exist. I won't be arguing that it behaves worse than every other country. I will only be arguing that Israel is 'rogue'. The word 'rogue' has come to have exceptionally damning connotations. But the word itself is value-neutral. The OED defines rogue as 'Aberrant, anomalous; misplaced, occurring (esp. in isolation) at an unexpected place or time ', while a dictionary from a far greater institution gives this definition 'behaving in ways that are not expected or not normal, often in a destructive way '. These definitions, and others, centre on the idea of anomaly – the unexpected or uncommon. Using this definition, a rogue state is one that acts in an unexpected, uncommon or aberrant manner. A state that behaves exactly like Israel. The first argument is statistical. The fact that Israel is a Jewish state alone makes it anomalous enough to be dubbed a rogue state: There are 195 countries in the world. Some are Christian, some Muslim, some are secular. Israel is the only country in the world that is Jewish. Or, to speak mathmo for a moment, the chance of any randomly chosen state being Jewish is 0.0051% . In comparison the chance of a UK lotto ticket winning at least £10 is 0.017% - more than twice as likely. Israel's jewishness is a statistical abberation. The second argument concerns Israel's humanitarianism, in particular,Israel's response to a refugee crisis. Not the Palestinian refugee crisis – for I am sure that the other speakers will cover that – but the issue of Darfurian refugees. Everyone knows that what happened – and is still happening in Darfur is genocide , whether or not the UN and the Arab League will call it such. [ I actually hoped that Mr Massih would be able speak about this - he's actually somewhat of an expert on the Crisis in Darfur, in fact it's his expertise that has called him away to represent the former Dictator of Sudan while he is being investigated by the ICC. ] There has been a mass exodus from Darfur as the oppressed seek safety. They have not had much luck. Many have gone north to Egypt – where they are treated despicably. The brave make a run through the desert in a bid to make it to Israel. Not only do they face the natural threats of the Sinai, they are also used for target practice by the Egyptian soldiers patrolling the border. Why would they take the risk? Because in Israel they are treated with compassion – they are treated as the refugees that they are – and perhaps Israel's cultural memory of genocide is to blame. The Israeli government has even gone so far as to grant several hundred Darfurian refugees Citizenship. This alone sets Israel apart from the rest of the world. But the real point of distinction is this: The IDF sends out soldiers and medics to patrol the Egyptian border. They are sent looking for refugees attempting to cross into Israel.. Not to send them back into Egypt, but to save them from dehydration, heat exhaustion, and Egyptian bullets. Compare that to the US's reaction to illegal immigration across their border with Mexico. The American government has arrested private individuals for giving water to border crossers who were dying of thirst – and here the Israeli government is sending out its soldiers to save illegal immigrants. To call that sort of behavior anomalous is an understatement. My Third argument is that the Israeli government engages in an activity which the rest of the world shuns -- it negotiates with terrorists. Forget the late PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, a man who died with blood all over his hands – they're in the process of negotiating with terrorists as we speak. Yasser Abed Rabbo is one of the lead PLO negotiators that has been sent to the peace talks with Israel. Abed Rabbo also used to be a leader of the PFLP- an organisation of 'freedom fighters' that, under Abed Rabbo's leadership, engaged in such freedom promoting activities as killing 22 Israeli highschool students. And the Israeli government is sending delegates to sit at a table with this man, and talk about peace. And the world applauds. You would never see the Spanish government in peace talks with the leaders of the ETA – the British government would never negotiate with Thomas Murphy. And if President Obama were to sit down and talk about peace with Osama Bin Laden, the world would view this as insanity. But Israel can do the exact same thing – and earn international praise in the process. That is the dictionary definition of rogue – behaving in a way that is unexpected, or not normal. Another part of dictionary definition is behaviour or activity 'occuring at an unexpected place or time'. When you compare Israel to its regional neighbours, it becomes clear just how roguish Israel is. And here is the fourth argument: Israel has a better human rights record than any of its neighbours. At no point in history, has there ever been a liberal democratic state in the Middle east- except for Israel. Of all the countries in the middle east, Israel is the only one where the LGBT community enjoys even a small measure of equality. In Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, and Syria, homosexual conduct is punishable by flogging, imprisonment, or both. But homosexuals there get off pretty lightly compared to their counterparts in Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, who are put to death. Israeli homosexuals can adopt, openly serve in the army, enter civil unions, and are protected by exceptionally strongly worded ant-discrimination legislation. Beats a death sentence. In fact, it beats America. Israel's protection of its citizens civil liberties has earned international recognition. Freedom House is an NGO that releases an annual report on democracy and civil liberties in each of the 195 countries in the world. It ranks each country as 'Free' 'Partly Free' or 'Not Free'. In the Middle East, Israel is the only country that has earned designation as a 'free' country. Not surprising given the level of freedom afforded to citizens in say, Lebanon- a country designated 'partly free', where there are laws against reporters criticizing not only the Lebanese government, but the Syrian regime as well. [ I'm hoping Ms Booth will speak about this, given her experience working as a 'journalist' for Iran,] Iran is a country given the rating of 