What a journalism degree gets you

The ability to spin away a positive event by scraping the barrel looking for a negative aspect even if the reach is so far that you have to chant 3 times while dancing around chicken entrails to conjure up the negative. From Reuters:

Saddam Hussein hanged, says Al Hurra TV station (Thanks to Ace)

During his three decades in power, Saddam was accused of widespread oppression of political opponents and genocide against Kurds in northern Iraq. His execution means he will never face justice on those charges.

Well bummer right? I guess killing the beast just isn't punishment enough according to the pinhead who wrote this. Heaven forbid that Saddam got a parking ticket somewhere and won't have to pay the fine now.

The mind reels at such hand wringing.

The monster is dead, justice has been served.

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Filed under: Iraq -- Terrorism -- News

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Technorati tags: Iraq -- saddam hussein

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Saddam will soon be dead

Works for me. I do have to wonder what it must feel like, in the depth of one's being, to defend such a monster. His attorneys are now court shopping.

Lawyers Work to Stop Saddam's Execution

Saddam Hussein will be executed no later than Saturday, said an Iraqi judge authorized to attend his hanging. American and Iraqi officials met to set the hour of his death.

Lawyers for Saddam Hussein asked a U.S. judge to block his transfer to the custody of Iraqi officials poised to carry out his execution.

Hussein's lawyers filed documents Friday afternoon asking for a stay of execution. The 21-page request was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington before Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.

Attorneys argued that because Hussein also faces a civil lawsuit in Washington, he has rights as a civil defendant that would be violated if he is executed. He has not received notice of those rights and the consequences that the lawsuit would have on his estate, his attorneys said.

[...]

I hope your eyes didn't permanently roll out of your head as mine nearly did while reading that. I hope the money they receive for such antics overcomes the corruption any normal human must feel in their soul while doing this kind of work. Then again, the love of money...and they are lawyers so perhaps the normal human thing might not apply.

The MSM, network and cable, will no doubt have much to say about Saddam's execution. Whatever.

Let's take some time to remember by looking at the Kay la Nansa - Kuwait's "Not to Forget Museum" as covered at the indc journal.

An entire section is devoted to photographic evidence of Iraqi atrocities. The above collage shows Kuwaitis who were tortured and killed during the occupation of Kuwait. There are similarly graphic displays that document the results of chemical weapons on the Iranians during the Iraq-Iran War and the Kurds at Halabja. The images of children contorted in painful chemical death never fail to inspire grief and anger.

The end of this brutal monster's reign and finally his life, will be a long overdue justice for what he inflicted on his people and the nations around him.

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Filed under: Terrorism -- News -- Iraq

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Technorati tags: iraq -- saddam hussein

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How to be publicly stupid 101

I can imagine the amount of alcohol and blunts necessary to come up with something so shallow and at the same time, so stupid. Then again, these dorks may just be that naturally stupid with their flatulent arrogance.

The Blasphemy Challenge

The Rational Response Squad is giving away 1001 DVDs of The God Who Wasn't There, the hit documentary that the Los Angeles Times calls "provocative -- to put it mildly."

There's only one catch: We want your soul.

It's simple. You record a short message damning yourself to Hell, you upload it to YouTube, and then the Rational Response Squad will send you a free The God Who Wasn't There DVD. It's that easy.
INSTRUCTIONS:

You may damn yourself to Hell however you would like, but somewhere in your video you must say this phrase: "I deny the Holy Spirit."

Why? Because, according to Mark 3:29 in the Holy Bible, "Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." Jesus will forgive you for just about anything, but he won't forgive you for denying the existence of the Holy Spirit. Ever. This is a one-way road you're taking here.

Several problems wit this, which I'll begin explaining with my response to a twit who mentioned it on myspace. I've also dealt with this particular dingledork before, here.

His original post:

Synaptic Chaos wrote:
Anyone on the West coast, check out RRS and BF on the news tonight. The feature will be on the Blasphemy Challenge, which is gaining huge momentum among rational thinkers everywhere.

Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7QVbJnSPQE

and after I fixed his typos:

Synaptic Chaos wrote:
Anyone on the West coast, check out RRS and BF on the news tonight. The feature will be on the Blasphemy Challenge, which is gaining huge momentum among irrational thinkers, people too cheap to pay for crap scholarship with cheap production values and those who have little understanding of the Bible everywhere.

Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wts-dntnyh4

Just to warn you, the video link I provided has profanity.

Their misunderstanding of this particular passage is dealt with in several ways as there are a couple of views on what the verses mean, within Christianity. One criticism, is that the blasphemy requires first knowing that this is a working of the Holy Spirit, and while denying it, to attribute it to the work of Satan and be an act of apostasy that hardens the heart beyond repentance. Clearly, no one in these videos and by the rules the (ir)rationals have laid out, will run afoul of such criteria.

