Cartoon Clash of Civilizations

Cartoons - "Offense Level" raised

Anyway, we are now on....
HIGH

HIGHLY OFFENDED

....so watch out.

There's been trouble over Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Libya, women's rights, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, terrorism, Darfur, oil, and breaking up the Caliphate.**

But 12 cartoons is the ultimate trigger?

The Religious Policeman is comedy gold on what's become a serious issue and a historical footnote of our age.

**Can't forget Lebanon, Crusades, keeping our troops near the Holy Mosques, Land Between the Two Rivers, Somalia, Black Hawk Down, how could I leave that out? Madrassas, honor killings, Wahhabi propaganda in mosques, threats of nuclear terrorism. It has been a somewhat bumpy relationship of late.

Wolcott

Pajamas Media is "PeePee Media?" You must slay you.

The Pause that Refreshes

net's premier Arab-hater

In fact PJM features news coverage from Iraq the Model. The media lost interest in Iraq as things improved so PJM has exclusive Iraqi political coverage. Charles Johnson documents news stories involving Arabs. For you, that's accuracy I guess.

Liberating Arabs from Baathist thugs and the Taliban (not Arabs, but Muslims) suggests you're projecting again. The Left wanted the sanctions lifted and Saddam in power. Meat grinders to silence dissent and medieval torture for Olympic athletes: The Progressive Movement.

Google, the neocon bloggers declared, deliberately ignores their no-talent ill-written diatribes, and instead promotes antiwar, 'anti-American,' and even 'anti-Semitic' propaganda (all three being pretty much equivalent in their minds)."

Amazing how often they're found together.

Wolcott is interested in Iraq insofar as it affects Bush's popularity. I wonder where Wolcott stands on Hamas leadership?

Washington Post prints putrid propaganda

What Hamas Is Seeking

By Mousa Abu Marzook

.....Our society has always celebrated pluralism in keeping with the unique history and traditions of the Holy Land. In recognizing Judeo-Christian traditions, Muslims nobly vie for and have the greatest incentive and stake in preserving the Holy Land for all three Abrahamic faiths. In addition, fair governance demands that the Palestinian nation be represented in a pluralistic environment. A new breed of Islamic leadership is ready to put into practice faith-based principles in a setting of tolerance and unity.

In that vein, Hamas has pledged transparency in government. Honest leadership will result from the accountability of its public servants. Hamas has elected 15 female legislators poised to play a significant role in public life. The movement has forged genuine and lasting relationships with Christian candidates.

HAMAS plans to reinstate the dhimmi laws and jizya tax on Christians in reality.

Christian churches are bombed all over the Middle East, three in Iraq recently, innocent bystanders killed. Hamas, by the way, believes in genocide of the Jewish people.

Charles Johnson of LGF asks...
What the hell is wrong with the Washington Post? Who decided it would be a good idea to let a deported Hamas terrorist recite his propaganda talking points?


This op-ed is well-targeted at the American Left, giving them cover if they want to support a genocidal terrorist organization with eventual plans for Spain. Hamas, by the way, has threatened Europe with terrorism for listing Hamas as a terrorist organization.

This rhetoric is top notch.

...Accordingly, America's long-standing tradition of supporting the oppressed's rights to self-determination should not waver.

...quality of life deteriorated for Palestinians in the occupied territories. Poverty levels soared, unemployment rates reached uncharted heights and the lack of basic security approached unbearable depths. A grass-roots alternative grew out of the urgency of this situation. Through its legacy of social work and involvement in the needs of the Palestinian people, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) flourished as a positive social force striving for the welfare of all Palestinians. Alleviating the debilitative conditions of occupation, and not an Islamic state, is at the heart of our mandate (with reform and change as its lifeblood).

...We appeal to the American people's sense of fairness to judge this conflict in light of the great thoughts, principles and ideals you hold dear in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the democracy you have built. It is not unreasonable to expect America to practice abroad what it preaches at home. We can but sincerely hope that you use your honest judgment and the blessings of ascendancy God has given you to demand an end to the occupation. Meaningful democracy cannot flourish as long as an external force maintains the balance of power. It is the right of all people to pursue their own destiny.

Laugh, or scream?

He almost used "social justice," but not quite.

Hamas, by the way, fights jihad warfare with suicide bombers.

Man Signs Voter Registration As 'God'

Sewell, 40, said he will be happy to explain. As the owner of a bail enforcement agency, he finds fugitives, he said.

"Whenever I go to arrest somebody, they say, 'Oh, God, give me another chance. Oh, God, let me go. I'll turn myself in tomorrow,'" Sewell said.

He said he thinks his designated mark is legal. "PennDOT accepted it on my driver's license. I have a credit card with it," he said. "It shouldn't be a problem."