'not free', putting it alongside China, Zimbabwe, North Korea, and Myanmar. In Iran, [as Ms Booth I hoped would have said in her speech], there is a special 'Press Court' which prosecutes journalists for such heinous offences as criticizing the ayatollah, reporting on stories damaging the 'foundations of the Islamic republic' , using 'suspicious (i.e. western) sources', or insulting islam. Iran is the world leader in terms of jailed journalists, with 39 reporters (that we know of) in prison as of 2009. They also kicked out almost every western journalist during the 2009 election. [I don't know if Ms Booth was affected by that] I guess we can't really expect more from a theocracy. Which is what most countries in the middle east are. Theocracies and Autocracies. But Israel is the sole, the only, the rogue, democracy. Out of every country in the middle east, only in Israel do anti-government protests and reporting go unquashed and uncensored. I have one final argument – the last nail in the opposition's coffin- and its sitting right across the aisle. Mr Ran Gidor's presence here is the all evidence any of us should need to confidently call Israel a rogue state. For those of you who have never heard of him, Mr Gidor is a political counsellor attached to Israel's embassy in London. He's the guy the Israeli government sent to represent them to the UN. He knows what he's doing. And he's here tonight. And it's incredible. Consider, for a moment, what his presence here means. The Israeli government has signed off,to allow one of their senior diplomatic representatives to participate in a debate on their very legitimacy. That's remarkable. Do you think for a minute, that any other country would do the same? If the Yale University Debating Society were to have a debate where the motion was 'This house believes Britain is a racist, totalitarian state that has done irrevocable harm to the peoples of the world', that Britain would allow any of it's officials to participate? No. Would China participate in a debate about the status of Taiwan? Never. And there is no chance in hell that an American government official would ever be permitted to argue in a debate concerning it's treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. But Israel has sent Mr Ran Gidor to argue tonight against [a 'journalist' come reality tv star, and myself,] a 19 year old law student who is entirely unqualified to speak on the issue at hand. Every government in the world should be laughing at Israel right now- because it forgot rule number one. You never add credence to crackpots by engaging with them. It's the same reason you won't see Stephen Hawking or Richard Dawkins debate David Icke. But Israel is doing precisely that. Once again, behaving in a way that is unexpected, or not normal. Behaving like a rogue state. That's five arguments that have been directed at the supporters of Israel. But I have a minute or two left. And here's an argument for all of you – Israel willfully and forcefully disregards international law. In 1981 Israel destroyed OSIRAK – Sadam Hussein's nuclear bomb lab. Every government in the world knew that Hussein was building a bomb. And they did nothing. Except for Israel. Yes, in doing so they broke international law and custom. But they also saved us all from a nuclear Iraq. That rogue action should earn Israel a place of respect in the eyes of all freedom loving peoples. But it hasn't. But tonight, while you listen to us prattle on, I want you to remember something; while you're here, Khomeini's Iran is working towards the Bomb. And if you're honest with yourself, you know that Israel is the only country that can, and will, do something about it. Israel will, out of necessity act in a way that is the not the norm, and you'd better hope that they do it in a destructive manner. Any sane person would rather a rogue Israel than a Nuclear Iran. [Except Ms Booth]
Google, the world’s most popular Internet search engine, has found in a survey that mostly Muslim states seek access to sex-related websites and Pakistan tops the list. Google found that of the top 10 countries - searching for sex-related sites - six were Muslim, with Pakistan on the top. The other Muslim countries are Egypt at number 2, Iran at 4, Morocco at 5, Saudi Arabia at 7 and Turkey at 8. Non-Muslim states are Vietnam at 3, India at 6, Philippines at 9 and Poland at 10.
and
Just in case anyone argues that the data could refer to innocent searches made by developmental psychology students, Google Trends shows that when the term “child f***ing” is examined, across all years from 2004 until now, the highest amount of searches for this term came from Pakistan. Similarly, of all global Google searches for “naked child” from 2004 till now, Pakistan still tops the list. Google Trends reveals that of all global Google searches, from 2006 to 2010, for the term “child sex video” Pakistan was second in the world, only being outdone by Bangladesh (a country that was once officially part of Pakistan).
If you insist on reading the whole article, feel free, but be warned, it gets more disturbing.
Our second article should be a firm reminder to those of us who only associate Islam with terrorism. Islam is also clearly associated with obsessive repression of any human activity that can be seen as enjoyable by any living human being. I will try not to forget that when discussing Islam from now on.
Hizbul Islam had previously banned all forms of entertainment considered un-Islamic under a strict interpretation of shariah law. There was to be no video gaming or watching sports in public. They shuttered movie theatres that showed major sporting events to residents, most of whom are too poor to own their own televisions, let alone a satellite dish that permits them to get around Hizbul Islam's control of local broadcast television.
These extremists also have ordered aid agencies out of the regions of Somalia they control. Their official rationale was that the aid groups were raising millions from around the world without providing Somalis with any benefits. The charitable agencies believe, though, that what Hizbul Islam truly feared was ordinary Somalis seeing the kindness of the mostly Western relief workers and ceasing to believe the anti-Western propaganda their political masters spew.