There is another view of the passage that I ,however, find more preferable. From Tekton Ministries:

Forgiveness in Place - The "Unforgivable Sin" -- and Who Can Be Forgiven (excerpt)

There's been a ton of concern by various parties over this verse in Mark, with some wondering if they have committed this "unpardonable sin" of blaspheming the Holy Ghost, and this is held against the Acts verse by skeptics. But the discussion really warrants no consternation by the believer because the "unpardonable sin" is this and nothing more: UNBELIEF. Thus, there is no contradiction with Acts 13:39 at all, for it sets as a pre-condition, "those who believe" -- and once you believe, you are of course "justified" from your unbelief!

Much more is there, including the testimony of a believer who felt he had committed the unpardonable sin.

One final item to deal with concerning the (ir)rational responders. Brian Sapient, i.e. The Sap, had accused several Christians, myself included, of lying when we criticized their actions over a previous contest they had and that I covered in this post.

The point of dispute being that Christian Cadre, who I referenced in the post, had said that their comments at the (ir)rational's website had been deleted after they had shown the foolishness of their rules for the contest.

It turns out, the (ir)rationals had moved the thread without notification. They said nothing at the Christian Cadre blog about this or at their site until asked, and immediately began calling Christians liars, rather than considering that it was an honest mistake, however, one forced by the (ir)rationals. At best, once it had been made clear that the thread was moved, all they had was a lapse in blog etiquette for the Christian Cadre. They've since updated their blog post concerning this, as you can see here, so the (ir)rationals don't even have that.

Somehow, I just don't see them conceding anything on this matter, judging by how The Sap reacted to an atheist critical of his little group here in the blog comments.

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Filed under: Religion -- Christianity -- Apologetics -- 4GrinsNGiggles

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Technorati tags: Apologetics -- Christianity -- Blasphemy Challenge -- Holy Spirit

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How much money do you make blogging?

Because you apparently have to be a nobody, that no one cares what you have to say, as in, no income from ads or syndication, if this FEC ruling is carried any further.

NASCAR driver is rebuked for Bush sticker (scroll down the page)

[...] the FEC sent an “admonishment letter” to Kirk Shelmerdine Racing. [...] underfunded and undersponsored driver. He has never finished higher than 26th.

So back in 2004, [...] he placed a “Bush-Cheney ’04” decal on his rear quarter panel, which was otherwise unencumbered by advertising. Democratic activist Sydnor Thompson complained to the FEC, and the agency found that Shelmerdine “may have made an unreported independent expenditure or a prohibited corporate expenditure.”

Former commissioner Bradley Smith dissented in one of the case’s early votes and blogged about the result this week. He has written that in reference to the FEC’s $250 expenditure limit, “evidence is strong that the market value of Shelmerdine’s rear quarter panel was approximately $0, give or take $249.”

Unless I'm misunderstanding something in the regulation, and this ruling, it seems to me that this could eventually be carried to a point wherein it threatens bloggers that happen to make money in some way for their efforts. As I noted in a previous post here, controlling free speech is very much what some politicians intend.

Welcome to big brother.

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Filed under: NewsPolitics

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Technorati tags: FEC -- big brother -- blogging

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Hopefully your employer values you more than this

It's one thing to have businesses counting the costs of health care or other items in the budget and cutting various benefits. But this, should the story check out, goes far beyond such irritations. (thanks to Captains Quarters, who as always has excellent commentary)

Declassified document shows U.S. knew that Arafat murdered American officials (PDF download)

The Khartoum operation was planned and carried out with the full knowledge and personal approval of Yassir Arafat, Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the head of Fatah. Fatah representatives based in Khartoum participated in the attack, using a Fatah vehicle to transport the terrorists to the Saudi Arabian embassy.

Initially, the main objective of the attack appeared to be to secure the release of the Fatah/BSO [Black September Organization] leader Muhammed Awadh (Abu Da'ud) from Jordanian captivity. Information acquired subsequently reveals that the Fatah/BSO leaders did not expect Awadh to be freed, and indicates that one of the primary goals of the operation was to strike at the United States because of its efforts to achieve a Middle East peace settlement which many Arabs believe would be inimical to Palestinian interests.

Worldnetdaily (hit and miss of late) has more on this here:

The document, released earlier this year, with no fanfare, makes it clear the Khartoum operation "was planned and carried out with the full knowledge and personal approval" of Arafat, a frequent visitor to the White House throughout the 1990s who died in 2004.

In the attack March 1, 1973, eight members of the Black September terrorist organization, part of Arafat's Fatah faction of the PLO, stormed the Saudi embassy in Khartoum on Arafat's orders, taking U.S. Ambassador Cleo Noel, diplomat Charge d'Affaires George Curtis Moore and others hostage, and one day later, killing Noel, Moore and Belgian diplomat Guy Eid.

[...]