Reactions to Hamas taking power

Muslim states wary of Hamas' success

Governments across the region were struggling to adjust to the smashing and unexpected Hamas win in Palestinian parliamentary voting Wednesday. The militant wing of the party has carried out scores of deadly attacks on Israel and is considered a terrorist organization by both the United States and the European Union.
Leading hard-line states in the region, led by Syria and Iran, hailed the vote as a blow to Israel and a rejection of U.S.-backed plans to forge a permanent peace deal with the Palestinians.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said in Tehran that Palestinian voters "chose the option of resistance" in overwhelmingly backing Hamas over the more moderate ruling Fatah party.
Syria's official al-Baath newspaper predicted that the United States and other Western powers would have to drop their diplomatic boycott of Hamas in the wake of Wednesday's vote.
"The Europeans, and especially the Americans, who have rejected this victory, have no other choice than to submit to reality and work with the new situation," the paper said.
But other regional leaders, including Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, King Abdullah II of Jordan and Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, warned Hamas against any immediate break in peace talks with Israel.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf told reporters in Geneva that Hamas should be given "a chance," noting that Israel's hawkish Ariel Sharon evolved as prime minister into an advocate for peace with the Palestinians.
"Let us hope Hamas ends up like that," he said.

Thousands of Fatah March in West Bank

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Fatah activists marched to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' compound, police briefly stormed the parliament building in Gaza and security forces clashed with Hamas gunmen on Saturday as the long-ruling party lashed out in anger for its devastating election loss.

....."The security forces will stay. Hamas has no power meddling with the security forces," Jibril Rajoub, Abbas' national security adviser, told the hundreds of Fatah activists at Abbas' compound.

The group, which included gunmen, marched to the compound in Ramallah and peacefully prayed at Yasser Arafat's grave. "We came to you Abu Amar to forgive us for what happened," they chanting, referring to the late Palestinian leader by his nickname.

Abbas' security force prevented the activists from approaching his nearby office in the compound, known as the muqaata. Outside the compound, some militants shot in the air.

.....In Damascus, Syria, Hamas' top leader Khaled Mashaal reiterated Saturday that his group seeks a partnership with all political parties but also wants to reform the government. In a reference to Fatah, Mashaal warned that those "who might try block the work because they are out of power" would be held responsible if reforms are blocked.

....."We are now no longer part of the cease-fire," one of the gunmen, Nasser Haras, told the crowd. Palestinian militant groups agreed last year to a cease-fire with Israel.

.....The Fatah Revolutionary Council, a secondary party organ, on Friday expelled six members who had run as independents and lost. About 150 other renegade candidates were ordered expelled from the party.

The car of one of the independents, Burhan Jarar, was torched Saturday in the West Bank city of Jenin.

Ghazi Hamad, a Hamas' ideologue, said the group might form a government of technocrats with no connection to Hamas, a move that could relieve some of the international pressure on the group.

Hamas rejects donor 'blackmail'

A senior Hamas leader has rejected demands that the Islamic militant group must renounce violence to prevent aid cuts for the Palestinian Authority.

Ismail Haniya, who headed Hamas' election list, said they would not give in to "blackmail" by foreign donors.

.....But Mr Haniya told the Reuters news agency: "This aid cannot be a sword over the heads of the Palestinian people and will not be material to blackmail our people, to blackmail Hamas and the resistance. It is rejected."

Hamas

Hamas stands its ground as West demands change

.....Dr al-Zahar offered no apologies for his past or his hardline views when he spoke to Stephen Farrell of The Times this week

.....On negotiations with Israel:

“Negotiation is not a goal in itself. It is a method; it is not an objective. If Israel has anything to offer on the issues of halting attacks, withdrawal, releasing prisoners . . . then one thousand means can be found.

“Negotiation is not taboo. The political crime is when we sit with the Israelis and then come out with a wide smile to tell the Palestinian people that there is progress, when in fact, there is not. The Palestinian Authority (PA) negotiated with them for many, many years and reached lastly a deadlock. So why should we be a new copy, like Fatah, wasting the time and money of the people negotiating for nothing?”

On relations with Israel:

“We have to disengage from Israel economically, on security, everything. We have to open the doors to the Arab and Muslim countries.

“Co-operation on the security field was a disaster for the Palestinians because it threatened the integrity of the Palestinians. When the PA co-operated against Hamas, that was a very critical moment that could have pushed some Hamas people to attack the PA.

“We destroyed our economical status by the linkage of our economy with the Israeli (one) . . . For example, we pay 5.5 shekels (66p) per litre for petrol from Israel. From Egypt, one metre from our borders, it is one Egyptian pound (9p). In 2004 we paid to Israel in one year $186 million (£105 million) for electricity. If we took it from Egypt it will be $20 million. We have ten commercial agreements with the Arabic and Islamic world without taxes. Israel takes from us 17 taxes and they are destroying our industry.”


.....On Europe:

The European people came to me in the last month and they said within six months they are going to do their best to change the attitudes of their administration, because they do not accept Hamas is a terrorist organisation.