Like any fascist dictatorial system, the Islamists fear anyone going "off message" and engaging in any activity that would detract from total obedience to the official tyrant in charge. They have to have total control of the populace right down to people's own thoughts. But like fascist dictators, they are also complete hypocrites.
In the July/August issue of The Atlantic, David Byman, a Middle East expert at the Brookings Institute, and Christine Fair, an assistant professor in peace and security studies at Georgetown University, say that porn is amongst the most common content on laptops seized from al Qaeda operatives and other extremists. U.S. officials claim also to have video of would-be terrorists having it on with barnyard animals and one another.
Now, one could say that people (I don't want to say "men", that would be stereotyping, wouldn't it?) of all religions view pornography and even some who condemn its insidious nature are drawn to it and thus, are hypocrites. But then, one must ask, as one must always ask when pointing out the pathologies of Islam, how many members of other religions are murdering their followers for watching a soccer game, and and how many are telling their members how long their beards must be to avoid punishment?
Yep, none. That's right. Only among the "pure" Islamic societies is this sort of barbarism tolerated by those who fancy themselves as "progressive."
I meant to post this many weeks ago. I meant to do a lot of things weeks ago, but as we all know, sometimes life has other plans. Nothing major happened, except for my wife's appendectomy a week and a half ago, but just a lot of little things. So while the articles I'm referring to are a bit dated, they're still valuable because they still speak for certain portions of our population and distill their thought processes.
Leonard Pitts is an obviously intelligent writer who, along with millions of others in the Western world, find myriad ways to avoid admitting the truth. You know the truth I speak of. It has to do with Islam and terrorism, that unavoidable connection between the two. The connection that can't be admitted if one is a member of the "What, me islamophobe?" community. Here is Pitts' most recent obfuscation.
Even after Oct. 1, 1910, when a bomb destroyed the Los Angeles Times building and killed 20 men.
And Nov. 24, 1917, when 10 people died in the bombing of a police station in Milwaukee.
And Sept. 16, 1920, when 38 people lost their lives in a bombing on Wall Street.
And May 18, 1927, when 45 people, most of them children, died in a school bombing in Bath Township, Mich.
And Sept. 15, 1963, when four little girls died in the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham.
And Feb. 26, 1993, when a bomb in a basement of the World Trade Center left six people dead.
And April 19, 1995 when a truck bomb destroyed a federal building in Oklahoma City, claiming 168 lives.
And Sept. 11, 2001, when nearly 3,000 people were killed by hijackers who used captured jetliners as guided missiles.
But notice how far back in time Pitts has to travel in order to find his non-Islamic terrorist (or should I say "extremist", or "militant", or "activist"?) attacks. He is unwilling to face the fact that since 9/11, there have been over 15,000 terrorist attacks by "a tiny minority" of members of the Religion of Peace. Does it make a person "islamophobic" to keep track of these attacks? Or even to notice them and point them out? Apparently to Pitts, it does. And it also destroys the moral equivalency argument that so many on the left who don't want to slight the Muslim community for excusing or ignoring the terrorists in their midst.
On the other hand, there's Mark Steyn. He is brave enough to even face Obama.
Like a lot of guys who’ve been told they’re brilliant one time too often, President Obama gets a little lazy, and doesn’t always choose his words with care. And so it was that he came to say a few words about Daniel Pearl, upon signing the “Daniel Pearl Press Freedom Act.”
Pearl was decapitated on video by jihadist Muslims in Karachi on Feb. 1, 2002. That’s how I’d put it.
This is what the president of the United States said: “Obviously, the loss of Daniel Pearl was one of those moments that captured the world’s imagination because it reminded us of how valuable a free press is.”
Now Obama’s off the prompter, when his silver-tongued rhetoric invariably turns to sludge. But he’s talking about a dead man here, a guy murdered in public for all the world to see. Furthermore, the deceased’s family is standing all around him. And, even for a busy president, it’s the work of moments to come up with a sentence that would be respectful, moving, and true. Indeed, for Obama, it’s the work of seconds, because he has a taxpayer-funded staff sitting around all day with nothing to do but provide him with that sentence.
Instead, he delivered the one above. Which, in its clumsiness and insipidness, is most revealing. First of all, note the passivity: “The loss of Daniel Pearl.” He wasn’t “lost.” He was kidnapped and beheaded. He was murdered on a snuff video. He was specifically targeted, seized as a trophy, a high-value scalp. And the circumstances of his “loss” merit some vigor in the prose. Yet Obama can muster none.
But then, Obama gets it about as well as Pitts does. The tragedy of Obama not getting it is that he is the leader of the free world.
Of course, Steyn has paid for being politically incorrect, for pointing out that, not only is the emperor wearing no clothes, but the terrorists are wearing Islamic garb. He was sued by a Canadian Muslim organization and brought up on charges by the misnamed Canadian Human Rights Commission. That's what you get when you refuse to submit, and when you refuse to exchange the truth for lies and then believe the lies and condemn the truth.
But those are the people we need to get us through these troubled times . . . and into the next troubled times.
Youtube pulled the "We Con the World" video. Must not upset those jihadists, you know. That would be islamophobic. So watch this one and pass it one before it too gets censored by Youtube.
