Sheik Omar Bakri, a supporter of al-Qaida, is typical of radical clerics in Britain. He has condoned suicide bombings in Iraq, but only indirectly encourages young Muslims here to join the insurgency in Iraq. "I believe Muslims are obliged to support their Muslim brothers abroad -- verbally, financially, politically," Bakri told The Associated Press. "I never said 'go abroad.' But if people want to go abroad it's a very good thing to do. But we never recruit people to go abroad."
Bakri, who heads al-Muhajiroun, Britain's largest Muslim group, like all clerics in Britain is walking a fine line in what he preaches in his khotba, or sermons. At the London Mosque, for example, sermons are vetted by a senior cleric before they are delivered to worshippers during weekly Friday prayers. There's an undeclared understanding between British authorities and Muslim clerics that certain subjects -- such as Iraq or condoning holy war -- are off limits. "There's no control from the government," said Sheik Anwar Abdie Hamid Mady, deputy director general of the London Mosque. "But we don't exceed the limits in our khotba."
Mady, a 31-year-old Egyptian cleric, said he reads all the sermons before the imam, or prayer leader, delivers them. "I can interfere in order to modify some sections, to make them compatible with our circumstances. I have to review all the verses to see if they are compatible with the Quran or hadith," the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, Mady, said. "If I find some section that is not compatible to our situation, I change it." However, Mady said he never had to alter any sermon for its political contents. But many of the worshippers were less constrained about discussing fighting the American occupation of Iraq. "It's called brotherhood in Islam," said a British citizen of Algerian origin who would only give his first name, Nabil.
Even though they have not cracked down on individual clerics, as in France where five non-citizens have been deported, Muslims are well aware of their limits. According to Bakri, several Islamic groups in Britain voluntarily disbanded following a call by Osama bin Laden to come "under one camp" led by the al-Qaida leader. Bakri named the Movement of Khilafa, Jamat al-Tawheed, the Talabat al-Ilm al-Sharia al-Salafiyah, Ansar al-Sharia, Ansar al-Imarah al-Islamiyah, and the Sharia Court of the United Kingdom that was affiliated to al-Muhajiroun. Other institutions that worked under his al-Muhajiroun group, including the London School of Sharia and the Committee of Muslim Lawyers, have also ended their activities, said Bakri. He said he has stopped preaching and issuing pamphlets, and al-Muhajiroun Web sites have shut down. Did that mean these groups are now subservient to al-Qaida, as bin Laden had suggested?
What the hell do you think? (Who the hell writes this stuff?)
Bakri sounded noncommittal. "We didn't declare (ourselves) to be part of al-Qaida," he said; the purpose was to "declare unity. Unity with who? ... with the mainstream moderate Muslims in the U.K.? No. Unity with the government of a Muslim country? All those people are apostate rulers. Unity with whom? Nobody is left. What's left is the Islamic camp."
... which, in his opinion, is al-Qaeda. Give him the friggin' Titus Oates treatment and get it over with, fergawdsake!
He denied the disbandment was due to pressure from Prime Minister Tony Blair's government, but said he and his colleagues feel "under siege" -- caught between having to fight the system or "be hypocrites and come out and say, 'we are with you Tony Blair."' Bakri, a Syrian-born Islamic scholar and religious judge, had no qualms in the past about calling for suicide bombings, calling them self-sacrifice operations. But now his message is more muted. "We don't encourage it (bombings), but we said we reiterate what Islam said," he explained, and turned to metaphor, saying that if a crocodile came into your bedroom, Islam would tell you to fight it, not sleep with it. The same would apply if "kufar (infidels) occupied your homeland..." he said.
How about if bloodthirsty Moose limbs occupy somebody else's homeland? Gee, golly. What should they do? Oh, what should they do?
But "I do believe that every time has its own obligation," said Bakri. Jihad "can be physical in Iraq," but in Britain, British law applies and "we are not allowed to fight anybody."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/16/2005 12:46:44 AM ||
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#1
The same would apply if "kufar (infidels) occupied your homeland..." he said.
I agree. The infidels are occupying the British homeland.
I used to get great stuff from al-Muhajiroun to post here in Rantburg. I knew those postings would provoke snit-fits from Robert Crawford Frank G. every single time.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
01/16/2005 12:11 Comments ||
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#3
Yes, you're Socrates... or maybe you're the pea from the Princess and the Pea... or hay-fever pollen. Something like that. No matter, you're really important 'round here. Dunno how RB was able to survive before you showed up. I know I was sure pleased when the big day arrived. Woo hoo.
#4
I can cause a snit-fit from .com while blind-folded and standing on my head and with both hands tied behind my back.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
01/16/2005 12:40 Comments ||
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#5
Lol! Snit-fit? You're such a tool, Mikey, lol! Our very own American Made⢠Tranzi Bitch! And now with the new improved auto-pneumatic ego! ROFL!!!
#6
Mikey's pretty proud of himself and who can blame him. He's even better at turning the subject of a thread into himself than he-who-shall-not-be-named.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
01/16/2005 13:14 Comments ||
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#7
Mike, do yourself a favor and avoid baiting people. It does nothing for your cause.
I knew those postings would provoke snit-fits from Robert Crawford Frank G. every single time. .
If that was your sole intent, I know more than a few people who would call that trolling - something that I would hope you eschew.
As to the matter at hand:
"I believe Muslims are obliged to support their Muslim brothers abroad -- verbally, financially, politically," Bakri told The Associated Press. "I never said âgo abroad.â
"But if people want to go abroad itâs a very good thing to do," he added. "But we never recruit people to go abroad."
Soho poofters could take lessons in mincing from Bakri.
"It is best to mince one's words very finely. It makes them so much easier to eat afterwards."
#8
Heh - good quote - I hadn't seen that one, before - and I've collected several from the Other Master of English (Ambrose Bierce being the American model), lol!
#9
For shame, Michael Sylwester! You are old enough to behave better than a socially inept adolescent boy. I thought you honestly meant to be helpful and informative in your own tactless way. But if your only purpose is to annoy people, go away and play with people who like that kind of idiocy.
I really hate having to apologise to Rantburg for standing up for a person I naively didn't realize was being deliberately asinine.
#10
Since Trailing Wife does consistently demand decency from all Rantburgers and since she has defended me, I am shamed into apologizing. Here is my peace offering:
I'm careful of the words I say,
To keep them soft and sweet,
I never know from day to day
Which one's I'll have to eat..
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
01/16/2005 14:45 Comments ||
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#11
Bravely said, Mike. Keep up the sweetness...even Trailing Daughter, looking over my shoulder at our posts, is not surprised by the behaviour which provoked my outburst. I guess I'm the only naive person addicted to this site.
#12
I guess I'm the only naive person addicted to this site.
I must say that it's entirely mistaken for you to be lumping yourself together with Gentle and her ilk, trailing wife.
I'm careful of the words I say,
To keep them soft and sweet,
I never know from day to day
Which one's I'll have to eat..
Perish the thought, Mike. While I refuse to believe that you are taking a swipe at free speech hereabouts, you're still wide of the mark. The idea is not remaining confined to dulcet tones in all one writes, but to stay on point. Posting solely for the sake of getting a rise out of people is puerile at best. I'd like to think that you can do better.
#13
I, for one, welcome the puppet strings of my master "Mikey of the Kofi Buttboy club"
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/16/2005 16:39 Comments ||
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#14
"socially inept adolescent boy" someone talkingabout me again?
I can't understand what this article is telling me. These clowns certainly have not stopped there Jihadi recrutment and anti western incitement. If I had my way I would make it impossible for the death cult of the moon god to or it's members to exist in our society. People could take to walking their pet goats thru muslim neighborhood over there in large groups for instance.
#15
TW - you need to remember this place was here before you ever got here - it's called Rant burg for a reason. Mike's baiting doesn't bother me, I pay my dues via paypal (monthly). The den mother gig isn't open. My apologies if you're offended, get over it
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/16/2005 19:46 Comments ||
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#16
btw - if Mike thinks it's a great thing to be posting UN-apologist articles from deep within Kofi's ass, so be it. His rep suffers accordingly
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/16/2005 19:50 Comments ||
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#17
You're right of course, Frank, and I'm not offended. But you guys do invective so much better and more effectively than I do -- I never really got much past Mom and Academic (and being able to do Mom in German isn't any more effective than in English with this crowd). That's why I ended post #9 with an apology to y'all.
The flight from Kiev, Ukraine, to Moscow takes just over an hour and a half, but the countries' two airports are decades apart. The lines for passport control in Moscow's dilapidated Sheremetevo Airport are long and unorganized. Dim lights barely offer enough illumination to allow arriving passengers to sort through their documents before unfriendly border guards scrutinize them. In Russia, documents are still worth their weight in gold. Not just in the airport, but on the streets of central Moscow and elsewhere. Without them, you are subjected to fines and possible jail time, especially if you are from one of Russia's ethnic regions of the North Caucuses.
In Kiev, 13 years of independence from the former Soviet Union and the oppressive grip of Russification has brought small improvements to this country of 48 million as it tries to join the ranks of its nearby Eastern European neighbors such as Slovakia, Poland and Hungary. Kiev's Borispil Airport has been remodeled into a modern, efficient operation. International passengers stand in a bright open room where the administration has taken down the Russian signs and replaced them with Ukrainian and English directions. There are few signs in this small airport that this was once the Soviet Union. It's a friendly greeting compared with the one awaiting visitors to Moscow. No wonder that Ukrainians, given the choice between a presidential candidate promising European integration and a Kremlin-backed establishment figure, voted for change. No wonder when they looked at the prospect of falling into Russian President Vladimir Putin's increasingly authoritarian net, Ukrainians took to the streets by the hundreds of thousands bearing the campaign's colors to protest a fraudulent election. No wonder there was an Orange Revolution.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/16/2005 4:47:44 PM ||
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Heh, nice appropriate graphic... if only he had Blofeld's scar... and cuddly appeal.
'A Little Off the Top?' Read down for interesting tidbit. A recently-announced campaign by North Korea's state-controlled media to promote the benefits of shorter hairstyles may be the latest indicator of a significant power struggle between Kim Jong-Il and competing government officials. The campaign, running extensively on North Korean state television over the last few months exhorts the 'mental benefits; of short haircuts, particularly amongst men. According to the a January 8, 2005 report on the BBC's website, the campaign stresses the "negative effects" of long hair on "human intelligence," reasoning that both the brain and hair draw from the same nutritional sources and by reducing the amount of hair, North Koreans can increase their intellectual capacity.