Welsh, who left the Navy and NSA in 1974, spoke to WND about the incident in 2001 after years of attempting to get answers from his own agency and the State Department. He became particularly troubled about the cover-up of Arafat's role in the murders of American officials when President Clinton invited the PLO leader to the White House for direct negotiations on the Middle East.

[...]

Later, after Nixon was gone, Welsh believes the whole matter of the Arafat tapes was kept quiet to protect the future viability of signals intelligence intercepts of this kind. And, finally, he said, the cover-up persisted to foster Arafat's role as a "peacemaker" and leader of the Palestinian cause.

The State Department cared more for propping up a known killer and terrorist, to seeking justice for its own employees. And what did this cold and morally troubling calculation result in? More terrorism, the intifada, rejection of the best offer the Palestinians have ever had from Israel, let alone any nearby Arab country and the Palestinians being kept in squalor and dysfunction by the corruption Arafat and his goons reveled in.

I doubt the State Department is going to end up on a list of the best employers in this country. That leaks from such a corrupted institution are heralded as sacrosanct oracles, by the likes of the NY Times and the other usual suspects, only adds to the disrespect such actions show towards the victims of Arafat.

This is the result of order and stability, at any cost. It is also another reason, on the already  burgeoning pile of reasons, as to why the Iraq Surrender Group should be dismissed regarding it's ridiculous talk of negotiating with Iran and Syria. Fortunately, Arafat is dead, so we can at least not have to endure more foolishness from the State Department calling him a "peacemaker".

Unfortunately, much damage has already been done and lives lost unnecessarily. Those who knew, should hang their heads in shame at the scam they perpetuated on the rest of us and the graves they spat upon.

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Filed under: Terrorism -- NewsPolitics

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Technorati tags: Arafat -- State Department -- Terrorism -- Khartoum -- PLO

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Hallelujah! and the lame shall walk!!!!

It won't be long now and the handicapped shall break their chains of bondage and shout with joy as they leap from their wheelchairs and throw away their crutches and walk once again.

John Edwards Joins Presidential Race

Former Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards is running for president for a second time, his campaign said Wednesday.

Now all we need is for John Freudian slip Kerry to jump in as well. Won't that be fun?

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Filed under: NewsPolitics

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Technorati tags: John Edwards -- politics

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And I thought McCain was a twit

So called, campaign finance reform pushed my Senator John McCain and made into law, really didn't do much positive and only threatened free speech. We now have another politician trying to build on that idiocy. I'm a bit late with this but it is important and should be recognized as dangerous by everyone, despite their political positions. Perhaps, imagining Bush Chimpy McHitlerburton being behind this, will help certain deranged individuals see the light on this matter before it's too late.

Pelosi preparing new shackles for free speech

Mark Tapscott, The Examiner

WASHINGTON - Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has cooked up with Public Citizen’s Joan Claybrook a “lobbying reform” that actually protects rich special interests and activists millionaires while clamping new shackles on citizens’ First Amendment rights to petition Congress and speak their minds.

Pelosi tried earlier this year to move H.R. 4682, the “Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2006,” which is now cited by Public Citizen’s Web site as the vehicle it is helping the incoming speaker to craft for the new Congress. The proposal Claybrook is helping craft for introduction early in 2007 is expected to be essentially the same bill Pelosi put forth this year.

Sure, give it a snazzy title to hide it's actual intent. Orwell would be proud, proud of the number of revolutions he accomplished in his grave that is.

The key provision of the 2006 bill was its redefinition of grassroots lobbying to include small citizens groups whose messages about Congress and public policy issues are directed toward the general public, according to attorneys for the Free Speech Coalition.

All informational and educational materials produced by such groups would have to be registered and reported on a quarterly basis. Failure to report would result in severe civil penalties (likely followed soon by criminal penalties as well).

Do people really want to see how far certain judges or future political fights will take such things?

The Pelosi-Claybrook proposal builds on the restrictions on free speech created by campaign finance reform measures like McCain-Feingold that bar criticism of congressional incumbents for 30 days prior to a primary and 60 days before a general election.

And leviathan moves ever onward, devouring all in it's path. Be sure to read it all and spread the news around. Hopefully, some will overcome their BDS long enough to help put a stop to this. McCain was bad enough with his bill, that unfortunately, the Supreme Court upheld. Although, a recent court ruling has done much to strip that law of it's power as covered here by Powerline.

A three-judge federal court panel took another bite out of McCain-Feingold today, ruling unconstitutional, as applied to the case before it, that provision of the statute that prohibits corporations and others from engaging in “electioneering communications," defined as...

The article concludes by describing the ad in question and then having this to say:

Any statute that makes that ad illegal is, it seems to me, plainly unconstitutional, regardless of who paid for it or how many days before an election it ran. It is quite remarkable that such a law could have been passed by Congress and signed by the President.