So the Gaza Flotilla wasn't filled with peace activists after all. Leftard, Israel hating, Hamas supporting, Turkish thugs were lying. What a surprise. For a good run down of the duplicitous violence of the flotilla members visit Solomonia. I came to it by way of Debbie Schlussel. I was actually planning on doing a post today, but not on this. I've been neglecting my blog, and I thought maybe I could get a couple posts up. But then I read of this fiasco with the flotilla right before I left to go the the Memorial Day parade with my daughter.
I've been following it throughout the day, and I wrote three letters to various newspapers in order to express my opinion at the way they've allowed themselves to be manipulated for years by Islamists, whose lies are so transparent, whose hatred is so apparent, one has to wonder how and why the MSM allows itself to be played the way it has been played.
Another Islamic attempt at mass murder, another round of denial and willful blindness. The pattern is set. And thus it will remain until there is an attack so horrifying and so deadly that ignorance is no longer an option for even the most deluded appeaser of jihad. (I thought that attack had already happened, you know, 9/11, the empty spot which was once the World Trade Center, the thousands of empty spots in the hearts of the loved ones of the 9/11 victims, but I was ignorant to the depths to which people will sink when trying to deny the painfully obvious). The AP still reveals their ignorance here
Authorities shed little light on what might have motivated Shahzad -- who since moving from Pakistan to Connecticut had acquired a master's degree in business administration and a house in the suburbs that subsequently was lost to foreclosure.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Shahzad is continuing to provide useful information to authorities and rejected notions that reading him his Miranda rights hindered investigators.
In order to help those who desperately need help to understand the motivation behind these non-right-wing-tea-party-attacks, I have enlisted the help of Yasser the (thankfully) dead terrorist.
And no, I don't think he's referring to the so-called inner jihad.
The Detroit News and others who are sympathetic to the Islamic community are making a big deal of the fact that an estimated 150 Muslims protested against terrorism at the arraignment of the latest high profile Islamic terrorist.
Muslims, Arab-Americans and Nigerian-Americans stood together Friday outside the federal courthouse downtown to speak out against terrorism and Islamic extremists.
An estimated 150 people attended a peaceful demonstration, carrying large American flags and signs that read, "Not in the Name of Islam" and "Not in Our Name."
The rally was held during the U.S. District Court arraignment of terror suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who is accused of trying to blow up a Northwest Airlines jet bound for Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Christmas Day.
Majed Moughni of Dearborn said he hopes Friday's rally leads to a "movement" by Muslims to become more vocal in standing up to Islamic radicals who invade their schools and mosques.
"We are not going to let these terrorists hijack our religion," said Moughni.
"We've been trying to recover from (the Sept. 11 terror attacks) for nine years. (This) comes right in our backyards, right over the heads of the largest Muslim population in North America."
There are other article about how outraged local Muslims are over recent Islamic terrorist attacks, but they could only muster 150 for an anti-terror rally? That's it? This was pretty well publicized too, so there are no excuses for not showing up if one is a true opponent of terrorism.
As a contrast to this pathetic, limp-wristed attempt to garner public sympathy, let's take a look at a previous rally (actually rallies) held by local Muslims. Back in the summer of 2006, Israel was forced to go to war against Hezbollah in Lebanon. How did local Muslims feel about terror back then? According to this NPR report:
Daily protests occur in Dearborn. At one recent demonstration, organized by the Congress of Arab-Americans, about 1,000 people attended. College-age men asked, in call and response fashion, "Who is your army?" Protestors responded: "Hezbollah." "Who is your leader?" they were asked. "Nasrallah," the chanters responded. Many carried placards of the Hezbollah leader. A few days earlier at an even larger demonstration, more than 15,000 turned out, about half of Dearborn's Arab community.
Those who regularly attend the demonstrations tend to be the most strident.
"Oh, Jews, remember Khaibar," the marchers chant. "The army of the Prophet will return."
The line is a reference to Khaibar, a Jewish town north of Medina that, according to Islamic tradition, was overtaken by the Prophet Muhammad in the seventh century. Once defeated, the surviving Jews of Khaibar were forced into serfdom. Two decades later, they were expelled from the Arabian peninsula.
Hmm, let's review: 150 show up to condemn terrorism and they're lauded. 15,000 show up to support terrorism and outright Jew-hatred, and they are forgotten.
Final thought: Out of the 150 protesters, how many really meant it? I bet the high profile names were there only for show.
Here in today's Detroit Free Press is a lengthy article on the failings of airport security. They do use the word "terrorist", but nowhere in the entire article are the words that should be in any article on protection against modern day terrorists. Yes, the words "muslim" and "Islam" are absent. But wait. If that weren't dumb enough,
But one risk is that in the rush to protect the flying public, vigilance could mean widespread profiling of race, age and gender, raising civil liberty questions.
and
"When it comes to safety, I am willing to do just about anything. You've got nuts going around," she said. "But profiling may get a little trickier. I have a family member with a common name, and he is a dark-complected African-American man. He is constantly getting stopped at the airport. They stopped him several times just going to Vegas. I have to remind him to just stay calm and answer the questions."
No, why bother profiling Muslims? After all, we're constantly told that terrorism is unIslamic. And we must believe that at the cost of creating new terrorists or something like that.