At the 2nd World Congress of Korean Studies held at the PeopleÃs Palace of Culture, August 4 and 5, 2004, in Pyongyang, only the portrait of the late President Kim Il Sung is hung on the wall incontravention of past policy. At first glance, this may appear to be just another eccentricity in a nation known for its bizarre and sometimes outrageous displays of 'national pride' and the 'socialist ideal,' but the ramifications are likely to run far deeper than simply promoting a uniform appearance for North Korean men: it appears to be an attack against Kim Jong-Il. Shorter than most Koreans, Kim has typically worn lifts in his shoes and sported an odd-looking bouffant hairstyle aimed at giving him a notionally larger physical appearance. With an official proclamation that equates long hair with relatively-low mental capacity, Kim's government has essentially forced the highly-vain dictator to reduce his apparent stature, or risk public doubts about his intelligence. In a state as tightly-controlled as North Korea, such embarrassments would not be promulgated by the official media, if Kim Jong Il was firmly in control.
Doubts about Kim Jong-Il's grip on power have been on the rise since a massive explosion took place in the small town of Ryongchon, shortly after Kim rode through, returning from a state visit to Beijing on April 22, 2004. While the official North Korean explanation for the massive explosion, which leveled seven square miles of the town and injured thousands, was a train accident that took place hours after Kim Jong-Il passed through, based on the fact that many of those injured and killed were facing the same way and that optical injuries represented a large proportion of those treated, it is possible that the explosion occurred much closer to the time of Kim's arrival and may have been an assassination attempt. Verrrrrry interesting! Continued on Page 49
#2
Hmm..... Kimmy about to suffer an "accident" at the barber shop?
Posted by: Don Curlyone ||
01/16/2005 20:58 Comments ||
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#3
Invite Dear Leader to lecture at an NBA clinic.
Posted by: ed ||
01/16/2005 21:15 Comments ||
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#4
I have the imagery of North Korea on my computer somewhere. I took a very long look at it. There were three separate explosions - two very large ones, and a much smaller one. They were on a siding usually reserved for dumping coal. The entire area slopes down from the town to the rail line, and the explosions actually occurred at an elevation that a train passing by would be considerably lower than where the explosions originated. As an assassination attempt, it was pretty crude. As a warning, however, it might have been extremely persuasive, seeing as how anyone actually blowing up trains to kill Kim had no compunction about killing about 4300 other people at the same time. One wonders if there's been any other "warnings" we haven't heard about...
Posted by: OId Patriot ||
01/16/2005 21:35 Comments ||
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Sounds like the Juche-believers are trying to sideline "apostate Kim", without wrecking the faith.
Last year's train bombings in Madrid left Spain in a state of shock. But the country is now waking up to an unintended consequence of al-Qaeda's first strike in Europe: the apparent demise of Eta, the violent Basque separatist group. According to police, politicians and security analysts, the events of last year have effectively ended Eta's 37-year insurgency. The March 11 2004 train bombings, initially blamed on Eta, left 192 people dead and injured thousands. In the Basque country in northern Spain, police say the tragedy marked a turning point in their fight against Eta, which had been viewed until then as Spain's biggest security threat. "The massacre provoked such revulsion that Eta has not dared stage a big attack since then," says Roberto Seijo, a leader of the Basque police trade union Erne. "Eta cannot match al-Qaeda's scale of terror. Even among Eta's own supporters, there is no stomach for the continued use of terror as a political instrument."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/16/2005 12:10:19 AM ||
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How nice. The ETA and their supporters finally realize that the "boys will be boys" approach is inappropriate, when there are people (and I use the term for lack of a better one in my limited vocabulary) who really mean it when they go to blow up innocents. About bloody time they stopped romanticizing themselves!
#2
This is BS. The only reasons for ETA not trying a large scale atack are a) because after the bad cop (ETA) it is the hour of the good cop (PNV) who is busy with a project who would mark the end of Spain as a state and b) because they think Zapaterto will give up everyting because he is bound by his alliances with the most nutso Catalanist party who has pacts with ETA.
But about ETA not having the stomach, they tried to put a truck bomb in the ferry between Valencia and the Balear Islands. 1400 potential victims.
They tried to blow Madrid's largest skyscrapper: 5000 potential victims. They tried to blow the Atocha railway station: thousands of potential victims. Each time they failed but it was not their cosncience who prevcented a masscre ogf 9/11 proportions, it was bad luck or police action.
And ETA has said: "The day we will negotiate we will put 299 dead on the negotiation table".
#4
Not the ETA proper, not people like Jose Ignacio de Jauna Chaos who told how happy he is when he sees images of people weeping for murdered relatives, not the ETA inmates who, in the days after 11/3 were having a party with islamist inmates and rejoicing with them.
But in the hours after 11/3's bombingq when everyone thought it was ETA, militants of Herri Batasuna (ETA's political arm) were seeing crying: they thought it was ETA and were ashamed of it. But that doesn't apply to ETA's people proper or to the high ranks of Herri Batasuna who, even in these hours, were whitewashing ETA.
#5
Tough anti-terrorist laws, implemented in 2002 ... allow the police to arrest anyone connected to the outlawed organisation. Joint raids by French and Spanish police have netted hundreds of Eta suspects in recent years and busted many of the groupâs hideouts in southern France. .... There are now about 700 Eta prisoners in Spanish and French jails, compared with police estimates of fewer than 70 active members at large
These are the main reasons there are fewer ETA attacks.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
01/16/2005 12:22 Comments ||
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#6
Much better, Mike. This kind of thoughtful contribution is valuable. Please do this instead of the other.
#8
You caught me, Shipman ;-) Although its more likely to be brownies, or chocolate chip cookies. But we can't expect less of people who claim to be analysts, right?
Nato's top commander in Europe, US Gen James Jones, has been meeting officials in Romania and Bulgaria, exploring possible future military bases for US forces in the Balkans. He says such strategically-positioned bases would enhance Nato's capabilities as the US adjusts its post-Cold War priorities.
The commander of United States forces in Europe, Gen James Jones, has been inspecting military sites in Bulgaria which the US might use in future as bases when it redeploys troops from western Europe. Gen Jones' visit, and a series of talks in Romania, come as part of his preparations for Congressional hearings at which he will outline the Pentagon's plans for reassigning US forces in Europe.
Via the Instant Man. The French now understand just how bare their military cupboard is.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/16/2005 12:00:00 AM ||
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The classic is in the closer:
...[Defense Minister] Alliot-Marie then firmly asserts that France is "very well represented" in the rescue effort but that in the first days of the disaster, France was preoccupied by the repatriation of its nationals. Following her words, the newscast gives the number of French affected by the disaster as 22 dead, 69 missing and 240 people of whom authorities have had "no news." However, the [France 2] broadcast began with a story about a single school in Sri Lanka where over seven hundred children failed to answer Monday's role call for attendance.
#4
I saw some of the coverage last week, and the
spin was anti-American. A shot of US helicopters arriving in Banda Ache (sp?) "empty" while the French sat waiting for their equipment.
#5
Americans tend not to help those whose primary goal in life is to be a "counterweight" to us. Perhaps some day the light will go on and the French will get a clue as to how much an object of ridicule their country has become. Were it not for the "cultural" pretensions of those in the US mainstream media, we would hear no more about France and its 60 million people than about Vietnam and its 82 million people. Basically, the only purpose France serves in the modern world is to provide an easy way to drive from Spain to Italy.
CANADA'S Muslim community is being torn apart by a controversial proposal to establish Sharia courts to enforce Islamic law in civil matters. Women's groups and moderate Muslims in the nation's largest province are outraged at the recommendation by former attorney-general Marion Boyd to allow arbitration tribunals to be governed by the principles of Sharia - the code of Islamic law. The ruling is the latest challenge for multicultural Canada, whose open-door policy to immigrants is under strain from the post-11 September terrorist threat. The proposal is also certain to raise eyebrows in the United States where a belief already exists that its northern neighbour and largest trading partner is honeycombed with Islamic radicals.
Critics of tribunals based on Sharia law claim they would allow Islamic jurisprudence to swell beyond the scope of family law, potentially exposing vulnerable groups - particularly women - to unjust treatment in the eyes of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. "We've had a flood of e-mails from people, asking: "How can we help?" said Alia Hogben, president of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women. She said there is great concern that Muslim women may now be coerced into taking part in Sharia tribunals or face family and community ostracism, or worse. "When you come to Canada, you are a human being with full rights. Allowing Sharia here - even a "Canadianised" version as its proponents claim it would be - will subject Muslim women to a huge injustice."
The scope of a traditional Sharia tribunal is extensive and includes a canon of criminal law which is incompatible with the Canadian constitution, most experts agree. Ms Boyd was appointed to study the issue after the Islamic Institute for Civil Justice requested the right to offer religious-based arbitrations for family disputes based on Sharia. The proposal immediately ran into opposition from women's groups, legal organisations and the Muslim Canadian Congress, who all warned that the 1,400-year-old Sharia does not view women as equal. Ms Boyd recommended that the option to hold a Sharia tribunal be incorporated into Canada's Arbitration act. She suggested mediators screen each party separately about issues of power imbalance and domestic violence before they enter into an arbitration agreement. She also said the government should work with mediators and other professional organisations to develop a standard screening process for domestic violence.
Moderate Muslim cleric Ahmad Kutty - one of two Canadian imams who made headlines a year ago when they were thrown out of the US on suspicions of terrorism - has rejected the proposals. "Sharia is a loaded word; it includes all of the civil, criminal and other institutions associated with the Islamic legal system," he said. "No-one in his right mind would propose implementing this system of laws in Canada." But Syed Mumtaz Ali of the Canadian Islamic Legal Institute said that freedom of religion is guaranteed under Canada's Constitution. And it means not only freedom to practise and propagate religion but also to be able to be governed by one's religious laws in all aspects of one's life.
Posted by: tipper ||
01/16/2005 12:51:25 AM ||
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"When you come to Canada, you are a human being with full rights.
heh, heh! Bin Laden was right to be afraid, very afraid. In the Western countries - women make up half the vote. Divided and conquered.
#2
"Sharia is a loaded word; it includes all of the civil, criminal and other institutions associated with the Islamic legal system," he said. "No-one in his right mind would propose implementing this system of laws in Canada."
-- this simple statement, coming as it does from a muslim cleric, tells you all you need to know
#6
We have no room to laugh at the Canadian government's foolishness. If we listen real hard, we can hear the wails in the public square coming out of mosques located in New Jersey and Michigan as we speak. Sharia law coming to our states soon...