We shouldn't be content to rely solely on the courts though, as even when we agree with them, we may be giving ground to premises that will come back to haunt us later, as I've noted here. That's also how we got McCain's short-sighted bill into law in the first place. The President played chicken and, in this case, he lost. Perhaps it was politically savvy to do so, but the results have been disastrous and may soon get worse.

Government does a poor enough job with even mundane tasks. We should ourselves be savvy on how much we allow the government to define something as important as free speech. Should we acquiesce much more control of this right to agents of government, we should not be so surprised when we are someday more than merely annoyed when we hear the words, this is the government and we're here to help.

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Filed under: NewsPolitics

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Technorati tags: Pelosi -- McCain -- Feingold -- free speech -- campain finance reform

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This is no time to go wobbly

With the Iraq Surrender Group saying we should negotiate with Iran to stabilize Iraq, and Iran claiming to be  a nuclear state, the following news item should not be ignored or pushed under the rug.

U.S. Is Holding Iranians Seized in Raids in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Dec. 24 — The American military is holding at least four Iranians in Iraq, including men the Bush administration called senior military officials, who were seized in a pair of raids late last week aimed at people suspected of conducting attacks on Iraqi security forces, according to senior Iraqi and American officials in Baghdad and Washington.

[...]

two Iranian diplomats were among those initially detained in the raids. The two had papers showing that they were accredited to work in Iraq, and he said they were turned over to the Iraqi authorities and released. He confirmed that a group of other Iranians, including the military officials, remained in custody while an investigation continued, and he said, “We continue to work with the government of Iraq on the status of the detainees.”

Releasing diplomats who were found with people suspected of terrorism hardly seems wise.

Nonetheless, the two raids, in central Baghdad, have deeply upset Iraqi government officials, who have been making strenuous efforts to engage Iran on matters of security. At least two of the Iranians were in this country on an invitation extended by Iraq’s president, Jalal Talabani, during a visit to Tehran earlier this month. It was particularly awkward for the Iraqis that one of the raids took place in the Baghdad compound of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, one of Iraq’s most powerful Shiite leaders, who traveled to Washington three weeks ago to meet President Bush.

I would say it would be more reasonable to be upset with diplomats found in such company. What good is it to appease your adversary if their ultimate goal is to defeat and control you?

Over the past four days, the Iraqis and Iranians have engaged in intense behind-the-scenes efforts to secure the release of the remaining detainees. One Iraqi government official said, “The Iranian ambassador has been running around from office to office.”

Let him continue running.

The United States is now holding, apparently for the first time, Iranians who it suspects of planning attacks. One senior administration official said, “This is going to be a tense but clarifying moment.”

“It’s our position that the Iraqis have to seize this opportunity to sort out with the Iranians just what kind of behavior they are going to tolerate,” the official said, declining to speak on the record because the details of the raid and investigation were not yet public. “They are going to have to confront the evidence that the Iranians are deeply involved in some of the acts of violence.”

No kidding. Tough decisions need to be made, rather than turning a blind eye to the dangers looming and currently helping undermine the stability and future of Iraq. At times, diplomacy is only possible when backed up by the very real possibility of serious consequences. Hopefully, should the information be certain enough, the Iraqis as well as many in the US will see the need to more forcefully isolate the rogue regime, including military action to seal the border and perhaps further should it become necessary.

As Margaret Thatcher told US President George H.W. Bush concerning forcing Saddam out of Kuwait, this was "no time to go wobbly!"

Diplomacy that is always never more than words achieves little in the face of aggressors who only consider their own desires. If we define victory only by our enemies terms, it matters not what words we wrap around the results. It will be surrender and only more will come if we don't soon open our eyes and with courage act decisively.

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Filed under: Terrorism -- Iraq -- Islamofascism -- News

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Technorati tags: Iraq -- Iran -- terrorism -- islamofascism

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Merry Christmas!

O Holy night, the stars are brightly shining.
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees!

Oh hear the angel voices!
Oh night divine!
Oh night when Christ was born!
Oh night divine!
Oh night! Oh night divine!

Chains shall he break for the slave is our brother,
and in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we;
Let all within us praise his holy name.
Christ is the lord, that ever, ever praise we.

Noel! Noel! Oh night;oh night divine!
Noel! Noel! Oh night; oh night divine!
Noel! Noel! Oh night; oh night divine!

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Filed under: Religion -- Misc.

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Technorati tags: Christmas -- Oh Holy Night -- Josh Groban

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Nothing like selling the rope to your future hangman

Many have complained about Washington not spending enough money on the domestic side of the war on terror in this place or that. Certainly, there must be give and take and pragmatic decisions made when there is not an infinite supply of money to go around. Knee jerk criticism should take such into consideration. One wonders though, if much criticism will even be allowed by the usual suspects, when such decisions are being made, not by the Bush administration, or by any American company, as the following story relates.