On the other hand, there is this article that demonstrates that even Democrats can sometimes learn new things.
Some Democratic lawmakers who support closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, say the U.S. should reconsider whether to repatriate suspected terrorists from Yemen, given the al-Qaida activity in the poor Arab nation.
But stupidity is a tough thing to beat.
Yemen has freed the six Yemenis who were released from Guantanamo Bay and returned to the country on Dec. 20, security officials and a lawyer for the men told the Associated Press.
The lawyer, Ahmed al-Arman, said the six were freed from Yemeni custody over the last week, with the last two freed Saturday night. They were handed over to their families.
Security officials held the six for questioning and investigation since their handover by the United States, but they found no evidence of involvement in terrorism or other crimes, Yemeni security officials said. The six gave guarantees that they would not leave the country, would not associate with terror groups and would report regularly to the police, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.
# As security has been strengthened in the West Bank and suicide bombings have virtually disappeared -- thanks overwhelmingly to Israel's much criticized security fence -- the tourism industry in the Palestinian areas has rebounded nicely. The city of Bethlehem saw 1 million tourists in 2008, an increase of 500,000 from the previous year. The city of Jericho saw 500,000 tourists in '08, an increase of over 100,000 from 2007. To put it in perspective, the entire state of Israel had 1 million tourists in 2008. # The unemployment rate in the West Bank in 2002 was a whopping 31 %. This was during the second Intifada, when Palestinian terrorism was at its peak, and the Israeli security fence had not yet been erected. Today, that unemployment rate stands at 15 %. To put it in context, Israel's unemployment rate right now is at 9%, and the U.S. rate is hovering around 10 %. In the longtime West Bank terror hotbed of Nablus, which has now become an unlikely shopping destination, unemployment has dropped all the way down to 6 %. # 229,000 trucks passed between Israel and the West Bank in the first half of 2009, a 41 % increase from 2008. This has helped lead to a 29 % increase in fuel deliveries to the West Bank between '08 and '09.
But wait. There's more!
Stock market: A 12.5% rise since the beginning of the year.
· Foreign investments in the West Bank: A six-fold increase (!) compared with the corresponding period last year, as a result of the economic conferences that were held in Bethlehem and Nablus, and of the improved security in the area (this figure was provided by the Palestinians and the Joint Economic Conference held on September 2).
Hmm, things certainly do change when change your outlook from murder and destruction to growth and prosperity. I wonder if this will burst any bubbles.
I first found this WSJ editorial at Debbie Schlussel. Here it is in its entirety. And check out this previous post by Debbie.I don't think I need to add any comment except to echo Debbie's query as to the absence of any protest by any of the self-styled "human rights" organizations and any reporting of this deplorable situation by the "speaking truth to power" MSM.
By DANIEL SCHWAMMENTHAL
Bethlehem
Meet Yussuf Khoury, a 23-year old Palestinian refugee living in the West Bank. Unlike those descendents of refugees born in United Nations camps, Mr. Khoury fled his birthplace just two years ago. And he wasn't running away from Israelis, but from his Palestinian brethren in Gaza.
Mr. Khoury's crime in that Hamas-ruled territory was to be a Christian, a transgression he compounded in the Islamists' eyes by writing love poems.
"Muslims tied to Hamas tried to take me twice," says Mr. Khoury, and he didn't want to find out what they'd do to him if they ever kidnapped him. He hasn't seen his family since Christmas 2007 and is afraid even to talk to them on the phone.
Speaking to a group of foreign journalists in the Bethlehem Bible College where he is studying theology, Mr. Khoury describes a life of fear in Gaza. "My sister is under a lot of pressure to wear a headscarf. People are turning more and more to Islamic fundamentalism and the situation for Christians is very difficult," he says.
In 2007, one year after the Hamas takeover, the owner of Gaza's only Christian bookstore was abducted and murdered. Christian shops and schools have been firebombed. Little wonder that most of Mr. Khoury's Christian friends have also left Gaza.
On the rare occasion that Western media cover the plight of Christians in the Palestinian territories, it is often to denounce Israel and its security barrier. Yet until Palestinian terrorist groups turned Bethlehem into a safe haven for suicide bombers, Bethlehemites were free to enter Israel, just as many Israelis routinely visited Bethlehem.
The other truth usually ignored by the Western press is that the barrier helped restore calm and security not just in Israel, but also in the West Bank including Bethlehem. The Church of the Nativity, which Palestinian gunmen stormed and defiled in 2002 to escape from Israeli security forces, is now filled again with tourists and pilgrims from around the world.
But even here in Jesus' birthplace, which is under the control of the Palestinian Authority (PA), Christians live on a knife's edge. Mr. Khoury tells me that Muslims often stand in front of the gate of the Bible College and read from the Quran to intimidate Christian students. Other Muslims like to roll out their prayer rugs right in Manger Square.
Asked about why Muslims would pray so close to one of Christianity's holiest sites, Pastor Alex Awad, dean of students at the Bible College, diplomatically advises me to pose this question to the Muslims themselves. Mindful of his community's precarious situation, he is at pains to stress that whatever problems Christians may have with their Muslim neighbors, it's not the PA's fault.