#8
Ironically, the Moslems are using Catholic and Rabbinical Law precedents to get their Sharia. There are discreet allowances for very unobtrusive practice of both of these throughout the US. For example, in many US cities, there are guideposts that indicate travel boundaries for orthodox Jews on Sabbath, so as to allow them to go some distance for important things, without violating their laws. These guideposts are practically invisible to anyone not familiar with their purpose. Kosher Law is also very prominent with hundreds of organizations placing their seal on all sorts of consumer food products. For its part, Catholic Law crops up in all sorts of ways, such as in annulment of marriage (pro forma, but still must be approved by the Vatican itself), and in Diocesian property issues (all property is owned by the respective Bishop, overlapping with secular ownerships in a complex tangle.) Other religions also have their practices which the courts really don't want to get involved with (think the current spat among the Episcopalians). So, in the final analysis, the Moslems need a "revised, western" edition of Sharia, which is fully compatible with western values, yet fills what amounts to a legal gap for that religion. It can be done, it just needs a lot of work. And the very idea a codified, rational written Sharia Law, sanctioned by a secular non-Moslem government scares the piss out of the radicals. Every loathsome practice they embrace would lose its sanction.
Posted by: Homer Simpson ||
01/16/2005 15:54 Comments ||
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Who would have thunk - I just came across an article that says sharia law is supported by the B'nai B'rith. Where's common sense hiding these days?
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/527926.html TORONTO - In a move that is angering Jewish feminists, B'nai B'rith Canada is supporting the demands of conservative Muslims in the province of Ontario who wish to have the right to use private arbitration based on Islamic law for the resolution of their marital, custody and inheritance disputes.
Explain to me how this is actually different from anything we actually knew ...
The report sez exactly what it's s'posed to: "here's a bazillion possibilities for the next 20 years, if one of them happens, I'm fairly smart; if two of them happen, I'm a genius; if none of them happen, well, c'est la vie and when's our next tee time?"
Facilitated by global communications, the revival of Muslim identity will create a framework for the spread of radical Islamic ideology inside and outside the Middle East, including Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Western Europe, where religious identity has traditionally not been as strong. This revival has been accompanied by a deepening solidarity among Muslims caught up in national or regional separatist struggles, such as Palestine, Chechnya, Iraq, Kashmir, Mindanao, and southern Thailand, and has emerged in response to government repression, corruption, and ineffectiveness. Informal networks of charitable foundations, madrassas, hawalas1, and other mechanisms will continue to proliferate and be exploited by radical elements; alienation among unemployed youths will swell the ranks of those vulnerable to terrorist recruitment ...
Democratic progress could gain ground in key Middle Eastern countries, which thus far have been excluded from the process by repressive regimes. Success in establishing a working democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan—and democratic consolidation in Indonesia—would set an example for other Muslim and Arab states, creating pressures for change ...
Schisms within religions, however historic and longlasting, also could lead to conflict in this era of increased religious identity. A Shia-dominated Iraq is likely to encourage greater activism by Shia minorities in other Middle Eastern nations, such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan ... This revival has been accompanied by a deepening solidarity among Muslims caught up in national or regional separatist struggles, such as Palestine, Chechnya, Iraq, Kashmir, Mindanao, or southern Thailand and has emerged in response to government repression, corruption, and ineffectiveness ... The core al-Qa'ida membership probably will continue to dwindle, but other groups inspired by al Qa'ida, regionally based groups, and individuals labeled simply as jihadists—united by a common hatred of moderate regimes and the West—are likely to conduct terrorist attacks. The al-Qa'ida membership that was distinguished by having trained in Afghanistan will gradually dissipate, to be replaced in part by the dispersion of the experienced survivors of the conflict in Iraq. We expect that by 2020 al-Qa'ida will have been superceded by similarly inspired but more diffuse Islamic extremist groups, all of which will oppose the spread of many aspects of globalization into traditional Islamic societies.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/16/2005 12:35:51 AM ||
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The Euros are just now beginning to fathom the steel in this woman's spine. Some choice exerpts:
Several anecdotes exemplify Rice's attitude to her race and also her ferocity when attacked. She famously told one interviewer: 'Let me explain to you: I speak French, I play Bach, I'm better in your culture than you are.'
On another occasion, when Rice was an academic at Stanford, she was shopping for expensive jewellery with a friend when a white clerk made some hostile comments. 'Let's get one thing straight,' Rice reportedly told him. 'You're behind the counter because you have to work for six dollars an hour. I'm on this side asking to see the good jewellery because I make considerably more.'
In Condie's own words
On sport
I find football so interesting strategically. It's the closest thing to war. What you are doing is taking and yielding territory and have certain strategies and tactics. On ambition
My parents had me absolutely convinced that you may not be able to have a hamburger at Woolworth's, but you can be President of the United States. On foreign policy
There cannot be an absence of moral content in American foreign policy. Europeans giggle at this and say we are naive, but we are not European, we are American and we have different principles. On race
You were told in segregated Birmingham that if you ran twice as hard, you might get half as far. And there were also people willing to run four times as hard so they could stay abreast. And once in a while, somebody was willing to run eight times as hard so they could get ahead.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/16/2005 12:00:00 AM ||
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"She is tasked with bringing the State Department firmly in hand, stifling the barely concealed dissent that marked the tenure of Colin Powell. It will not be easy and is likely to spark the most fierce bout of Washington infighting in years. But for Bush the job is vital. The State Department must be brought to heel."
By Jove, Al Guardian seems to get it, but the illusion only lasts for a moment for they immediately follow this by quoting a Clintoon nitwit who obviously adores State just as it is, subversive, seditious, and on the other side, as he was - decrying that it is to be remade as a tool of Bush. Um, yeah, fucktard, it's supposed to be an arm of the Executive Branch and the international voice of the President's policies. Asshole.
Well, fugg 'em - they'll be begging her for interviews soon enough and find out first-hand that she's Thatcher's worthy successor in the steel backbone department.
I hope she succeeds in spades. I would be so proud to cast my vote for her in 2008 that it might just finish me off.
Thx, Dr Steve - excellent article, if one has a fine mesh filter and some HandiWipes available, heh.
#2
In a sign that Rice may be headed for troubled waters, Washington insiders are waiting with bated breath for a book by former CIA director George Tenet, who resigned last year as the agency imploded over the scandal of pre-war intelligence on Iraq. Goodman said that an initial synopsis of the book indicated who would be firmly in its sights: 'Tenet's going to go after Condie Rice.'
#3
Dr. Rice gave a major German TV channel an interview last summer, which they used to portray her as a light-weight and a source for amusement. They will learn eventually that the laugh is on them, just as it was with Reagan, etc.
Posted by: Captain America ||
01/16/2005 8:35 Comments ||
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#4
...And don't forget Jesse Owens. Am I being unfair? TGA?
#7
after all, Tenet's turn at the CIA is certainly something to brag about...
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/16/2005 11:33 Comments ||
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Tenet's best option is to keep his yap shut and pray that nobody discloses what a mess he created in the intelligence community. His legact is the inclusion of some weird gay pride day/picnic that the CIA now celbrates. President Bush was too kind to keep the Clinton appointees on the job (I think he was trying to reach out) when they all should have been canned. Hopefully Condi can clean house in State and make them servants of the Goeverment and not some politacal party. The rash of resignations give me a little bit of hope that she will succeed.
The father of a murdered New Jersey family was threatened for making anti-Muslim remarks online — and the gruesome quadruple slaying may have been the hateful retaliation, sources told The Post yesterday. Hossam Armanious, 47, who along with his wife and two daughters was found stabbed to death in his Jersey City home early Friday, would regularly debate religion in a Middle Eastern chat room, one source said. Armanious, an Egyptian Christian, was well known for expressing his Coptic beliefs and engaging in fiery back-and-forth with Muslims on the Web site paltalk.com.
He "had the reputation for being one of the most outspoken Egyptian Christians," said the source, who had close ties to the family. The source, who had knowledge of the investigation, refused to specify the anti-Muslim statement. But he said cops told him they were looking into the exchanges as a possible motive. The married father of two had recently been threatened by Muslim members of the Web site, said a fellow Copt and store clerk who uses the chat room. "You'd better stop this bull---- or we are going to track you down like a chicken and kill you," was the threat, said the clerk, who was online at the time and saw the exchange. But Armanious refused to back down, according to two sources who use the Web site.
Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy would neither confirm nor deny that cops and prosecutors were looking into the religion motive, saying only that "nothing is being ruled out." But a relative of the mayor who answered the phone at Healy's home said there was information the murders were "religion-related." "There are several theories we are looking into, but we are not commenting on any of them at this time," said Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Guy Gregory. Armanious' fervor apparently rubbed off on his daughter, Sylvia — who would have turned 16 yesterday. "She was very religious and very opinionated," said Jessica Cimino, 15, a fellow sophomore at Dickenson HS.
A family member who viewed photos of the bloodbath said Sylvia seemed to have taken the most savage punishment. "When we saw the pictures, you could tell that they were hurt really, really bad in the face; especially Sylvia," said Milad Garas, the high-school sophomore's great-uncle. The heartless killer not only slit Sylvia's throat, but also sliced a huge gash in her chest and stabbed her in the wrist, where she had a tattoo of a Coptic cross. Also found murdered were the wife, Amal Garas, and the parents' other daughter, Monica.
Fred Ayed, the deacon at St. George and St. Shenouda Church, where the deeply religious family attended services, said he's worried that the murders could have a ripple effect. "I am concerned for the safety of our community," said Ayed, who knew Hossam for 30 years. "People are scared because one family was slain like cows," said Moheb Ghabour, publisher of a local newspaper for the Coptic community.
Osama Hassan, director of the Islamic Center of Jersey City, described the relationship between Copts and Muslims as cooperative if not friendly. "I think there might be people that can get into physical fights, but not to the point of murder," Hassan said. Both the deacon and uncle poured cold water on the theory that the family were the victims of a robbery gone wrong. "This is not a robbery, Ayed said. "We found all of the jewelry in the house. They didn't take anything." The FBI confirmed it has been called in to help with the case.
Posted by: ed ||
01/16/2005 4:20:24 PM ||
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It would make me very happy if, when they track down the killers, we could get Banglakops to make the arrests.
The filth is here now. I wonder if more people are going to wake up?
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2005 20:28 Comments ||
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Osama Hassan's whistling past the graveyard, here. Sure offending certain people on certain topics can lead to murder. Duh, dipshit. The ClueBat is your friend, give him a visit.
Well, I hope the Fibbies can find who did this and build a 14-layer megacase. I hope they send 50 agents in vests with Mac-10's to make the arrests and there is violent resistance.