Interview: Mahmoud Al-Zahar
June 22, 2003

JANA WENDT: Mr Al-Zahar, could I just interrupt you because we don't have that much time. The point is that your prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, has accepted this road map. He would like you to stop sending your young men to blow themselves up and to kill Israelis. He would like you to stop that. Will that ever happen?

MAHMOUD AL-ZAHAR: You are not speaking on the behalf of Mahmoud Abbas. Mahmoud Abbas is also looking at the same time to stop the Israeli killing of our children. Why are you looking in one eye that we are sending our people to kill Israeli children and women?

JANA WENDT: Let me just get Hamas's official position straight. One of your fellow Hamas leaders, Mr Rantissi, who was recently targeted by the Israelis, said these words, "The struggle will continue until the last Jew has left the country." Is that the aim of Hamas — for the last Jew to leave the country?

MAHMOUD AL-ZAHAR: We have no sort of discrimination but we are speaking about occupation. We are going to continue our armed struggle till the elimination of the occupation whether they are from French, Britain or the Jews. So this is the question and is not a sort of racism.

JANA WENDT: OK, just very quickly to finish Mr Al-Zahar how will Hamas respond if the EU moves to brand the political wing of your organisation a terrorist organisation? There is some talk that this will happen.

MAHMOUD AL-ZAHAR: We are considered as honourable people so we don't actually interested about the European Union who are in the tail, who are representing the tail of America, who is unable to do anything for the American — the Anglo-American occupation aggression against the Iraqi people. These people are negligible in the history. If they are considering that, they are going to announce — they are going to arouse many of the Muslims inside the European Union, and if they did, believe me they are going to suffer too much — on the democratic level — from the Muslim everywhere.

al-Zahar

Hamas says ready to form Palestinian army

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - The Islamic militant group Hamas was ready to merge armed factions including its military wing to form an army to defend the Palestinian people, a senior Hamas leader said on Saturday.

"We are willing to form an army like every country ... an army to defend our people against aggression," Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshaal told a news conference in Damascus after the group swept Palestinian parliamentary elections.

Diana West 'splains the Abu Hamza conundrum

From a legal standpoint, international and national, Iran, North Korea, Darfur, Abu Hamza, UN Oil-for-Food, and the "domestic spying" (which is neither) scandal have been needling my noggin.

Maybe someone can make this make sense without a PC-to-English and back-to-PC filter.

For the prosecution, David Perry says: "This is nothing more or less than preaching hatred and murder," which, he makes clear, has nothing to do with Islam.

For the defense, Edward Fitzgerald says: "It is said he was preaching murder. But he was actually preaching from the Koran itself."

Well, which is it, gentlemen? He's preaching murder that has nothing to do with Islam; or he's preaching the Koran that has nothing to do with murder. For people trying to fend off jihad in their midst, the question becomes a distracting conundrum.

Both sides appear to be making non-legal arguments to avoid offending certain sensitive, yet violent rage prone people.

The Associated Press Agenda

General Says Troops in Iraq 'Stretched'
Oh no, we're doomed!
Buried in the middle:

"So, yep, folks are stretched here but they certainly accomplish their mission, and the forces that you've seen on the ground are absolutely magnificent," Casey added.

Never mind. If anyone finds AP's objectivity, please send it back. Headline to story is the longest jump in the world these days.

The Qur'an made me do it

I've decided it's probably better to explain what I'm talking about rather than assume everyone can read my mind. Skipping the easy stuff in law school wasn't a great strategy either.

In my last post it might not be entirely clear why an article about one terror trial signifies the end of Europe.

There are some things which are accepted as VERY BAD LEGAL DEFENSES:

"The Devil made me do it."

"The bitch wouldn't quit nagging me."

"Bob, the voice in my head, made it very clear my neighbor was out to get me."

"The Anarchist's Cookbook said it was OK."

"I didn't know you couldn't do that."

And so on.

Here's the deal. There is no "Qur'an defense" in any legal system I'm aware of, not counting shari'a, of course.

For example, let's say, hypothetically, I was bent out of shape at all the smart-ass kids around here listening to their rap music and sassing their parents. I agree with someone else to hunt down all these little punks and send them back to their maker.

[one more time: that is a hypothetical]

It is not a legal defense to conspiracy to murder if I note Leviticus:

9: For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.

That's motive, but not a defense.

It's not clear to me the punishment mentioned in Leviticus is earthly anyway, but I'll leave that to biblical scholars.

Fast forward to Abu Hamza's trial.

Mr Fitzgerald cited two verses of the book that Abu Hamza would rely on, among many others, as theological justification for the words that had led to him being charged. They were Chapter 2, verse 216 and Chapter 9, verse 111. He said that all the great monotheistic religions had scriptures that contained “the language of blood and retribution”.

Not exactly. Let's look at the passages his attorney is going to cite.

002.216
YUSUFALI: Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth, and ye know not.

009.111
YUSUFALI: Allah hath purchased of the believers their persons and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the garden (of Paradise): they fight in His cause, and slay and are slain: a promise binding on Him in truth, through the Law, the Gospel, and the Qur'an: and who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah? then rejoice in the bargain which ye have concluded: that is the achievement supreme.