"Muslims and Christians live here in relative harmony," he tells reporters, only to add that Christians "feel the pressure of Islam . . . There is intimidation and fanaticism but these are little instances and there is no general persecution."
Samir Qumsieh, the founder of what he says is the holy land's only Christian TV station, also stresses that there is no "Christian suffering" and that the Christians' problems are not orchestrated by the PA. Yet his stories of land theft, beatings and intimidation make one wonder why, if the PA doesn't approve of such injustices, it is doing so little to stop it?
Christians have only recently begun to talk about how Muslim gangs simply come and take possession of Christian-owned land while the Palestinian security services, almost exclusively staffed by Muslims, stand by. Mr. Qumsieh's own home was firebombed three years ago. The perpetrators were never caught.
"We have never suffered as we are suffering now," Mr. Qumsieh confesses, violating his own introductory warning to the assorted foreign correspondents in his office not to use the word "suffering."
Always a minority religion among the predominantly Muslim Palestinians, Christians are, Mr. Qumsieh says, "melting away," even in Bethlehem. While they represented about 80% of the city's population 60 years ago, their numbers are now down to about 20%, a result not just of Muslims' higher birth rates but also widespread Christian emigration. "Our future as a Christian community here is gloomy," Mr. Qumsieh says.
Palestinian plight not attributable to Israel barely seems to register in the West's collective conscience. As Christians around the world remember Jesus' birth, perhaps we can think of Mr. Khoury and those Christians still suffering in Gaza and Bethlehem.
Mr. Schwammenthal is an editorial writer for The Wall Street Journal Europe.
And then there's Jimmy Carter's apology. Who is he trying to kid? I first read of it at Debbie's place. It's been showing up in other places though. Again, I echo what Debbie says. And I add: the guy's a liar, and I can't be placated by his phony apology. The worst line in the whole phony thing full of bad lines and weasel words:
I likewise hope that violent attacks against all civilians will end, which will help set a better framework for commencing negotiations.
This reminds me of when CAIR and other jihadists-in-disguise condemn "all terrorist attacks against all people." Carter hasn't acknowledged the undeniable fact that Palestinians gleefully murder civilians of all stripes on purpose for terrorist and for propaganda purposes. When Israelis accidentally kill a Palestinian kid (which Hamas might be using as a human shield), they express genuine remorse. Carter expresses the same stupid, offensive, and just plain wrong moral equivalence.
On this day in 1974, Arab Muslim terrorists carried out the Ma'alot Massacre. According to Wikipedia,
The Ma'alot massacre[1] was an attack on May 15, 1974 in Ma'alot, Israel, in which 22 Israeli high school students, aged 14–16, from Safed were killed by three members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.[2] Before reaching the school, the trio shot and killed two Arab women, a Jewish man, his pregnant wife, and their 4 year old son, and wounded several others.[3]
There have been so many brutal acts committed by Islamic terrorists since then, that this attack is almost forgotten. Our society has become morally inverted enough to elect Barack Hussein Obama as president of the United States. He is "reaching out" to the same kinds of minds that planned an perpetrated this massacre and thousands of terrorist attacks since. He is pressuring Israel to submit to the demands of Islamic terrorists. How is that supposed to work to our or Israel's benefit? How will that advance civilization?
This showed up in my email. It's a video from aish.com. It's only a minute long, so go ahead and watch.
OK, I agree, we should fight the hate with love, and we should all work for a more peaceful world. But they left one very important piece out of the Jewish response to evil: Fight back! And I mean really fight back. Even if the rest of the world doesn't approve of Jews fighting back (and as we've seen from the reactions of the U.N., the MSM, NGO's, "human rights" groups, and European governments, the rest of the world goes apoplectic when Jews, that is, Israel dares fight back) Jews still have to fight back. And we have to fight harder than ever due to the forces arrayed against us.
Israel exists only because the Israelis were prepared to fight for their country. Jews celebrate the Maccabees at Chanukah because they fought back. We celebrate Esther and Mordechai at Purim because they fought back. And they did it without attempting to gauge public support or trying to win the support of any other countries. The Islamo-Nazis don't care about peace, or coexistence, or love. They've been demonstrating this for 1300 years, but we're not supposed to acknowledge the history of Islam at the risk of being labeled "Islamophobe".
Many people will claim that peaceful tactics worked for Ghandi. The thing to remember though, is that Ghandi battled the British, who did not demand that the world bow to them. The British were decent and humane. The Islamists are not, never have been and never will be. For them, it's submit or die. I will not submit.
So while, yes, I do believe in peace, and I want a peaceful world for my children, I know that peace cannot be achieved by submitting to a terrorist enemy or showing how loving I am. The world will be more peaceful when the Islamo-Nazi terrorists are hunted down and killed. Then we can prepare to battle the next evil that will surely arise, as the next evil is always waiting in the wings.
Everyone (or at least it seems like everyone) has demonstrated their disgust at the Mumbai massacre. Some news sources even used the words "Islamic" and "terrorists" in the same paragraph. It may have been accidental, but some of us noticed. The truly stupid are still scratching their heads wondering what could have set these young militants on their murder spree. Melanie Phillips, who should always be listened to, said:
We should pay the closest possible attention to what happened in Mumbai because something on this scale could well happen here.