BOSTON, Jan. 15 - In Boston, a witness to a shooting by a member of a street gang recently found copies of his grand jury testimony taped to all the doors in the housing project where he lives.
In Baltimore, Rickey Prince, a 17-year-old who witnessed a gang murder and agreed to testify against the killer, was shot in the back of the head a few days after a prosecutor read Mr. Prince's name aloud in a packed courtroom.
And in each city, CD's and DVD's titled "Stop Snitching" have surfaced, naming some people street gangs suspect of being witnesses against them and warning that those who cooperate with the police will be killed. To underscore its message, the Baltimore DVD shows what appears to be three dead bodies on its back cover above the words "snitch prevention."
"Witness intimidation has become so pervasive that it is ruining the public's faith in the criminal justice system to protect them," said Judge John M. Glynn of Baltimore City Circuit Court. "We are not much better off than the legal system in Mexico or Colombia or some other sad places."
Prosecutors say the need for protection is critical. Daniel Conley, the district attorney for Suffolk County, Mass., which includes Boston, said his prosecutors had seen intimidation in more than 90 percent of cases in the past two years that involved guns, gangs or serious violence.
But gang members have become more brazen, too, Mr. Conley said. In Boston last month, at a trial of two gang members accused of killing a 10-year-old girl, some spectators came to the courtroom wearing T-shirts that said "Stop Snitching."
Remember the story about the Boston gang, MS-13, having links to al-Qaeda? And now we see these instructional videos in supoport of witness suppression showing up in our cities. I'm beginning to think there may be more dots to connect in the news soon.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
01/16/2005 7:49:35 PM ||
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This will only proliferate or take root where the population has been disarmed. Boston: check. The Blue States reap what they sew.
Poor Mr Prince. Victim of a Prosecutor seeking political advantage to match his low IQ and even lower ethical qoutient. And victim of a locale where the citizens can't even protect themselves without breaking the law. I dunno if there is any foreign connection, but it's not necessary, as far as I'm concerned. Situations like this call for preventative measures - and that's not what the Police (or Feds) are trained or equipped to do. The people must have their own personal means of deterrence and protection - or become vigilantes.
#5
The tried and true method of dealing with exactly this situation is the injuction. A single judge can enjoin every member of the gang, and even their families, from doing *anything* gang-related, or even walking down the sidewalk, talking on a phone, associating with anyone else under the injunction, even physically being in a particular neighborhood. The best part is that any violation AT ALL is "contempt of court", which does not require a grand jury indictment OR a jury trial--just standing right back in front of the judge who issued the injunction to determine his guilt or innocence. Usually "guilty", to serve 1 year less 1 day in jail. Such injuctions are such a burden to a gang that it breaks it up. Often gangsters spend one day "out" then go back for another year less a day. Injunctions can run for pages in length, prohibiting just about any mischief they could possibly get into. And it's usually just the cops word against theirs, in front of the pissed-off judge. It is the nuclear weapon of anti-gang control.
#6
Probably a severe shortage of pissed-off judges in Blue America. Maybe even a shortage of judges with the stones to follow such a rational course, in Blue America.
Methinks Blue America will screw itself - this will proliferate via emulation with the publicity it receives (a snowball effect) if not stomped on, hard and early. Successful strategies are always emulated - even among the bad guys.
The federal government is receiving reports of "suspicious activity" around buildings where presidential inaugural events and a parade are scheduled to occur Jan. 20 in Washington, FOX News learned Friday.
FOX News obtained an intelligence bulletin sent this week to law enforcement by the FBI's Washington field office, which is coordinating the security for next week's inaugural along with the U.S. Secret Service. An FBI official confirmed the authenticity of the bulletin and said, "there is no credible threat information but we are looking at everything and anything out of an abundance of caution."
More than 6,000 law enforcement personnel will be on duty Jan. 20, the day President Bush is sworn in for a second term.
Reports of suspicious activity noted by the FBI include people taking pictures and writing descriptive notes while being near the buildings. But there is no indication that any of these activities are linked to terrorist activity. Plus, many of the buildings and streets in question consistently receive numerous suspicious activity reports due to their high visibility in the Washington area.
Some of the threat reporting is coming to U.S. officials from overseas, according to the FBI bulletin. For example, the State Department advised that on Jan. 6, a regional security office received a letter via local mail service from a Kenyan national, alleging that terrorists will launch an attack at the inauguration using tactics similar to those employed in Iraq last month that killed 19 U.S. soldiers. The letter did not contain further details about the alleged attack but it rambled on about other topics such as the recent tsunami disaster, the Kenyan government's inability to provide jobs and medical care to its citizenry and the torture of political prisoners, according to the bulletin.
The possible reference in the letter to the Dec. 21 attack in Mosul, Iraq, on a U.S. military mess hall may indicate the use of an improvised explosive device by a would-be homicide bomber, the agency noted. Based on the information received to date, this is not assessed to be a credible threat. A copy of the letter is being passed to the Kenyan police for further investigation.
Another threat report, as outlined in the FBI bulletin, consists of word that Mohamad Chafiq Dekkak contacted a U.S. businessman of Muslim descent to sponsor his visa entry into the United States for business purposes. Dekkak has been associated with two possible international arms dealers, Hemad Lakhani and Samir El Mahallawy (search). Lakhani was arrested in the United States in August 2003 and charged with providing material support for terrorist acts and with violating the arms import/export control act. The FBI continues to investigate. Dekkak's hidden intent is allegedly to attend the inauguration. This is suspicious, since Dekkak has no known basis for his recent interest in U.S. political events, the FBI noted.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/16/2005 4:57:10 PM ||
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I drove down Pennsylvania Avenue this very evening...give it the "all clear."
#2
I suspect it would be quite an experience for anyone who dropped in on Rantapalooza with evil intent... a friend (now a 4th degree blackbelt) once snuck up behind his father, shouted "boo!", and found himself before the word was completely out of his mouth up against the wall with his throat not quite separated from the rest of him. His father was awf'ly sorry (retired Special Forces and all), but the lad never did anything like that ever again -- nor does his wife now (nor I to my husband, that's one of those "stupid only once" things! I do try to learn from my experiences).
So those of you who will be palooza-ing, try to play gently with any chewtoys that mistakenly wander in... we don't want to hear about mysterious disappearences later, 'k?
I witnessed a similar incident years ago. A bunch of us high school buddies were back in our hometown from college, drunk as skunks, when we saw our pal Scott (USMC) was back from Beirut.
One guy snuck up on Scott as he was talking to some girls, leapt on him, and found himself on his back, prone, and waiting for the coup de grace.
We all laughed it off and no one was seriously hurt but
Beirut understandably had made Scott razor sharp edgy.
I always approach my military friends from the front with a smile and a warm handshake. Much safer.
#6
After I was discharged I moved back home with the folks. Mom woke me one morning by putting her hand on my shoulder. By the time I really woke up I had her on the floor with fist raised.
#7
There's this article in Newsmax (use salt) about violent protesters. This may be some of what the Feds are watching. These dolts need to run into about 40 Special Forces folks home on leave from Iraq or Afghanistan.
I spent a lot of time with a Korean ROK Marine Master Sergeant in Vietnam. He taught me some really NASTY things to do to the human body. I spent the first year I was back from Nam (actually in Germany) trying to keep my reactions under control, and not kill anybody. IT was a heavy strain.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/16/2005 15:32 Comments ||
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A photo showing Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian born mastermind behind the latest spate of bombings in Iraq, standing with senior commanders of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) was seen by Jordan's King Abdullah II last month, according to an Algerian journalist. "The Islamic Republic's Foreign Minister did not attend the Amman conference of Iraq's neighbors in response to accusations made by Jordan's King Abdullah II", Atwan Tazakrat on Thursday told US-based Radio Farda. "Fifteen days earlier, Jordanian intelligence services gave King Abdullah II documents along with a picture of a number of heads of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards standing next to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi who was welcomed by Iran's Revolutionary Guards upon arrival from Afghanistan to Iran after the US attack on Afghanistan" he said.
He added, "al-Zarqawi stayed in Iran for three to four months, and Iranian officials did not deny his presence. They provided him with a fake passport with which he traveled to Syria where in mid-2002 he plotted the assassination of an American citizen". In response to a question on whether or not the photo had been published, Tazakrat said, "This photo was never publicly distributed but I was able to see it. The source who confirmed to me that the Jordanian King had seen the photo is credible".
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/16/2005 12:59:28 AM ||
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Most of this information seems pretty accurate, though I'm not too certain of the source. The stuff about the Taliban and Iran being in cahoots pre-9/11 strikes me as more than a little improbable given what happened in Mazar-e-Sharif, but it is true that post-9/11 Taliban officials and propaganda outlets have claimed to have received assistance from Iran.
While the world remains fixated on the situation in Iraq, the Bush Administration seems equally concerned with Iran. As the world's most intense (in quantity and quality) sponsor of international terrorism, and a rogue state in search of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, the specter of an alliance between Al-Qaeda terrorists and the fundamentalist Iran is indeed a scary one. Accusations by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and President Bush show that this is indeed the case. This article will examine if the evidence has been stretched or even falsified.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/16/2005 12:06:48 AM ||
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When does Dan's book get released? Count me in.
Posted by: Captain America ||
01/16/2005 7:44 Comments ||
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Dan just posted this excellent article. The author is Ray Mauro and his original article title is "Iran and Osama: Match Made In Hell." His new book "Death to America: The Unreported Battle of Iraq" is to be published soon.
Posted by: Tom ||
01/16/2005 10:36 Comments ||
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Dan should publish, he's got plenty of material.
Posted by: Captain America ||
01/16/2005 17:20 Comments ||
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Great article. It obviates any need to use Iranian nuclear aspirations as a reason to topple Tehran's mullahs. The information contained provides suficient evidence to warrant their removal. Too bad Europe is blinded to the incredible threat posed by Iran. Fortunately, America (by and large) is not. We need to decap Iran's government immediately.
Much more is known about the anti-government movements than gets reported in the media. Every day, members of these groups are captured, or their dead bodies identified. Every day, documents are captured. While the Baath Party and Saddam era security officers running the operations know how to keep secrets, many of their subordinates do not. Moreover, many Sunni Arabs who believed that the Baath Party could make a comeback, and are now having second thoughts. The Western media, in their quest for bad news headlines (which sell much better than good news headlines), report only the damage to American and government forces. This gives a very distorted view of the situation. For example, the after-effects of the November battle of Fallujah have generally gone unnoted. Since the anti-government forces in the city were smashed (3,000 fighters killed or captured in a two week campaign, losing over 30 men for each American or Iraqi soldier killed), anti-government activity in the area around Fallujah went down by more than half. The media switched its attention to the next most active area for the anti-government; Mosul. But the government had also moved its police and army units to Mosul, and along with American troops, the anti-government forces are getting hammered again. But you'd never know that by depending on the mass media for information.