That's not the language of "blood and retribution." It's open-ended warfare for Allah, clearly on this Earth, to be determined by creeps like Hook Hand Hamza. What's worse is how many passages are more graphically violent than the two cited. Virtually all of Sura Nine is a bloodbath. 8.012, 9.005, and many more, could be described as Serial Killer Suras.

008.012
YUSUFALI: Remember thy Lord inspired the angels (with the message): "I am with you: give firmness to the Believers: I will instil terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers: smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off them."

009.005
YUSUFALI: But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, an seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practise regular charity, then open the way for them: for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.

Anyone who thinks "the Bible is just like the Qur'an" has obviously not read both. There are dozens of passages encouraging conspiracy, premeditated murder, and warfare in the Qur'an. There are no peaceful interpretations allowed because ijtihad was closed during the Dark Ages, and Wahhabism is fast becoming the dominant sect in Islam.

If anyone wonders about the sordid reality I just described, please consult "The Religion of Peace @ Casualties" available in the left margin.

Is a civilized nation, and I used to think the UK qualified, going to accept "The Devil made me do it"?

Has multiculturalism made obvious distinctions somehow incomprehensible?

Ibn Warraq tried to warn us. It's more than four years after 9/11. When, if ever, will the so-called "West" wake up?

Unless the media puts some pressure on Islam, just as it does every other faith, there is no force for change. If the media keeps peddling lies to soothe the most violent Muslims, and their Saudi masters, it's not doing the more secular or peaceful Muslims any favors.

Contemplating what is too horrible to contemplate

France is going.

The UK is nearly gone.

If this wasn't the final so-called "wake-up call" nothing will do it.

We're in a Clash of Civilizations, but only one side knows there's a fight. In poker terms, Europe is playing out a bad hand where the pot is too large to throw the cards back in. Eurabia will come sooner, not later. Bat Ye'or was right.

Islam is the inversion of Judeo-Christian morality, with special emphasis on deception.

If you study Islam they tell you, first, "it's different in Arabic." If you begin to learn the Arabic terms, then it becomes "non-Muslims can't understand."

If someone can explain to me how we're four years past 9/11 and I've yet to read one in-depth mainstream media piece on Islamic beliefs and theology, one tough interview (hell, one tough question) of a Muslim cleric, or one tough interview of terror-supporting organizations like CAIR,* let me know.

*Based on charges and convictions. Don't bother suing, Ibrahim. Discovery is something you don't want. SLAPP suits: not just for corporations any more.

Tiptoe to Destruction (don't want to annoy the neighbors)

Silence that speaks volumes


Diana West is one of the half dozen or so columnists I read regularly. One of the others is Spengler. This is a twofer.

According to his friend, the pope believes there's no way to change Islam because there's no way to reinterpret the Koran — i.e., change Koranic teachings on infidels, women, polygamy, penal codes and other markers of Islamic law — in such a way as to propel Islam into happy coexistence with modernity.
As I said, a bombshell. But this is one bombshell that has yet to explode because no one wants to touch it. Hugh Hewitt posted the extraordinary interview online, a couple of blogs picked it up, and Middle East expert Daniel Pipes wrote a short piece taking exception to it, but, as the Asia Times Online columnist Spengler noted (in a column called "When even the pope has to whisper"), "not a single media outlet has taken notice."
Posting the Spengler column at The Corner at National Review Online, Rod Dreher wrote: "Spengler is amazed by the silence from the Western media over this remarkable statement attributed to the current pope... and he suggests that we shrink from acknowledging it because the consequences of the pope being right about this are too horrible to contemplate." Indeed, with one exception, NRO Corner regulars failed to comment on the pope's putative words—noteworthy, given the magazine's tradition of a Catholic identity.

HRW notes terrorism like Communism

"Terrorism has become the new communism, as an overriding rationalization to ignore the abuses of human rights," Roth said.

The watchdog also criticized US allies in the war on terror for undermining critical international protections, citing Britain for seeking to send suspects to governments likely to torture, and Canada for moves to dilute a new treaty outlawing enforced disappearances.

Britain, US, and Canada are the big human rights abusers?

Iranians hanging young girls for self defense?

[crickets]

Strange Roth would make a comparison to Communism.

HRW's Roth favors historical revision in favor of Communism, which doesn't bode well for the North Koreans in Kwan-li-so No. 15.

Chirac's Words

"The leaders of states who would use terrorist means against us, as well as those who would consider using in one way or another weapons of mass destruction, must understand that they would lay themselves open to a firm and adapted response on our part," Chirac said

It's fairly clear in context.

Why the lunacy I document in my previous post?

'West' puts gun in own mouth, essential idiots ready to pull trigger

Fjordman on a lost Norway...

...noted here for silencing Oriana Fallaci.