German Sky Marshals Feeling Grounded (excerpts and thanks to Captain's Quarters)

The men say Lufthansa keeps cancelling first- or business-class tickets that would put them close to the cockpit -- and sometimes bumps them off flights entirely. "They don't want to give out expensive seats anymore," complains one of the officers.

[...]

Tickets for intercontinental flights are cancelled most often, and getting first-class tickets is always a problem, says the officer. With such expensive tickets Lufthansa waits until the last minute in the hope of being able to sell them. The airline even cancelled sky marshals' ticket allocations on flights to endangered regions like the Middle East, "and that was shortly after the plans to attack several passenger jets were thwarted in England," said the officer.

[...]

Lufthansa spokesman Klaus Walther denied the accusations.

And yet Der Spiegel has several sources as well as an airline pilot confirming the matter.

One more senior official who declined to be named referred to "major problems," and said people were "pretty angry" that Lufthansa was relegating more and more sky marshals to budget seats. A Lufthansa pilot who declined to be named said, "Our company has to look at its bottom line." After all, a round-trip ticket from Frankfurt to New York in first class can cost €6,576 ($8,597).

[...]

Another well-known airline -- whose name can't be revealed for obvious security reasons -- doesn't even allow sky marshals on board. "We don't see the point," that airline says.

"Tickets for intercontinental flights are cancelled most often," despite common sense saying such flights would be of interest to terrorists. Clearly not the best marketing plan for Lufthansa or any other airline. One wonders, will Senator Kerry or some other constant critic of the Bush administration and American companies take the time to criticize a German company taking such risks?

What good is your bottom line if it unreasonably raises the risks to your other paying customers? I guess that's what insurance and expensive lawyers are for. While we have to tolerate tradeoffs is this really a good one to make? Considering just the economic impact of a major terrorist strike, much more thought than what appears to have been made on this particular matter, is very much in order.

But hey, it's not the Bush administration or even a Republican government official, so a few words of concern will not doubt be the extant of the comments from the normally outspoken critics the MSM usually rushes to get on camera. Regardless of how little they may speak up about this, and I hope that I'm wrong, there is nothing stopping the rest of us from simply refusing to fly on Lufthansa. For those of you who have the ability to travel internationally, you might also want to voice your concerns here.

Hopefully, public exposure, criticism, and threats to their bottom line from currently paying passengers will be enough to change their behavior. Perhaps, if they take the time to think of the various inquiries that would be launched after another attack, they might actually think twice about what they're doing. It's a rather depressing thought that concerns about money and proactive CYA may have a more significant effect than the thought of people dying from another attack.

It seems that it should be obvious that taking the loss of ticket sales to air marshalls or putting some effort into finding a way to recover the lost sales is preferable to the possible alternatives. Such is the world we live in, that the catastrophic loss of life that would result from another terrorist attack, or the shame of being the airline that sold a ticket to one of the murderous pigs, rather than give up that seat to an air marshall, needs to even be mentioned.

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Filed under: News -- Terrorism

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Technorati tags: Der Spiegel -- Lufthansa -- Terrorism -- Islamofascism -- Airlines

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Democrats better not drop the soap...

As Al Queda thinks the Democrat party is their beotch.

Al Qaeda Sends a Message to Democrats

Al Qaeda has sent a message to leaders of the Democratic party that credit for the defeat of congressional Republicans belongs to the terrorists.

I would say it belongs to the terrorist enablers by way of their useful idiocy, ie the MSM and moonbat population, as well as some who threw temper tantrums aimed at the GOP, masquerading as votes.

In a portion of the tape from al Qaeda No. 2 man, Ayman al Zawahri, made available only today, Zawahri says he has two messages for American Democrats.

"The first is that you aren't the ones who won the midterm elections, nor are the Republicans the ones who lost. Rather, the Mujahideen -- the Muslim Ummah's vanguard in Afghanistan and Iraq -- are the ones who won, and the American forces and their Crusader allies are the ones who lost," Zawahri said, according to a full transcript obtained by ABC News.

Hopefully the cut and runners won't soil their britches at this grandstanding. But you never know.

Zawahri calls on the Democrats to negotiate with him and Osama bin Laden, not others in the Islamic world who Zawahri says cannot help.

What? He didn't read the Iraq Surrender Group report? Or, is he just jealous that Iran and Syria got mentioned as those who we should negotiate with? I guess he missed the memo as those countries are certainly not run by moderate Muslims.

"And if you don't refrain from the foolish American policy of backing Israel, occupying the lands of Islam and stealing the treasures of the Muslims, then await the same fate," he said.

Jimmuh Carter would like that line about Israel.

Some might scoff at the idea of even the Demoncrap element of the Democrat party negotiating with Al Queda. But as Pamela at Atlus Shrugs concludes in her own post on this news item:

More dhimmicrat handiwork ..........Hamas threatens attacks on U.S. here. This after the Democrats met with Hamas before the November elections. Good job.