With more and more Sunni Arabs deciding that bringing back the old days is not going to work, attention is turning to the movement of money, weapons and fighters across the Syrian and Iranian border. An example of this is a recent public confession by Moayad Yassin Aziz al Nasiri, a commander of anti-government forces who was captured several months ago. Al Nasiri was betrayed by a Syrian intelligence official who defected to Iraq. Al Nasiri himself finally saw the light and agreed to talk openly about the cash and equipment being supplied by Syria and Iran to the anti-government forces. As a result of this confession, and the eveidence seized daily at border crossings, security at the borders has been increased. More troops are at the border crossings, and more thorough checks of trucks and people crossing. The government has warned truckers that these measures will stay in place at least until the January 30 elections are over. But at the moment, hundreds of trucks are backed up at the Syrian border. The Iraqi and American governments have made strong protests to Syria and Iran about the illegal support crossing the border. But both governments, off the record, plead an inability to stop rogue elements from providing support to the Baath Party violence. Syria has a long history of senior government officials being allowed to have business dealings on the side, in return for loyalty to the Assad family. These days, good business opportunities are to be had from Baath Party big shots. In Iran, Islamic conservative groups are willing to hold their noses and supports Saddams thugs, because they believe America, and sectarian democracy, are a bigger danger than a bunch of Saddam wannabes. While Saddam may be gone, Iraqs long history of bad relations with its neighbors appears to continue.
Posted by: ed ||
01/16/2005 5:44:25 PM ||
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A 17-year-old Kuwaiti student whose uncles were kidnapped and tortured by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's invaders more than a decade ago said his California college political science professor failed him for praising the United States in a final-exam essay last month.
Ahmad Al-Qloushi, a foreign student at Foothill College near San Jose, Calif., said he was told by professor Joseph A. Woolcock to get psychological treatment because of the pro-American views expressed in his essay.
"Apparently, if you are an Arab Muslim who loves America, you must be deranged," said Mr. Al-Qloushi, who feared the failing grade could cost him his student visa.
"I didn't want to be deported for having written a pro-American essay, so as soon as I left his office, I made an appointment with the school psychologist," he said.
Mr. Woolcock did not respond to telephone and e-mail inquiries. College officials declined to comment, saying it is a confidential matter because Mr. Al-Qloushi and Mr. Woolcock have filed complaints.
For their final exam, Mr. Woolcock had students write an essay on one of several topics that he circulated.
The topic chosen by Mr. Al-Qloushi stated that some scholars "contend that the Constitution of the United States was not 'ordained and established' by 'the people' as we have often been led to believe. They contend instead that it was written by a small educated and wealthy elite in America who were representative of powerful economic and political interests. Analyze the U.S. Constitution (original document), and show how its formulation excluded the majority of people living in America at that time, and how it was dominated by America's elite interests."
In his essay, Mr. Al-Qloushi said, "I completely disagree. ... The American Constitution worried monarchs in Europe. The right for men to choose their own representatives was unheard-of in the rest of the world. ... The United States Constitution might have excluded the majority of people at the time. But it progressed, and America, like every nation in the world, progressed ...
"Because of America, the world is free. ... America freed Kuwait and is now currently in a fight to free Iraq and its 25 million residents and vanquish the tyranny and monstrosity of Saddam Hussein."
Mr. Al-Qloushi said Mr. Woolcock "told me to come to his office the next morning." In the meeting, "he verbally attacked me and my essay."
"He told me, 'Your views are irrational. He called me naive for believing in the greatness of this country and told me, 'America is not God's gift to the world. ... You need regular psychotherapy.' "
Keith Pratt, an English professor at the school, said he was "pretty appalled" when Mr. Al-Qloushi told him about the incident. "I told him, 'You should talk to the dean and go through channels,' " he said.
"This is a very sincere action on his part," the professor said. "There was never one hint that he had any axe to grind. I know this guy and I have had many conversations with him about the atmosphere in the classroom, but he never engaged in any character assassination."
#1
Sigh. A rational and credible means of dealing with insanity in our institutions needs to be devised. When it rears its ugly mug, it should be dealt with. These insane Professors, Civil Servants, State Foreign Service Officers, Judges, Teachers, et al must be considered infected with a mental affliction, Moonbat Syndrome or whatever, and must not be allowed to continue to spread their insanity. Moonbat Syndrome has become more pervasive and more apparent over the last decade - and is reaching sufficient proportions to demand some sort of remedy. Since 2000, especially, it has begun to "show" with some regularity.
AC? Can you weigh in here if you see this? You've got the cat-bird seat perspective on this institutional madness within the university system and I wonder if you see any avenues beyond forming local mobs with pitchforks and torches. Schools like this one in Sam Bose are not so local as they appear - as any Calif resident can go there cheaply - so it shouldn't be dumped on the locals to deal with. There must be something better.
Is the name Diane allowed for a girl revert to keep since the name means divine in French?
It is incorrect to keep such a name.
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Can you please provide a hadith for not taking photos.
Sayyiduna Abu Talha reports that Rasulullah [Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam] said, 'Verily, the angels do not enter a home in which there is a dog or picture.' Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Mas'ood reports that Rasulullah [Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam] said, 'Those who draw / take pictures will be afflicted with the most severest of punishments on the day of Qiyaamat.' Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Abbaas reports that Rasulullah [Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam] said, 'Those who draw pictures (or take photos) will be punished by Almighty Allah until they give life to those pictures, and (obviously) they will never be able to do so, i.e. the punishment will not seize.'
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Can we dance without music without anyone eles seeing us?
Dancing is completely prohibited even if it is without music.
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Are there any exceptions to the prohibition of music? What about: 1) Love songs which are sung by a wife to her husband? 2) Piano or flute music which attract a husband to his wife? 3) What about instrumental music only used between husband and wife? 4) Is it permissible to learn to read music notes in order to compose songs (without instruments)?
All musical instruments are prohibited in Islam irrespective of what it is played for or the type of attraction it has. It will be permissible to express love to one's wife only as long as the words have a good meaning, no instruments are used and they are not expressed in tunes imitating songs of the disbelievers.
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Is it valid to watch videos which contain religious material?
Watching television is not permissible regardless of the content.
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Is it permissible to hold my wife's hand in public?
It will be against Hayaa (shame and modesty) to hold one's wife's hand in public.
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Pls let me know is wearing red or keeping things of red colour prohibited in islam? Did our Nabi (S.A.W.S) disliked this colour. Are we believer women allowed to wear this colour? Which all colours are prohibited ?
It is prohibited for males only to wear full red clothing. If the colour is broken with another colour, it is permissible, for example, red and white shawls generally used by the Arab men.
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Is there any prescribe style for hair cutting in Islam?
At the outset, it must be pointed out that it is not permissible for females to cut their hair. Males may shave their hair or cut it evenly. It is not permissible to adopt any hair style of non-Muslims.
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Is it is ok to cut ones nails (finger &toenails) in the garden as I noticed on a few occasions that ants carry the pieces of the nails,that are cut,away
It is permissible to cut nails in the garden.
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Are women allowed to have long nails in Islam?
It is Mustahabb (commendable and desirable) to pair the finger nails every Friday. Only a Mujahid is exempted from this and it is preferrable that he lenghtens his nails because it can be used as a weapon to attack the enemy. It was aso the blessed habit of Nabi alaihis salaam that he would pair his nails and not let them grow long. It is also noted in the books on Jurisprudence that he who lengthens his nails, his sustenance and income becomes straitened and restricted. Also, one should remenber that at the time of wudhu it is necessary for the validity of the wudhu that water reaches below the nails if the nails are longer than normal. Many a times women are busy in their choirs of the kitchen wherein different types of ingredients tend to stick under the nails and if not removed, Wudhu will be invalid if it does reach the bottom of the nails. Therefore it will not be permissible to keep long nails unnecessarily.
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Can we mix normal water into the Zam Zam water,does it still remain Abay Zam zam.
Ordinary water mixed with zam-zam water will not be pure zam-zam water.
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I've been told that you should not cover your mouth while sneezing. I have found this difficult at times in certain places eg. the library.
It is not prohibited to cover the mouth during sneezing.
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Why do Muslims sit and eat and drink water? Is it Shariah Law, and is it it any Hadiths?
Hadhrat Anas ibn Maalik (Radhiallaahu Anhu) is reported to have said that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) has prohibited one from standing and drinking. Hadhrat Qataadah said, 'I asked, "what about standing and eating?" Hadhrat Anas replied, "that is even worse." It is reported from Hadhrat Abu Hurayra that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, 'None of you should stand and drink. If anyone did so forgetfully, then he should vomit.
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I have heard in speeches that it is Sunnah with great reward if we eat our meals sitting on the floor versus a dining table. Please provide the directives of Prophet s.a.w.s. in regards to this.
It is Sunnah to sit on the floor and eat. To sit on a dinning table will be contrary to Sunnah. It is narrated in a Hadith, 'Whenever food was brought to Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam), he would place it on the ground.' (Ahmad) This is closer to humility. It is also narrated that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) never ate from a table. There are Sunnat methods of sitting on the floor. It is narrated that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) should sometimes squat on his knees or raise his right leg and sit on his left leg or sit in Tashahhud position and eat. (Abu Dawud). So, this was the practice of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) and it is sufficient for us.
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I do not understand how a woman can have her right calf on top of her left calf in sitting position after sajdah in namaz.
She will sit on her left buttock and both her legs will be taken out on her right with one atop the other.
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What is the islamic reason for men not to sleep on stomach and for women not to sleep flat.
Sayyiduna Abu Hurayra reports that Rasulullah [Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam] said, that this posture (to sleep on one's stomach) is disliked by Allah Ta'ala. Rasulullah [Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam] said that this is the way the people of hell would lie down.
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When i go to sleep i usually rub both my feets together is it ok to do so, and i also sleep with my back facing up.Please tell if thats ok and if not why?
There is no prohibition in rubbing one's feet before sleeping. It is undesirable to sleep on one's belly.
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Should the head of ones bed in the bedroom be positioned to the east (should we sleep with our head positioned to the east)? Is it haram not to sleep this way?
One may place one's bed in any position on condition the feet does not stretch out in the direction of Qiblah. However, it is Mustahabb (desirable) to sleep on the right hand side facing the Qiblah.