In other "too stupid to live" news:

- President Jacques Chirac drew scorching criticism in Europe on Friday for suggesting France would consider a nuclear response to state-sponsored terrorism.

Chirac's headline-grabbing comments in a speech Thursday sent a warning to countries like Iran and sought to nip in the bud domestic debate about whether deeply indebted France still needs its expensive nuclear deterrent in the post-Cold War world.

Chirac was merely noting nuclear terrorism would receive a proportional response, but the moonbat brigades will have none of it.

Wake me when the adults are back in charge. AP does criticism a grave injustice by calling these shrill "no nukes but Iranian nukes" essential idiots "critics."

As the Middle East builds nuclear weapons like hot cakes, the European Left thinks French unilateral disarmament is called for.

"Jacques Chirac is an idiot," chided Belgian daily De Morgen in an editorial. "He lives in a time where France is no longer a world power, but he's still acting as if prolonging a Napoleonic dynasty."

Spain's El Pais called the speech "radical and dangerous."

Many faulted the timing. France, Britain and Germany have been seeking guarantees that Iran will not develop nukes, and have taken key steps toward possible U.N. sanctions against Tehran.

"Such saber rattling in the face of the current crisis over Iran's atomic weapons program is basically a false signal," said Xanthe Hall of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War in Berlin.

If Chirac ends his tenure as president next year, he will have left an indelible mark on France's nuclear deterrent. Shortly after winning the presidency in 1995, he drew international fury by ordering France's final nuclear tests in the South Pacific.

Conservative Milan daily Il Giornale suggested the "pacifist sympathies" for Chirac over his opposition to the U.S.-led Iraq war had worn off.

France's nuclear arsenal, which analysts estimate at some 300 warheads mostly deployed on submarines, is viewed as a deterrent tool and is not intended for a battle situation.

Observers saw a political pitch at home by Chirac: activist groups and even military circles have questioned the euro3 billion-plus ($3.62 billion) annual cost to keep up France's nuclear arsenal.

I'll number this for emphAsis. Practically, that's chump change for a serious nuclear deterrent well-protected on subs.

1. France has a nuclear deterrent force to strike and deter nations like Iran from nuclear attack.

2. That benefit extends to other European nations.

What "military circles"?

Rushdie: West underestimates sexual fear among Islamists

Wed Jan 18, 9:17 AM ET
BERLIN (AFP) - British author Salman Rushdie said the West had failed to grasp the extent to which Islamic extremism was rooted in men's fear of women's sexuality.

Rushdie told German weekly magazine Stern that his latest novel, "Shalimar the Clown", dealt with the deep anxiety felt among many Islamic men about female sexual freedom and lost honor.

When asked if the book drew a link between "Islamic terror and damaged male honor", Rushdie said he saw it as a crucial, and often overlooked, point.

"The Western-Christian world view deals with the issues of guilt and salvation, a concept that is completely unimportant in the East because there is no original sin and no savior," he said, in comments printed in German.

Brokeback Boredom

There are two kinds of people, those who break people down into two varieties, and those who don't. But that has nothing to do with Brokeback Mountain.

First CNN tells me Brokeback Mountain is a "gay cowboy movie". I saw two shepherds in actual reviews and clips. Who should I believe?

I heard the guys who see it will switch to the love which dare not speak its name. Which is fine, if ordinary guys paid money to see movies about shepherds in love.

There are some rules if you want to sell movies to the vestigial American male.

One, special effects, you can't spend too much. I want to see a half billion in unnecessary technology clogging every square inch of the screen. This is a simple transaction. I give you money. You impress me with huge explosions and whole fictitious landscapes, which eventually explode.

Fast things, turbos, chases, airplanes, parachutes, zoom... zoom? Again, you can't have too much. Sheep and horses qualify if you can get them to fight. Listening to Paul Oakenfold while Jason Bourne speeds away in a Mini: totally unnecessary. Also Priceless. James Bond had a shootout between gangs of divers.

Two words: Bond Girls

Ursula Andress wearing a bikini which Halle Berry reprised? Without doubt the performance of a lifetime. I almost thought they'd never make it off that burning jet. A giant solar laser chasing the super fast rocket snow car? Hey, could happen to someone like Valerie Plame.

More of that, but less emotionally-significant moments of pathos and longing. Mmmmm. Halle Berry. But not Catwoman. Strange. I have no problem with cats until their sheer numbers become oppressive.

Conflict? Epic. Huge herds of war sheep in armor about to engage in the final battle against dark cat forces? Entertainment. Two guys in hats and sideburns making the beast with one back? TV movie. Gay is cable network, not large screen. We like Jessica Simpson in Daisy Dukes, not the Dukes doing the dirty deed. Again, this is a business transaction. Critics might not like Ultimate Fighting V: Ripping Out Spleens, or whatever, but that's the nature of art.

Geeky technical Oscars go to my celluloid heroes, or Halle Berry.