Be sure to follow her links for more information. Considering that Senator Kerry sat down with Syrian officials recently, it's not certain that some in the party will dismiss this Al Queda blow hard's flatulence. Sadly, some of them may consider this an opportunity for dialogue, never mind the little detail of such groups being enemies of the U.S., as well as, liberal democracy in general.

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Filed under: Islamofascism -- Terrorism -- NewsPolitics -- Anti-semitism -- Iraq

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Technorati tags: Al Queda -- Islamofascism -- Iraq -- terrorism

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Do we really want to follow in their foot steps?

When the likes of Senator Kerry speak highly of various European countries (mostly old Europe), they act, at times, as if we have much to learn from our betters. But the following run down of news from Europe will hopefully dissuade many from always thinking we should trounce along behind Europe, blindly and happily following wherever they go. After all, they may be rushing headlong to a dangerous cliff, with no way of stopping before it's too late.

Dispatch from the Eurabian Front: I’m Dreaming of a Halal Christmas (selected excerpts from The Brussels Journal)

Yesterday the Brussels judiciary searched the offices of the Muslim Executive of Belgium (MEB). The MEB [...] distributes the government subsidies to support the Islamic religion. At least 33,000 euros have disappeared from the books of the MEB.[...] MEB transferred money to the bank account of Nizar Trabelsi, a convicted terrorist who is serving [...] ten years for an attempt to bomb an American military base.

According to the MEB the money was given to Trabelsi for humanitarian reasons. The MEB said he needed to buy additional food and drink in prison.

Sounds like a cousin of CAIR to me.

In the Netherlands 25 officers [...] have been sent on a “cultural training” to Morocco. According to Chief Superintendent Gerard Bouman “Criminal Moroccan youths [...] do not behave like indigenous Dutch. They rave about Moroccan culture. Hence, we have to know the latter, too.” Bouman added, however, that police officers in Morocco are astonished when they hear about the criminal behaviour of Moroccans in the Netherlands. “They can hardly believe that we have problems here with Moroccan youths.”

Apparently crime against whitey is ok for radical Muslims.

Bouman [...] also said that the Dutch police force has to attract more immigrant officers. “I used to think that qualifications were the only criteria [for employment and promotion], but if you are not careful you will end up with an entirely white police force. We cannot have that in this city.”

Oops, me thinks Chief Superintendent Bouman unintentionally said the immigrant candidates were not as highly qualified. But hey, we'll have more color on the force, so what does that matter?

In Spain, Muslim radicals demand the right to worship in Cordoba cathedral. They claim the building is theirs because it was in use as a mosque during the Arab occupation of Spain from the 8th to the 15th century. Cordoba was the capital of “al-Andalus,” Arab-occupied Spain. The Catholic Church refuses to set part of the cathedral aside for Muslim prayer (after all, Spain isn’t Belgium). Prior to the Arab occupation, Cordoba cathedral had always been a Christian church.

Hopefully Spain won't fold to such idiocy. Nothing like radical Muslims acting like schoolyard bullies. We touched it once, so now it's ours forever and ever. The mind reels at such a childish possessiveness, as if Europe and other countries don't already have mosques for them to worship at.

There's more, so please read it all.

We simply must realize that Islamofacists have no desire to peacefully coexist. They simply want to rule, oppress and kill. Trying to make peace with such animals only encourages them and results in more people dying, including moderate Muslims with whom we can live with in our communities.

Unfortunately, with demographics working against native Europeans, it appears they may  be learning the lesson a bit too late. I hope more can see what's happening there and help other countries avoid the same results. If not, it is difficult to avoid seeing a future wherein a braver country than our own is running down the list of dhimmitude marching on in America.

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Filed under: Terrorism -- Religion -- News -- Islamofascism

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Technorati tags: Islamofascism -- Islam -- Eurabia -- Dhimmitude -- dhimmi

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I have a messy desk but...

Remember how Bill Clinton reacted to the accusation that his former National security adviser, Sandy Berger, had stolen classified records from the National Archive? Here's a reminder:

"We were all laughing about it on the way over here," Clinton said at the time. It was just another example of disorganized old Sandy being disorganized. "All of us who've been in his office always found him buried beneath papers." (from the Ethics Scoreboard)

Aww, how cute, just an accidental scooping up of papers, typical for an unorganized pack rat. Except it isn't true.

Report says Berger hid archive documents (selected excerpts)

President Clinton's national security adviser removed classified documents from the National Archives, hid them under a construction trailer and later tried to find the trash collector to retrieve them, the agency's internal watchdog said Wednesday.

Yes, that's what I usually do when I absent mindedly pick up papers I didn't mean to.

National Archives employees spotted Berger outside the building, bending down and fiddling with something white around his ankles.

The employees did not feel at the time that there was enough information to confront someone of Berger's stature, the report said.

Later, when Berger was confronted by Archives officials about the missing documents, he lied by saying he did not take them, the report said.