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I've heard that you shouldn't sleep on your stomach. However I have noticed if I sleep on my back or during the night I lay flat I end up having really bad dreams/nightmare. Is this just a coincidence? I have experienced at one time that someone has come on top of me and is trying to strangle me. I cant see their face, they seem to be wearing a robe with a hood that covers their face. They are trying to suffocate me and they are really heavy. I have heard about other people experiencing this...What is this??
It is advisable to sleep on one's right side facing the Qibla. Before sleeping, recite the four Quls, blow on your palms and pass them around your body. If you experience nightmares or bad dreams and wake up, spit lightly in that direction, recite Laa hawla wala quwwata illaa billaah and change your direction of sleep.
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Is it permissible to hang quranic ayats or hadith in the direction where feet point when sleeping, even if this direction is not in direction of Kabba? What about if in direction of room where feet may point at some point during day, eg. Sitting etc.? Are there any restrictions?
If the verses / frames, etc. are low in line with the feet or the level of the bed, it will be incorrect to sleep with the legs facing the verses. However, if the verses are high up, one may face the feet in that direction as this would not constitute disrespect. We suggest you don't hang any Qur'aanic verses in the bedroom as it is a place wherein one is quite often in an indecent state.
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I recently got into an accident which has resulted in me being a paraplegic. I cannot feel my muscles from my chest down. When I have to sleep, I can sleep on my either sides and on my back but I have to change my position every two hours because I can develop an open pressure sore. My bones push down against my skin and stop the blood flow which results in the bones pushing out of my skin. When I sleep on the side I can develop sores on my heels, my knees and my hips⊠but if I lie down on my stomach and put pillows underneath me I can sleep for virtually as long as I want. Would it still be considered makrooh or haram?
It will not be Makrooh if you sleep on your stomach when you are in this state.
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Health activists claim that circumcising the clitoris decreases the sexual excitement that can be experienced by females.
Circumcision is Sunnat for men and an honour for women. Every Sunnat is beneficial physically, health wise and it gains the pleasure of Allah. ..... Circumcision is not a sunnat for females, however it is permissible and mustahab. Circumcision of females is merely a benefit for men as it increases sexual excitement. The area which should be circumcised for females is the skin which is just above the place where the male would enter his private part. The skin should not be cut fully.
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what exactly public hair constitute and how often are they to be removed?
The area immediately under the navel is not to be shaven. The area of shaving for a person (male/female) is above and around the private parts. If possible, it is commendable to shave around the hind private parts as well.
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I was cleaning my penis (not by stroking it) well i was shaving the hair off and clean it (not by hand, water and tissue wrapped around hand) is this wrong? when i was 12/13 I had these white bits on my penis and it smelled so i had to clean it by hand etc....is this also wrong? ifso shall i repent?
At the outset, we wish to point out that the hair on the penis does not have to be removed. Only the pubic hair which is just above the private parts below the navel has to be removed. One may wash the private parts directly with the hands. There is no need to wrap tissue around the hand.
Since you are in your youth, and you are sensitive to the point that touching the private parts may lead to erection, etc. you should minimise that as much as you can.
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we are married 12 years my husband is not circumcised can I circumcise him he is afraid. Can I get the procedure done without letting him know. I am a doctor I can do it have never done for an adult before
In principle, it is permissible to circumsize your husband. However, you should tell him about your intention together with explaining its importance in Shari'ah. Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, 'Ten things are from amongst the nature of man. One being that of circumcision.' Secondly, it is from the 'Shi'aar' (signs of Islaam) which has to be upheld at all times. If a person is not circumsized, there is a great possibility of urine remaining on the private part, hence, will lead to the invalidity of the Salaat, regarding which Nabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, 'Be cautious while relieving yourself, for verily, people will be punished in grave for neglectfulness in this regard.'
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How bad is it peeing while standing in cammod (the english style toilet) but taking tahara or istanja with tissue paper?
It is not permissible to stand and urinate as this is now the culture of the Kuffaar. However, if one does urinate standing due to necessity and cleans himself with toilet paper, he will be excused provided the urine does not splash on his clothing or body.
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Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
01/16/2005 2:02:01 PM ||
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My friends think Muslims are all nutjobs. How can I convince them otherwise?
#7
I looked for the "scrappleface" but sadly it was not there. Is the poster sure this isn't a joke. If it is not a joke, all I can say is "Holy Shit."
#8
Too bad the Internet, and this Ask-The-Imam site, were not around back in Firesign Theater's heyday. Can you imagine what FST could have done with this stuff?
Posted by: Dave D. ||
01/16/2005 20:12 Comments ||
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LOL! Too true, Dave! Being a programmer, I am genetically unqualified to even imagine such chaos, lol!
The U.S. Army is upgrading the armor on 734 M113/A3s and M577s armored vehicles, at a cost of $115,000 each, and sending the vehicles into Iraq. The 16 foot long and 8.75 foot wide M113 is a 1960s vintage armored personnel carrier that was replaced, in the 1980s, by the larger and heavier M-2 Bradley. The army still has over 10,000 M113s, but they are used in secondary roles, or kept in storage. The M577 is a M113 modified (with a higher rear compartment) to serve as a command vehicle. The M113 served effectively during the Vietnam war, and was the main American APC (armored personnel carrier) throughout most of the Cold War. About 80,000 M113s were manufactured. At 13 tons (probably closer to 15 tons with the added armor), the M113 is lighter than the M-2 and Stryker. For many chores in Iraq, especially convoy protection, the M113 could be effective (despite its max speed of only 65 kilometers an hour, about a third less than what many convoys make). However, the M113 will be expensive to use in Iraq, because it is a tracked vehicle, and those tracks wear out quickly and have to be replaced at great expense (over $10,000) every 6,000 kilometers (or less, as traveling on roads wears out the tracks faster). However, the M113 has proved to be a very flexible platform, lending itself to modifications by many of the dozens of armed forces that still use it. Some countries have added turrets, mounting 25mm cannon. It's likely that some M113s would be equipped with the new remote control .50 caliber machine-gun turret (as is used in some Strykers). One advantage the Stryker has is its wheels, which make it quieter in action. This has proved to be a major advantage in Iraq. But on the convoy routes, it's armor and firepower that count most. I suspect that we are more than glad to use these vehicles, and the mountains of spare parts for them in storage, for something practical, rather than just scrap them. Then they will make a fine gift to the new Iraqi army.
Posted by: Anonymoose ||
01/16/2005 11:14:23 AM ||
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and it would not be untoward to expect that many of these uparmored M113s will find their way into service with the Iraqi Police, the Iraqi National Guard, and the Iraqi Army. Better than being sold for scrap at home.
#2
Absolutely true, RWV. They need the tools to do the job, just as we have... Of course, Ahmed can have the keys to the Hummer only after his grades stay high for more than one or two reporting cycles, heh.
#3
I said awhile back the M-113's should be revamped,upgraded and given to the Iraqi police/military.It is about damn time somebody did something about that rectal inversion.
#4
You know, this raises a very interesting prospect. The Pentagon keeps huge storehouses of material, I mean really vast warehouses, much of which is not needed and is just a subsidy scam for the producers. Things like the mohair produced on Sam Donaldson's profitable mohair ranch in Texas. It has no conceivable military use. However, if we were to empty these warehouses of this stuff and ship it to Afghanistan and Iraq, it would turn useless junk into valuable commodities. It would also free up a lot of space that, by law, would have to be filled with crap like mohair. So the subsidies would continue, just the crap wouldn't be thrown out, it would be recycled.
#6
Remember back to early 2002 -- the media crowing how horribly cold the Afghan winters get? Mohair might well be akin to frankincense and myrrh to the locals.
#7
The 113's will do well there - they aren't really of much use to the US military in terms of fitting in with current doctrine and tactics, as well as the logistics stream. Putting these in use over there and equipping that Iraqi army wiht them and (each police station with 2 as well) would get rid of these out of inventory when we are done, give the Iraqis a servicable vehicle, and cut down on the effectiveness of the terrorist elements there.
#8
The 113's will do well there - they aren't really of much use to the US military in terms of fitting in with current doctrine and tactics, as well as the logistics stream. Putting these in use over there and equipping that Iraqi army wiht them and (each police station with 2 as well) would get rid of these out of inventory when we are done, give the Iraqis a servicable vehicle, and cut down on the effectiveness of the terrorist elements there.
#9
The 113's will do well there - they aren't really of much use to the US military in terms of fitting in with current doctrine and tactics, as well as the logistics stream. Putting these in use over there and equipping that Iraqi army wiht them and (each police station with 2 as well) would get rid of these out of inventory when we are done, give the Iraqis a servicable vehicle, and cut down on the effectiveness of the terrorist elements there.
THE Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) called for an end to all attacks that "harm the national interest" after a meeting of its executive committee today. "The committee gave its full support to Abu Mazen's inauguration speech to stop all military acts that harm our national interest and give an excuse to the Israeli position which is aimed at sabotaging Palestinian stability and the implementation of the roadmap," the executive committee said in a statement. PLO chairman Mahmud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, was sworn in as head of the Palestinian Authority yesterday. During his inauguration speech, Mr Abbas criticised attacks by militants as hampering efforts to "bring about the calm needed to enable a credible, serious peace process".
Posted by: tipper ||
01/16/2005 10:22:36 AM ||
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Now, the question that needs answering is exactly how many of the attacks that are launched DON'T harm the national interest.
#2
Geez. How about ending attacks because they're wrong and they perpetuate the decline of Paleo society to a 7th century death cult? Watch what he does, not what he says (in english OR arabic)
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/16/2005 17:59 Comments ||
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During his inauguration speech, Mr Abbas criticised attacks by militants as hampering efforts to "bring about the calm needed to enable a credible, serious peace process".
.... anyone who is or once was an Iraqi citizen, even if he was deprived of the citizenship, is eligible to vote, Sarah Tosh, spokesperson for Iraq's out-of-country-voting (OCV) central headquarters, said Wednesday. "There are no restrictions on Iraqis on the basis of religion, race or sex," said Tosh. "This definitely includes those who are Israeli citizens today."
Anyone who has an original Iraqi birth certificate may take part in the vote. ..... Those whose father is Iraqi may also vote, even if they were born in another country, as long as they have a certificate proving it. However, children to mothers of Iraqi descent may not vote, because the Iraqi law from 1957 grants citizenship only to children with Iraqi fathers. .... Some 130,000 Jews emigrated from Iraq to Israel after it's establishment, decimating one of the oldest Jewish communities in the Arab world. ....