Specter and Brownback raise spectre of impeachment, hypothetically

Senator Sam Brownback said last month he did not agree "with the legal basis on which they are basing their surveillance."

The statements indicate the Bush administration will not be able to count on full support from the 10 committee Republicans when the hearings begin in early February.

The judiciary committee also has eight Democrats, who have questioned the legality of the surveillance program.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, one of the Democratic members, reiterated her doubts Sunday, saying, "I do not believe it's true that the president's plenary power would allow him to simply avoid the law."

If a plenary power exists, that is the law.

When asked what could happen if lawmakers find Bush in violation of the law, Specter answered: "Impeachment is a remedy. After impeachment, you could have a criminal prosecution, but the principal remedy ... under our society is to pay a political price."

He made it a point to clarify, however, that he was speaking theoretically and was "not suggesting remotely that there's any basis" for a presidential impeachment at this moment.

Rumsfeld: "I've got 'hyperpowerful' indigestion now that you mention it."

SPIEGEL: How concerned are you about Iran?

Rumsfeld: All of us have to be concerned when a country that important, large and wealthy is disconnected from the normal interactions with the rest of the world. They obviously have certain ambitions, powers and military capabilities ...

SPIEGEL: ...and nuclear ambitions...

Rumsfeld: That's apparently what France, Germany, the UK and the International Atomic Energy Agency have concluded. Everyone wants to have the Iranians as part of the world community, but they aren't yet. Therefore there's less predictability and more danger.

SPIEGEL: The US is trying to make the case in the United Nations Security Council.

Rumsfeld: I would not say that. I thought France, Germany and the UK were working on that problem.

SPIEGEL: What kind of sanctions are we talking about?

Rumsfeld: I'm not talking about sanctions. I thought you, and the U.K. and France were.

SPIEGEL: You aren't?

Rumsfeld: I'm not talking about sanctions. You've got the lead. Well, lead!

SPIEGEL: You mean the Europeans.

Rumsfeld: Sure. My Goodness, Iran is your neighbour. We don't have to do everything!

SPIEGEL: We are in the middle of regime change in Germany...

Rumsfeld: ... that's hardly the phrase I would have selected.

SPIEGEL: The change in government hasn't been quite as sweeping as many had expected. What are your hopes and expectations as to the new government?

Rumsfeld: You know, President Bush wouldn't even allow me to get involved in his presidential re-election campaign. He thinks that the secretary of state and the secretary of defense should stay out of politics. So, if I am staying out of American politics you can be sure, I would stay out of German politics. It seems to me that free countries engaged in the world tend to be a good thing. But, the German people and leadership have to decide about the extent to which they want to be engaged in the world. That's up to them, not me.

America's Fault

Iran on nuclear collision course
America's Fault

The reactor was the first foundation-stone in Iran's nuclear programme. It was constructed back in the 1950s.

By now, you have probably guessed who built it. That is right - the Americans. They even gave the Iranians some highly-enriched uranium to experiment with as well.

Arguing for Iran's right to peaceful nuclear energy while mocking the idea in the 1950's.

A great argument against pure democracy in theocratic, millenarian Iran:

Whether the West likes it or not, it has become an issue of national pride, which is why there is not much audible dissent across the normally fractious political spectrum.

America's fault

A few years ago, some Iranians were tempted to think that the Americans might be able to bring them a better life. But now, looking at the chaos just next door in Iraq, they have had second thoughts.

BBC is focused like a laser on preventing GWB from seeking a third term in office.

d-oh

Ahmadinejad says Iran wants to investigate EU rights abuses

Tehran, Iran, Jan. 14 – Radical Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad demanded once again on Saturday that Iran be permitted to send inspectors to evaluate “human rights abuses” in the European Union.

In a press conference in Tehran which was aired on state television, Ahmadinejad said that Tehran was ready to dispatch a committee to states which accuse it of violating human rights. Iran would then allow inspectors from those countries to come to Iran to carry out their evaluations, he said.

“We will send teams to write and publish reports on the condition of jails, tortures, discriminations, election procedures, economic actions that end up against the benefit of their people, support for terrorists, as well as the judicial, parliamentary, and administrative systems of countries that claim to speak out for human rights.

He said that he had yet to receive a response from Western countries regarding his proposal. (Doff: Killian Bundy)

Tehran, Iran, Jan. 07 – An Iranian court has sentenced a teenage rape victim to death by hanging after she weepingly confessed that she had unintentionally killed a man who had tried to rape both her and her niece.

The state-run daily Etemaad reported on Saturday that 18-year-old Nazanin confessed to stabbing one of three men who had attacked the pair along with their boyfriends while they were spending some time in a park west of the Iranian capital in March 2005.

Nazanin, who was 17 years old at the time of the incident, said that after the three men started to throw stones at them, the two girls’ boyfriends quickly escaped on their motorbikes leaving the pair helpless.

(BBC) Ahmadinejad: "You can't hug with nuclear arms"

Mr Ahmadinejad told reporters Tehran pursued an active foreign policy which sought peace, based on justice.