But because we don't understand what we are actually up against, we are not doing nearly enough to prevent this — or something even worse — occurring; and if it were to happen here, we would be unable to cope.
The Mumbai atrocities show very clearly what too many obdurately deny — that a war is being waged against civilization.
It is both global and local. It is not 'our' fault; it has nothing to do with Muslim poverty, oppression or discrimination.
The Islamic fundamentalist fanatics use specific grievances — Kashmir, Iraq, Palestine, Chechnya — merely as recruiting sergeants for their worldwide holy war against all 'unbelievers'.
The Mumbai attackers targeted British, American and Indian citizens simply because they wanted to kill as many British, American and Indian 'unbelievers' as possible.
Where they found Muslims, they spared them.
They also singled out for slaughter the occupants of an outreach organization geared to Jews with no Israeli or political agenda — underscoring the point that at the core of the Islamists' hatred of Israel festers their hatred of the Jews.
This was not, as is so often described, 'mindless violence'.
The biggest problem we're facing is not the Islamic terrorists though. It's the idiots in the MSM and other opinion makers, who sit with their heads firmly entrenched up their elite buttocks, preferring to wallow in the stench of their own crap rather than admit to the reality of today's world. Small minority . . . hijacking of a great religion . . . How ignorant must someone keep themselves to believe that crap?
Despite the evidence presented, there is an incredible disconnect from reality by otherwise rational and reasonable individuals, people in leadership, and some at higher levels in our own law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Why else would one treat with sickening malaise the existence of a bullet-ridden school bus situated on the grounds of a private Islamic commune located at the base of the Catskill Mountains in New York State? This would be the same Islamic compound “of Qu’ranic study” that is outfitted with a firing range, where area residents often hear the sounds of automatic and semi-automatic weapons fire.
How was this group dealt with by local community leaders? Not with the slightest scintilla of suspicion or even curiosity, but with a parade. An actual parade, through the streets of Binghamton, NY, to celebrate interfaith dialogue. What about law enforcement? Well, they consider this commune “good residents,” mostly because they have not had to respond to any “trouble calls” to that location.
It is truly the fault of cowardly leaders in the West, in Europe and the United States that the Islamo Nazis have made this much progress against us.
Will the massacre in Mumbai cause any of our politically correct elite to remove their heads from the comfort of their own asses? Maybe, but I'm guessing they will be few in number. If we are to actually ever fight back it will be in spite of our leaders, not because of them.
“Fear not your enemies, for they can only kill you. Fear not your friends, for they can only betray you. Fear only the indifferent, who permit the killers and betrayers to walk safely on the earth.”
We dropped my daughter off today at Detroit Metro Airport. She is part of a group that is winging its way to Australia. She'll be gone for two weeks. She's been excited about this trip for months. The group met at the new McNamara Terminal, which is the newest, latest, and greatest of terminals in Detroit. It's modern. It's beautiful. It's full of shops and restaurants. They are currently building an even newer and more modern terminal at the airport, which I'm sure will be full of restaurants and shops. And security.
Standing in the lobby of the McNamara Terminal at Detroit Metro Airport, I couldn't help but remember back to when I was a child and there was much less security at the airport. When we used to drop someone off at the airport we could freely walk right up to the gate and hang out until boarding time. Then we used to go out onto the balcony of the terminal and stand outside, on the balcony to watch the plane take off, giving our final waves as the plane passed by on its way to some far off land.
That final old terminal that we used to be excited to go to way back in the 1960s will be torn down once the newest terminal is completed. Of course, nobody has been allowed to watch planes take off from the balcony in decades. And the only way to get to go to the gate if you are not a passenger is to make arrangements ahead of time. That's what we had to do two years ago when my daughter went to visit her grandparents in Arizona.
I still like going to the airport. Even with all of the extra hassle, it's exciting. It's the beginning of an adventure. It's the freedom of the open road . . . sort of. You're going somewhere else, or sending someone somewhere else, or getting someone from somewhere else. I'm willing to put up with extra hassle if it makes sense. When I see a TSA worker wearing a hijab, it no longer makes sense. No, I'm not saying that all Muslims are terrorists, but I am saying that the reason for all of this extra security is to protect us from people who take the Koran much too literally. None of us are supposed to admit that of course. That would be singling out one group for special attention. And that is only proper when it comes to to Affirmative Action programs.
In the meantime, we must pretend that those who believe in the Koran are exactly the same as those who believe in The Bible or any other holy book. To admit otherwise is to humiliate Muslims and leave them vulnerable to discrimination. That's what we're told by our intellectual elite, and their Islamic handlers.
But isn't the opposite true? Because we can't be honest, and because we are removed from polite company for pointing out the obvious facts of Islamic terrorism, violent jihad around the world, and the moral warping of our society due to the pernicious influence of the Islamic jihadists, aren't we, non-Muslims being inconvenienced, humiliated, and forced to live a lie? And all with a vacant smile on our faces?