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
01/16/2005 12:41:45 AM ||
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Hmmmm. 130,000 Jews vote in the Iraqi elections; a couple of million Sunnis don't.
Works for me. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/16/2005 0:43 Comments ||
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It's all coming back to me now... yeah, um, I'm pretty sure I was an Iraqi citizen once... it was a long time ago, back before there was hair, and um, I was in Gov't... Chief Legal Advisor... to Hammurabi... So, like, where's my absentee ballot? I don't get around so well anymore.
#3
Lots of Iraqi Jews in the U.S. and Canada, too. Charming, erudite people -- I studied under several of them at my Hebrew School. Like in the rest of the Arab world, there were anti-Jewish riots and pogroms, and those who could get out did. Entirely too many stayed behind, swinging from lampposts.
Nowadays, bookstores and press kiosks are overcrowded with all sorts of books and magazines. One of the most vicious terrorist organizations "Al Qaeda" decided to use the printed press to their own benefit as well. Terrorists have published the first issue of the Al Khansa magazine in red cover. The new magazine focuses on ideological and military training for wannabe female "Shakhids (female suicide bombers). It contains special advices for women who are willing to participate in Jihad. In its quarterly publication Gnosis, Italian security services have already termed such manual for young Shakhids as "emancipation bin Laden style."
The title of the magazine was chosen to commemorate legendary female poet of VII century Tumader bint Amru. According to the authors of the magazine, she "is the real historic symbol of the woman-warrior as well the symbol of all mothers-martyrs." She was named "Al Khansa" for her "little nose and her beauty." Tumader was one of the first female Bedouins who accepted Islam. She lost her four sons in a victorious battle against the Persians. As soon as the battle was over Al Khansa proclaimed a statement, which later became the motto of all Shakhids. "I thank God for awarding me with their death. I ask God to unite me with them in a place of His mercy," exclaimed Al Khansa.
Italian state security service notes the importance of Al Qaeda"s informational PR move aimed at female audience. "This concerns a major turn in planning within the international terrorist web, which up until recently has been recruiting only men for any sort of "operations" as opposed to the Palestinian intifada or Chechen nationalistic extremist groups."
Not that any of the bigs will send their own daughters; those girls are needed in marriages to cement alliances.
Another noteworthy event comes to mind in connection with the terrorist publication "for women." In May 2003 one of the most influential religious figures of the Islamic world sheikh Usuf al-Karadaui has issued a Fatwa (Islamic law), according to which female kamikazes are relieved of following traditional Islamic behavioral norms for the sake of Jihad, the holy war. In a way, such statement could be viewed as an emancipation of Arab women.
"Party til you boom, honey!"
The new magazine Al Khansa proposes certain requirements for the potential female suicide-bombers. She has to know Koran by heart; she has to know CPR; also she has to be able to prepare the so-called "urgent set", which needs to include natural honey and water from a sacred spring from Mecca. A Shakhid has to be humble; she shouldn't watch TV, use air conditioner or any other "luxurious items." She must also give up all her monetary possessions for the good of the operation.
Not only does she boom, but the controllers turn a profit.
In addition, potential ben Laden follower has to be an exceptional shooter and has to be able to transport weaponry. To conclude the theoretical account, Al Qaeda shows women "the way to liberation, which they will never be able to achieve otherwise."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/16/2005 12:20:36 AM ||
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Lol - And I thought this was about Yuppie Wymyns - and was gonna snark about it being on Page 1, lol!
"legendary female poet of VII century Tumader bint Amru"
So this legend's words will sway wymyns into strapping on a, um, boomer belt? Heh. Where's the Engrish translation - I have other ploys in mind... same for the fatwa - there's bound to be a way to...
A guy walks into a sex shop and inquires about an inflatable doll. The clerk asks him, "Do you want a Christian doll or an Islamic doll?" The guy then asks, "What's the difference?"
The clerk replies, "You have to inflate the Christian doll, whereas the Islamic one blows herself up."
"Bomb culture" threatens Bangladesh as militants linked to al Qaeda spread terror across the nation, especially in the holy town of Sylhet, the 32,784th holiest site in all of Islam, a media report said today. Sylhet was terrorised last year by dozens of death threats and seven grenade blasts that killed five and injured more than 100. Three movie theatres have been bombed and Sylhet's holiest shrine, the tomb of Hazrat Shah Jalal, a Seventh Century Sufi saint, was hit twice by grenade attacks. The attacks, the 'Washington Times' noted, mirror a pattern of unchecked violence across Bangladesh, raising concern that religious radicals nurtured by Islamic charities linked to al Qaeda and protected by the government are undermining long-held traditions of tolerance.
Isn't it a primary responsibility of an islamic charity to undermine long-held traditions of tolerance? I'm sure it's in the Quran somewhere.
"If there is a country in the world today in danger of completely beaking down, it is Bangladesh," said Gowher Rizvi, a Bangladeshi who heads the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University. "This bomb culture is completely new to Sylhet," said Mayor Badaruddin Kamran, who was the target of a blast in August that killed a close friend.
As long as you keep importing that philosophy from Soddy Arabia and Pakland you're gonna have it. So the solution is...?
The paper quoted a Bangladeshi professor Farjana Siddika, 34, who opened her office mail and found she was marked for death. Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's parliamentary affairs adviser, discounted talk of rising extremism.
"Piffle!"
The US has named at least two major supporters of madrassas in Bangladesh - the Pakistan-based Rabita Trust and the al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, which Saudi Arabia dissolved last year--as conduits for al Qaeda.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/16/2005 12:18:12 AM ||
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Hooray for piffle! Now if only there is a balderdash somewhere as well, my life will be complete. ;-D
The interior ministry has declared some cities of Balochistan, including Quetta, "dangerous zones" following major attacks on gas installations and sectarian violence in the region, reports Online news agency. The ministry has in a report described Dera Bugti, Sui, Khizdar, Cibi, Gwadar and Quetta as "Gawdforsaken lands filled with nutjobs and moonbats" "dangerous zones" and "difficult areas". As for Quetta, the ministry said the city was a target of sectarian-related violence and several extremist groups were involved in the attacks. Over 121 people have been killed and 250 injured so far in these incidents, it said. The report warned that sectarian-motivated incidents could lead to major killings in the future. It said Quetta city could come under rocket attacks.Â
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/16/2005 12:17:37 AM ||
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Lol, Dr Steve! This is another F**kin Duh moment in Pakiwakiland.
And I wonder how that drive to improve tourism is coming along, lol!
Pakistani leaders in the Northern Areas (NA), Gilgit-Baltistan region, have raised a banner of revolt against the Pakistani government demanding a separate Bolor state. Describing their demand as "legitimate", the leaders at a seminar "Great Bolor State and Kashmir Issue" said the Gilgit-Baltistan region was being governed by the Kashmir Affairs and NA Ministry based in Islamabad and the elected representatives of the NA Legislative Council did not enjoy the same power as the district assembly despite the entire region being liberated in 1947. The seminar, organised by the Bolor Thinker Forum, was held at the Rawalpindi Press Club in the first week of this month to discuss the NA issue, which is also known as Bolor with reference to the Kashmir issue.
The speakers at the seminar, including JKLF chairman Amanullah Khan, APNA chairman Wajahat Hassan Khan, APNA general secretary Sardar Arif Shahid, Bolor Research Forum chairman Amanullah Khan, and Boloristan chairman Nawaz Khan, said the people of Gilgit-Baltistan region were an essential component of the Kashmir issue but were currently being ignored. They said that due to the Kashmir conflict, the region's people were being deprived of their rights, and people from both Kashmir and PoK enjoyed their own legislative, administrative and judicial set-ups.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
01/16/2005 12:20:23 AM ||
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How interesting. If this is the start of a trend, .com's 40 km wide strip of Saudi coastline may become a reality without any effort on the part of our armored boyz'n'girlz.
#2
:) Hey, if two nutjobs decide they wanna be a separate state, then it should be so - no questions asked - cuz it's like a fundamental human left. The Heiress said so. And that's the unchallengeable voice of deep worldly experience and fantastic wisdom gleaned first-hand, y'know. So, here's to Bolor, Home of the Free Thinkers, and a bunch more Khans.
#3
Boloristan! Back to the 7th century with a separate little state for every tribe. It would work for me if they would stay there, but eventually some Khan or Mohammed or Osama gets bored and goes off on a conquering rampage. This is Tom in Tomistan, signing off.
Posted by: Tom ||
01/16/2005 10:25 Comments ||
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Would they support a separate state for Kashmir too?
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
01/16/2005 11:52 Comments ||
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One is obliged to wonder just how supportive the Arab street will be of these newly minted "freedom fighters" as they set about slaughtering their Sunni brethern.
Just another sterling example of how Islam's embrace of violent jihad comes back to bite them on the @ss, bigtime.
The weirdest thing of all is how I don't even feel pessimistic when I predict that Islam will never, ever understand the need to abandon its concept of holy war no matter how much it fragments and decimates their own followers.
KARACHI: The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) has demanded of the government to investigate the alleged gang-rape of a lady doctor at Sui, Balochistan, and find out the factual position. Talking to the Daily Times about the statement of an army captain he recorded at Karachi on Saturday about his innocence in the incident, MMA leader Prof Ghafoor said so far no culprit had been named with definiteness, so at this stage it would be difficult to lay the blame on any individual. Hafiz Hussain Ahmad, deputy leader of opposition in the National Assembly, said the judicial commission constituted by the government would help establish the identity of culprits involved in the gang-rape. He said the local people present at the place of the crime could also testify about involvement of elements in the gang-rape.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2005 12:16:38 AM ||
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(2005-01-15) -- Facing criticism for his move to cut contacts with the Palestinian Authority in the wake of the latest suicide attack which killed six Israelis, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon today softened his rhetoric and called on newly-elected Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to join him in negotiations to set "appropriate limits" on suicide bombings.
Mr. Sharon even put an opening proposal on the table for a Suicide Attack Protocol which would limit Palestinian terror groups to a monthly quota of one bus explosion in a crowded marketplace and two border checkpoint bombings while negotiations continue to establish a peaceful Palestinian state side-by-side with Israel.
"We want to be good neighbors," said Mr. Sharon, "so we need to continue to strengthen Mr. Abbas' hand in dealing with the terror groups who helped to elect him. We understand that going 'cold turkey' on terrorism would be tough for these groups so, as a confidence-building measure in our negotiations, we're proposing reasonable limits on Israeli civilian death and dismemberment."