Ahmadinejad is united for peace and justice.

Ahmadinejad is progressively protecting his nuclear rights from medieval rulers.

A few had a "medieval mindset" and sought to deprive Iran of valuable technology, without evidence of wrongdoing, he added.

There is a minor immigration dispute, BBC offers helpfully.

"(Israelis) have no roots in Palestine and almost all are immigrants," he said.

UPDATE: Ahmadinejad Unplugged

Tehran, Iran, Jan. 12 – Iran’s hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday evening that the Islamic Republic’s 1979 Islamic revolution was a great movement and a stepping stone to a final “great event” in the world.

Speaking to a crowd in the southern city of Roudan, Hormozgan province, Ahmadinejad said, “The Islamic Republic is the continuation of the path of the prophets which came to begin a great movement and the final occurrence”.

“The Islamic revolution was a great leap in leading the people and reaching the climax of history”, Ahmadinejad said.

Bush, Merkel Urge U.N. Action on Iran

WASHINGTON - President Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel stood together Friday in urging U.N. intervention if Iran does not retreat from a resumption of its nuclear program.

The world needs to "send a common message to Iran that their behavior ... is unacceptable," Bush said.

Merkel used similar words, and she also condemned statements by Iran's leader challenging Israel's right to exist. "We will not be intimidated by a country such as Iran," she said.

UPDATE: Neo, everything which has a beginning has an end. Know yourself, duck, and cover.There's method in the Mahdi madness of Iran's president

Iran has "broken the seals". The phrase refers to the seals placed by UN nuclear inspectors on equipment that, unsealed, enables uranium enrichment, making possible the development of a nuclear bomb.

It has a suitably apocalyptic ring. In the Book of Revelation, the Lamb breaks the seven seals and earth-shattering violence ensues: "…the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together… And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men… hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains".

Interesting, if a bit catastrophic. I wonder what PJ Media has to say?

Nostradamus, the prophet Daniel and other so called 'prophets' of the 19th century all agree: the West will one day be at war with Iran. The first great war is near and is predicted as early as 2006 and likely no later than 2008 or 2009.

The prophets are in alignment.

Scrappleface - Devil Takes Hajj Battle, Beats Vegas Spread

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January 12, 2006
Devil Takes Hajj Battle, Beats Vegas Spread
by Scott Ott

(2006-01-12) — Oddsmakers in Las Vegas warn customers never to wager against the Devil in his annual contest versus stone-throwing Muslims during the Hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca.

This year, not only did the Devil extend his undefeated streak, but he beat the spread that Vegas insiders had pegged at 250 deaths, based on his 2004 performance.

The ceremonial stoning of the Devil is a highlight of the annual pilgrimage, and an economic shot-in-the-arm for the local healthcare and funeral services industries.

An unnamed Saudi cleric, speaking for Allah, the official deity of Islam, defended the Pilgrims’ effort despite this year’s toll of 345 dead and hundreds injured.

“They put their hearts into it,” the Imam said. “But we just didn’t execute on the fundamentals — like standing up and staying out from under foot. This game is 90 percent mental, so we’ll have to go back to the Koran and work on the basics.”

During his annual post-stampede news conference, the Imam brushed aside suggestions that he might forfeit future match-ups with Satan, or attack in smaller groups to reduce accidental trampling. Instead, he searched for a silver lining in the depressing performance.

“If it’s any comfort to the families of our deceased Hajj rookies,” he said, “at least Muslims are required to make only one trip to Mecca in a lifetime.”

Finally, perfect pun in lead

By ROGER ALFORD

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Pamela Anderson is leading a charge to remove a bust of KFC founder Colonel Harland Sanders from the state Capitol.

The actress called the Kentucky native's likeness "a monument to cruelty" to chickens in a statement issued by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the animal rights group.

The statement did little to ruffle feathers in Gov. Ernie Fletcher's office.

"Colonel Sanders was one of Kentucky's most distinguished citizens, a great entrepreneur and a fine charitable man of faith, and he certainly has a place in Kentucky history. We believe he warrants appropriate recognition as such," Fletcher spokeswoman Jodi Whitaker said.

I've seen the ultimate fake/real story. Parodists, stop and note the passing of your art.

My dogs would eat PETA spokespersons to avoid being set 'free' by some do-gooding lunatic.

At least four years in and we still don't know anything

Stephen Schwartz alternates between realism and classic taqiyya, very instructive for those of us who don't plan on surrendering.
What Is a Moderate Muslim?

As we enter 2006, Islamic radicalism remains no less a challenge to the world than it did four years ago. One of its chief aspects involves how non-Muslims, who typically have little knowledge of Islam, may accurately identify Muslim moderates.

Perhaps those looking at it from the outside are more objective.

Moderate Muslims admit there is a problem in the body of the religion -- not in the principles and traditions of the faith, but among the believers themselves.