He should have figured out a way weasel around what the word is means. Worked for his boss, sort of.

on one visit, ..."He headed toward a construction area. ... He then slid the documents under a construction trailer, according to the inspector general. Berger acknowledged that he later retrieved the documents from the construction area and returned with them to his office.

Remember, Clinton tried to laugh the matter off.

"He was aware of the risk he was taking," the inspector general's notes said.

That would be the definition of an understatement.

Berger had "destroyed, cut into small pieces, three of the four documents. These were put in the trash."

And for all of this lying, and abuse of classified documents what did he get?

For his guilty plea, Berger was fined $50,000, ordered to perform 100 hours of community service and barred from access to classified material for three years.

A slap on the wrist, but as we shall see it's more than the original fine. But hey, BJ Clinton laughed it off, so it must be ok. I guess he also wasn't so concerned about an earlier Berger problem noted here at Wikipedia.

Berger selected Mary O. McCarthy for a top intelligence position at the National Security Council in the Clinton administration. McCarthy was reportedly fired by the Central Intelligence Agency in April 2006 for leaking classified information to journalists.

Also noted at the Wikipedia entry:

On April 1, 2005...U.S. attorneys recommended a fine of $10,000 and a loss of security clearance for three years. However, on September 8, U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson increased the fine to $50,000 at Berger's sentencing. Robinson stated, "The court finds the fine [recommended by government prosecutors] is inadequate because it doesn't reflect the seriousness of the offense."

I would say $50,000 is hardly adequate, but at least the judge saw the matter as more serious than the pathetic government prosecutor.

Just think, if the GOP continues it's incompetence, we may see a Clinton in the White House again. If we're "lucky" we may have more such stories after her tenure, that will make BJ giggle some more. Too bad it's concerning national security, in a day and age when our enemies intend to hit is with whatever they can, including nuclear devices and biological weapons. But hey, such things are of little concern, as "they" have been saying, it appears the nation is ready to have a female president. Besides, BJ could just crack a joke and all would be ok.

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Filed under: Politics -- NewsPolitics -- News -- Crime

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Technorati tags: Berger -- Sandy Berger -- Clinton -- National Archive

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Let's have Dhimmitude for lunch

Hardly surprising, yet still disturbing is a story from the UK wherein school lunch programs have had Halal meat for some time now. (Thanks to The Brussels Journal)

Parents angered as every pupil is given halal school meals

Halal meat is being served to pupils in state schools without their knowledge, even if they believe the religious slaughter is cruel.

Parents have reacted furiously after being sent letters telling them their children's school dinners have been all-halal for 'some time'.

To conform with Jewish and Muslim religious tradition, animals are prepared for halal products by having their throats slit while conscious - a method many people believe is inhumane and which the RSPCA has condemned.

The meat was introduced at four schools in the Reading area with a high proportion of Muslim pupils. But parents of non-Muslim pupils - between 20 and 50 per cent of the schools' roll -say they were not consulted.

I'm highly skeptical that this involved concern for people of the Jewish faith. It seems to me, that was merely tossed in to try and reduce the controversy somewhat. Notice that the meat was introduced in areas with a high proportion of Muslim students.

A spokesperson for Reading Borough Council said: "The decision was taken several years ago. Schools thought it was the appropriate choice for their multi-cultural community. We are increasing options at the four schools by offering fish each day."

"Increasing options" and yet (emphasis added):

The other schools where only halal meat is served are New Town, Oxford Road and Alfred Sutton primary schools.

Why can't Muslim kids simply pack their own lunch? I did that for years as a child. Furthermore, is it so difficult to inform parents, and to provide choices if they really want to be so multi-cultural?

Multi-culturalism apparently has become just another way to say, "please make me a dhimmi", in Europe of late. One can easily imagine how some Muslims, of the perpetually offended, CAIR victimhood type, would react if pork made it into their lunches somehow, without their consent.

And therein lies the problem. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, when those being appealed to have no backbone. Unfortunately, some of those making complaints, have much more intended than simply having a particular meat for lunch. Whether they achieve it under the table, as in this matter, or brazenly in our faces, they intend subjugation to Sharia for those not of their radicalized version of Islam. It may be lunch meat one day, cartoons another, but they are unrelenting. We shrink back in accommodation foolishly and only make our future that much more insecure.

Sadly, some are so beholden to multi-culturalism and peace at any cost, that they continually train themselves to be happy at hearing the words, "now that's a good dhimmi".

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Filed Under: News -- Religion -- Islamofascism

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Technorati tags: Dhimmitude -- Sharia -- Islamofascism -- multi-culturalism -- Halal

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GOP incompetence, the gift that keeps on giving

Along with other factors, it can't be denied that GOP foolishness on a number of issues helped them lose the last election. Some, who were so disgruntled with the President on immigration or the GOP's reaction to corruption, to name a few matters, may have helped the Democrats in several close races, by voting third party, or not voting at all.