In order to not appear to be intolerant of others, we are forcing ourselves to be prey to Islamic supremacists who are out to destroy our freedom and replace it with Sharia. Yes, other minority groups in the United States have been discriminated against, denied their rights, and horribly abused - all because they were of a different skin color or religion. The guilt over those abuses has paralyzed us into accepting the lie that we are prejudiced against Muslims if we refuse to "accommodate" Islam, or if we aren't sensitive to delicate Islamic feelings. In order to prove our tolerance, we are expected to let Muslims run roughshod over rights that our fathers and forefathers fought and died for.
We force ourselves to pretend that the Irish-Catholic grandmother is just as suspect as the young madrassa student. We waste precious resources by not profiling, because to admit the truth would leave us open to charges of the moral hypochondria of Islamophobia.
As Muslims around the world and in the United States have freely admitted, Islam is not here to be equal to any religion, but to reign over them. We can hear stuff like that but we're not supposed to listen to it. It might make prejudiced against the religion of perpetual humiliation.
I will still enjoy flying, whenever I can afford to do it, with rising fuel prices and all (but that's another post) but I will not submit to lying to myself about Islam. It's not like other religions. In the 1400 years of Islamic history, they have a horrible track record when it comes to working and playing with others (of course, it's Islamophobic to examine the historical record) and as the Islamic world expands, the non-Islamic portion of the world, the part where freedom reigns or has a chance of reigning, gets smaller for the rest of us. As much as Muslims are allowed to freely practice their religion in most of the non-Islamic world, just try flashing that Bible in an Islamic country.
Darn, there I go again, pointing out the obvious and opening myself up for accusations of You-know-what-ophobia. It's a good thing I don't care.
It's been a crazy week, busy at home, busy at school; the stuff going on at school is ridiculous, but I don't want to get into that. I had to take a break from blogging for a bit. I hadn't planned on writing anything, but then I read this op-ed piece in the Detroit Free Press. Now, one of the things that bug me about a lot of people is that they take advantage of the anonymity of the Internet to say vile things about people that they would never say face to face. I try not to do that. I don't always succeed. To avoid maligning a person I've never even met, I will let him speak for himself. As he says,
Human beings possess a terrifying capacity for brutality. As an interrogator in Iraq in 2005, I was appalled as an Al Qaeda detainee told me how he had repeatedly electrocuted and beaten a man with a rubber hose until the man confessed to being an informant for the Americans.
OK, he was in Iraq on our side. That's admirable.
It is true that the Taliban and Al Qaeda are wrong. The world cannot be perfected in the name of a political ideology or Islam or any other religion. Even if it can be, I am certain that perfection will not be achieved through violence. Nonetheless, a person's involvement in an organization that practices terrorism does not put him or her beyond our comprehension. They are still people with similar wants and fears
Now here is where I have to disagree with the writer in the same strong muscular language that he uses. I don't have similar wants and needs as the Islamofascist terrorist thugs. I can live with others not belonging to the same religion as me. I'm not raising my children to murder others. They were not promised 72 virgins and young boys for slaughtering other human beings. I don't beat my wife. She is a human being, not an animal that has to walk the streets anonymously trapped in a burkha. I take responsibility for my actions. There is no "other" that I try to pin my failures on.
That's not all.
One morning, while reading the Stars and Stripes, one of the obituaries of those recently killed in Iraq caught my eye. She was Elizabeth Jacobson, a 21-year-old airman with a pretty face. She had been killed near Camp Bucca, where EFP attacks had become increasingly common.
I was furious. In retrospect, I suppose there was a bit of sexism in my response.
Well, there's some powerful feeling (softly muted in order to be politically correct) in that passage.
After reading the entire piece this morning, I wasn't sure whether to laugh or scream. So I went to work, like I do every morning. And now I'll be up past my bedtime again finishing my work, because I simply had to respond to this milquetoast . . . um, I mean . . . this writer. All I can add is Holy Joel Stein, Batman!
My wife and I got up bright and early this morning to take my daughter to the airport. She's visiting her uncle for the weekend in New York. We got there two hours early as is suggested. I always do that and I usually end up with plenty of time to read in the airport as I wait to board. My daughter was traveling as an unaccompanied minor so there were a few more hoops to jump through. This was also a busy travel day, so, while we made it with time to spare, it still took longer than normal.
As I was taking my shoes off to go through the metal detector though, I was guilty of an "Islamophobic" thought. Back in the olden days of airline travel, the airport was open to everyone. I remember taking my grandmother to the airport, walking her to the gate without being challenged, and then watching the plane take off from the terminal deck. This was in the days before Nobel Peace Prize winner Yassir Arafat began his career as a psychopathic terrorist, and long before he inspired other Islamic terrorists (oops! there I go again! good thing I don't work for the British government) to outdo him and his minions in the murder and mayhem game.
"No one can find a safe way out for himself if socety is sweeping towards destruction. Therefore everyone, in his own interests, must thrust himself vigorously into the intellectual battle. None can stand aside with unconcern; the interests of everyone hang on the result." -- Ludwig von Mises
War's legitimate object is more perfect peace. Flavius Vegitius Renatus
This is an optional footer. If you want text here, place it inside these tags, and remove this comment.
CHALLAH AKBAR