Once again proving denial is not just a river in Egypt. No problems in the "principles and traditions"? Wow.

UPDATE: Part of the problem is that President Bush has not done any kind of real outreach to moderate American Muslims.

The problem here in America is that the wahabis fund (and thus control) the majority of the mosques and madrassahs, including training and hand picking the imams. Many Muslims I know barely go to their local mosques anymore because of this pervasive atmosphere.

President Bush has not even addressed American Muslims onthis, or asked for their help in identifying the Islamic radicals..not even so much as an `800' number to call if they hear jihad speech in their mosque, see questionable Muslims in attendance from overseas or know of questionable activities or fundraising.

-- Joshua Pundit

Unfortunately I wasn't wrong

This is part of an e-mail I sent to Andrew Sullivan on March 18, 2004.

I plan to register and vote Republican for one reason: we need to win WWIII. That may seem hyperbolic right now. I hope I'm wrong.

What did I know? What 'secret' information did I use to predict global expansion of the jihad?

I understood that al Qaeda ("the base") was nothing more than a religious movement which appealed to Muslims based on their 'holy' texts. It's not rocket science. But you must listen to, and study, your enemy.

Islam (the accepted teachings) doesn't believe in nation-states, equal justice, gender equity, sexual freedom, secular law, democracy, virtually any trappings of modernity. Could it change? Anything's possible, but all signs point to no.

Vatican City, Nevada?

ROME -- The American debate over intelligent design versus evolution is merely stuff for Sunday school scholars. An Italian court is considering whether the Roman Catholic Church is breaking the law by teaching that Jesus Christ walked the earth 2,000 years ago.

This could be a big economic windfall for some lucky state or nation.

But how does it affect President Bush's popularity?

Everyone I meet says he feels betrayed by the politicians who keep frustrating us with their incompetence and internal fighting over power.

Iraq is facing the harsh reality of self-governance without a totalitarian sadist in power. "Stability" in the case of Iraq was built on the certainty of brutality.

The consequences to President Bush will be minimal, measured by historians. The consequences to the people of Iraq are ongoing, measured in body bags and suffering.

John Esposito, Whore (is too good for him)

Esposito is very good at acquiring Saudi blood money, to be used converting Georgetown students into jihad warriors. Georgetown isn't alone. Europe is on board as well. Dominant academia continues to champion any violent cause averse to American lives and interests. The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington has already produced a murderer, numerous jihadists, sympathizers, and most notably Rachel Corrie. Military recruiters are allowed on campus, just not American military recruiters.

In Dante's Inferno the bottom circle of Hell is reserved for treachery.

Saudi money can't buy revision to Islam's most basic literature. The one thing they never thought we'd do is read their books. Saudis wouldn't consider reading the Bible. They confiscate Bibles at the border and punish the practice of any religion aside from Islam. Knowing the enemy is essential, but very time-consuming and primitive.

The Decline of Eastern Christianity under Islam: From Jihad to Dhimmitude Seventh-Twentieth Century - Bat Ye'or (page 297)

In the two Sahihs [the two canonical collections of religious traditions], the Prophet said according to Jabir b. Abd Allah: "I have been endowed with five gifts, which no other Prophet has received before me. I have triumphed through terror for a period of a month. The earth has been made for me a mosque and purity; any individual from my community who is overtaken by prayertime can pray wherever he may be. I received permission to take booty, a privilege that was never accorded to any of my predecessors. I received the gift of intercession. The prophets who preceded me were sent only to their own peoples; I was sent to all mankind."

The Prophet said: "I was sent with the sword before the Day of Resurrection so that all men may serve only Allah, without associates. My resources have been put in the shadow of my spear. Those who opposed my orders have had degradation and humiliation as their lot. He who wishes to resemble these people must be considered as one of them". [p. 27 - 28 ]

World conquest, theft, degradation and humiliation?

Sounds more like the Mafia than a religion.

Georgetown is the Tokyo Rose of the so-called War on Terror. Harvard is Benedict Arnold.

UPDATE: My apologies to the Cosa Nostra, who don't kill Americans for being Americans.

UN to rape ET's instead of children in Africa?

Captain Kirk is going to be so jealous.
For the first time in 27 years, the United Nations General Assembly will be debating the issue of establishing diplomatic relations with advanced Extraterrestrial Civilizations that may now be visiting Earth. On December 16, 2005, a Resolution to establish a United Nations Decade of Contact was formally transmitted to the incoming President of the General Assembly, H.E. Jan Eliasson of Sweden by the Institute for Cooperation in Space (ICIS), a Non-Governmental Organization. Almost to the day twenty-seven years ago, on December 18, 1978, the United Nations General Assembly voted to approve decision 33/426, inviting U.N. Member States "to take appropriate steps to coordinate on a national level scientific research and investigation into extraterrestrial life, including unidentified flying objects, and to inform the Secretary-General of the observations, research and evaluation of such activities."

Genocide in Sudan will be addressed after we improve relations with Andromeda.