My view, is that such actions are short-sighted as we can see in this news report.

Conservatives' Grip on Key Virginia Court Is at Risk

A growing list of vacancies on the federal appeals court in Richmond is heightening concern among Republicans that one of the nation's most conservative and influential courts could soon come under moderate or even liberal control, Republicans and legal scholars say.

[...]

Republican concerns also are fueled by the pending Democratic takeover of Congress, as several of President Bush's 4th Circuit nominees were already bottled up in the Senate when Republicans ran it. From the GOP's perspective, the situation now will worsen.

[...]

Nan Aron, president of the liberal Alliance for Justice, said the new political landscape will force Bush to work closely with Democrats "to pick fair and open-minded judges who don't lean either to the right or the left" if he wants to get the administration's nominees confirmed. "If there were any way to appoint judges to move the 4th Circuit in a more moderate direction, that would be beneficial to both the circuit and to the country," she said.

[...]

Of course, what one considers not leaning to the right or left is very much affected by the position they start from. It's also hard not to see the "fair and open-minded judges" catch phrase as merely Orwellian Newspeak for judges who are not conservative. Much like the term Progressive being used by some who advocate left-wing politics. Sure sounds better than saying Socialism, considering the experience of many countries that implemented such policies in their economies and political systems.

Because of the change in Congress, we may see the Conservative trend in the judiciary, slowed as it was, completely derailed, or even reversed to some extent. I wonder how some will feel about their little temper tantrums aimed at the GOP now? It's not like they can easily change federal judges at the next election as they're appointed for life.

Perhaps it can now be seen that though we may have to grimace and grumble sometimes when we vote, we must not forget the long-term ramifications of our choices. If one wants to make a point, I read somewhere that primary voting is the best place to do so. As we can see, national elections can have unintended consequences. Hopefully, we won't see more such examples with another Supreme Court nomination.

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Filed under: Politics -- NewsPolitics

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Technorati tags: News -- Courts -- Politics -- Democrat -- GOP -- Republican -- 4th circuit

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OTA - Open Trackback Post 12.18.06

As the lovely Samantha Burns says:

Please use this space to trackback your best, main page articles (I just require a link to this article, as always). Also, if you have something to discuss, it is welcomed here as well.

ADVICE: Trackback main blog page articles to showcase your work (and it will help to attract readers).

Yep, I was in a plagiarizing mood ;-) Nevertheless, it's a good way to draw more attention to your blog, so trackback away :-) I'll have one of these each Monday, because, well, I hate Mondays ;-p

Please refrain from using international accent marks in your post url. The inline trackback script will fail if those are used.



More trackback partys, open posts and linkfests can be found at:




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The Slope Is Apparently Vertical

At times arguments are made that something, if allowed, will remove logical barriers to further actions that will be quite detrimental, though what is being proposed may seem rather harmless.

One argument, among many, against embryonic stem cell research is that allowing it, would create pressures to harvest stem cells from the preborn, to have pregnancies created just to take the material desired for medical research. Some have scoffed at such claims and proposed that substantial safeguards could be put in place to avoid the financial pressures that would undoubtedly be placed on the poor.

Still, the logical barriers would largely be removed and not much left in the way of a further degradation of societal mores and standards of ethics. The desire for fame due to research success and the desire for comfort in this life, due to such technology and the money that would be made available by some, would combine to create enormous pressures to slide down that slippery slope.

But, if the following is true, that slope was nothing but the face of a vertical wall that some decided to "bravely" leap from. The result being that the worst predictions may already be coming true.

Ukraine babies in stem cell probe

Healthy new-born babies may have been killed in Ukraine to feed a flourishing international trade in stem cells, evidence obtained by the BBC suggests.

[...]

The BBC has spoken to mothers from the city of Kharkiv who say they gave birth to healthy babies, only to have them taken by maternity staff.

A sad state of affairs, to say the least. I really hope this story turns out to be wrong, rather than just gets covered up.

Mat 19:13 Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.
Mat 19:14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

The pictures show organs, including brains, have been stripped - and some bodies dismembered.

A senior British forensic pathologist says he is very concerned to see bodies in pieces - as that is not standard post-mortem practice.

It could possibly be a result of harvesting stem cells from bone marrow.

No doubt, the reaction of some will be, no bigee, as long as we get longer life with less worries about injury or disease, what does it matter?

Hospital number six denies the allegations.

Hopefully, their denial will have much more truth to it than a finger waging, former U.S. President. We may very well be seeing the start of another chapter in this horrifying disregard for human life. It started with abortion on demand and now appears to be moving forward quite briskly to satisfy the narcissistic drive of some for healthy living, regardless of what it takes to get there.

Mat 18:5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
Mat 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

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Filed under: News -- Culture -- Abortion

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Technorati tags: Stem Cells -- Ukraine -- ESC -- Harvesting embryos

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