Mr. Abbas, who was sworn-in today as president of the Palestinian Authority, said he would "consider Mr. Sharon's proposal after asking WWYD -- What Would Yassir Do?"
Posted by: Korora ||
01/16/2005 12:05:18 AM ||
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Sometimes Ott cuts a little too close to the bone, heh.
Hundreds of Taliban fighters could abandon their insurgency in Afghanistan as a result of peace talks under way between local commanders and President Hamid Karzai's government, a provincial governor said on Saturday. Three years after US-led forces ousted the Taliban from power for harbouring Al Qaeda, Karzai and his US backers hope to coax lower-level Taliban fighters back to normal life, leaving senior commanders and Al Qaeda leaders isolated. Tribal chiefs are acting as intermediaries between the Taliban and Karzai's government in the southeastern provinces of Paktia, Khost and Paktika, said Paktia governor Assadullah Wafa. "We have more than hundreds of Taliban who want to return to their normal lives in Khost, Paktia and Paktika provinces," Wafa told the news agency.
In return, the tribal chiefs and local officials want the US ambassador in Kabul, Zalmay Khalilzad, to urge US forces not to harass Taliban members who quit the insurgency, he said. "The government is talking to them through tribal chiefs and we are demanding Khalilzad use his influence and propose to the American military not to detain or harass those Taliban who plan to stop fighting the government," Wafa said. He said a regional delegation had travelled to Kabul hoping to meet Khalilzad, but the ambassador was away from the capital. An embassy spokesman said Khalilzad had since left the country. No Taliban official could immediately be contacted for comment, but Taliban spokesman Abdul Latifi Hakimi told the news agency earlier this week the group was committed to fighting Karzai's government and US and NATO troops in Afghanistan. He said the government was using the issue of talks with the Taliban as propaganda and a way of creating a rift among the militants. Leaders of the mainstream opposition parties fear that Karzai, an ethnic Pashtun, wants to use the proposed amnesty to strengthen his power base in the Pashtun heartlands of the south and southeast ahead of parliamentary elections due in April. Wafa declined to identify any of the Taliban he said were willing to stop fighting, but said the group that he was in contact with consisted of both senior and ordinary members of the radical Islamic movement. US-led troops overthrew the Taliban government in late 2001 after it refused to hand over Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, the architect of the Sept. 11 attacks on US cities.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/16/2005 12:14:40 AM ||
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The Taliban redemption program should be closed down promptly. There is no redemption for these thugs, they are scum.
Posted by: Captain America ||
01/16/2005 7:36 Comments ||
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The fine art of Taquija requires the use of careful phrasology on the part of the speaker: The point is to fool the infidel into believing and acting on an untruth as if it was true (getting the speaker and this cause off the hook), while making sure that your fellows are NOT fooled into believing and acting on that same untruth (and thus acting as if the speaker were selling out and has betrayed the Faith).
âThe government is talking to them through tribal chiefs and we are demanding Khalilzad use his influence and propose to the American military not to detain or harass those Taliban who plan to stop fighting the government,â Wafa said.
He's not serious: if he was, the bold portion would say "...those Talaban who lay down their arms and return home.". They can still fight while PLANNING to surrender, but if we bite, it would be a violation for us to attack them while THEY WERE PLANNING to surrender, even though we were responding to their attacks WHILE they were PLANNING to surrender. Think the Iranians and Uranium: They continue on while the Euros argue we shouldn't act WHILE the Iranians are negotiating with them.
This is the BIG HOLE in the heads of the ilLiberals and the left in general: Talk is regarded as EQUAL to action and sincerity. To them, the most horrible words ever spoken by an American President were by Reagan (PBUH) "Deeds, not words."
Forty-six members of the Palestinian election commission, including top managers, resigned Saturday, saying they were pressured by Mahmoud Abbas' campaign and intelligence officials to abruptly change voting procedures during the Jan. 9 presidential poll. Two senior members of the commission, Ammar Dwaik and Baha al-Bakri, resigned early Saturday, and officials later said 44 more members resigned. Six top election officials were among those who resigned. The resignations raised questions about Sunday's vote giving Abbas an overwhelming victory with 62.3 percent, though the officials who quit said the alleged irregularities did not fundamentally affect the final vote tally. "This proves that what happened is very serious and it must not happen again," said Dwaik, the commission's deputy chairman. "These pressures and threats lessened the degree of the integrity of the election, even though overall it was free and fair." Abbas was sworn in as Palestinian Authority president Saturday.
During the presidential election, polls were to have stayed open for 12 hours until 7 p.m. However, several hours after polls opened, turnout was light, a cause of concern for Abbas, who was the front-runner but needed a decisive victory to win a mandate for peace talks with Israel. "We were visited by senior officials from Abu Mazen's campaign, and we were pressured to change procedures on election day," al-Bakri said. Abbas is widely known as Abu Mazen. During the meeting, shots were fired at the panel's headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Electoral officials said they recognized at least one gunman as a member of Palestinian intelligence services. The commission eventually extended voting by two hours and allowed voters to cast their ballots in any location, not just their hometowns. The change enabled thousands of security force members, most of them Abbas supporters, to cast ballots near their posts rather than travel back to their hometowns, some of them far away.
Dwaik and al-Bakri said Saturday those decisions were made under pressure from Abbas' campaign, Fatah and the intelligence service. "I was personally threatened and pressured," Dwaik said. "I am therefore announcing my resignation publicly, so that everyone knows that in the upcoming legislative election, this could happen again." Al-Bakri said voting hours are extended only when there are long lines at the polling stations. "This was not the case on election day," he said. "These (changes in) procedures had two goals: first to increase the turnout and second to increase the percentage of Fatah voters."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/16/2005 4:46:06 PM ||
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Look, if former president Gomer Carter approves of the election, all is well.
Posted by: Captain America ||
01/16/2005 7:45 Comments ||
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A U.S. commander warned al-Qaida ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a driving force behind escalating attacks in the buildup to Iraq's election, that American troops were on his trail and would capture or kill him sooner or later. Branding al-Zarqawi the "head of the snake," Brig.-Gen. Jeffrey Hammond said on Friday that taking out the shadowy Jordanian Islamist leader, who tops America's wanted list, would deal a crippling blow to Iraq's insurgency. Al-Zarqawi whose network seems to strike at will, targeting politicians and beheading foreign hostages despite a $25 million U.S. bounty on his head eluded a manhunt during a major U.S.-led assault on his former Fallujah stronghold in November. "I'd love to capture, detain or kill Zarqawi," Hammond told reporters. "I'm very optimistic that sooner or later we're going to get him. Sooner or later, we got Saddam. The bloodhounds are on him right now. They're on his trail."
I listen for the news he's been killed every morning. Still waiting...
Hammond declined to say whether U.S. forces had come close to getting al-Zarqawi since driving his fighters out of Fallujah, though rumors of his capture have surfaced in recent weeks. Hammond deputy commander of the army's 1st Cavalry, based in Baghdad predicted a fresh surge of violence aimed at intimidating voters and said the U.S. military could not guarantee it could prevent "spectacular" attacks in the capital on election day. Asked if parts of Baghdad would be unsafe to cast ballots, he said: "There will probably be places in Baghdad that will be challenging."
My guess is that the Bad Guys're going to turn themselves inside out to produce the maximum poundage of flying meat...
Brushing aside concerns about the ability of Iraq's fledgling security services to safeguard the election, Hammond said they would assume the main responsibility for protecting polling places, with 18,000 police and 35,000 soldiers mobilized in the capital alone. Hammond said U.S. forces would act in a support role and would have rapid-reaction teams ready to respond with "overwhelming force" if Iraqi officials requested their help.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/16/2005 5:30:00 PM ||
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Actions speak louder than words Hammond. Bluster doesn't mean shit, unless such comments will somehow bring the MF of of his rat hole.
Posted by: Captain America ||
01/16/2005 7:50 Comments ||
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I agree Captain. I've been reading this since before the first averted attack on Fallujah. I think there info is wrong more than they think.
#3
They are bagging a lot of his close associates - the product of Zarqawi's increased operational tempo. The more the gopher pops his head up, the more chances our guys have to smack him on the head. Every close associate bagged is another one that won't be around make security arrangements for Zarqawi. Note that Zarqawi, unlike bin Laden, is actually masterminding these operations. If bin Laden was still actively involved like Zarqawi, he'd have been captured already. It's hard to catch someone who's just lying low like bin Laden - but Zarqawi isn't exactly lying low.
#5
Remember some other U.S. military officer and his captured-or-killed pronouncement wrt Sadr? Gen. Hammond should just let his forces do what needs to be done, and leave out the unnecessary speculation about Zarqawi's future.
Iraq's elections will be legitimate if roughly half the Sunni Arab minority votes despite threats of violence, a leading politician in the Shi'ite alliance expected to dominate the polls said on Saturday. "I think 40 to 50 percent of Sunnis will vote. That would be very good, with all the threats, with all the measures taken by the insurgents and the terrorism," said Adel Abdul Mahdi, when asked how many Sunnis needed to vote to validate the polls. Fear of widespread violence in Sunni areas has raised concerns that many Sunnis, once privileged under Saddam Hussein, will not vote, skewing the results in favor of the Shi'ite majority long oppressed by the toppled Iraqi president.
Life's tough that way, isn't it?
Finance Minister Abdul Mahdi is a senior official in the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, part of a Shi'ite list of candidates in the United Iraqi Alliance expected to win the most seats in parliament after the Jan. 30 poll. Iraq's main Sunni party, the Iraqi Islamic Party, has withdrawn from the polls, saying they should be delayed, while the 60 percent Shi'ite majority is poised to gain power and believes voting should go ahead despite fears of bloodshed. "A lot of (security) measures have been taken. We have to keep the suicide bombers from getting to huge gatherings and with the media this might reflect a very negative signal to other centers of elections," said Abdel Mehdi, a contender to lead Iraq after the election. "I think there will be some (guerrilla) operations but I think elections will go smoothly in most parts of the country. "We are not permitting cars to reach those (voting) centers. Movement will be limited between provinces. There will be limited movement in the cities," he said.
I don't think I'd let guys wearing overcoats get too close to them, either...
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/16/2005 4:54:57 PM ||
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#1
Typical poop from a politician facing reporters. Either he was pressed to give a number or he's just so green at this that he felt he needed to verbalize a brain fart.
How many Sunnis vote is not a measure of the legitimacy of the elections. Period. The choice is theirs. Life is a bitch, and it's even bitchier when you're a Sunni in Iraq today, whether a jihadi, merc, tool, or dumb, damned, and unlucky. Such are the options for a group that has had all of the "good luck" for the last 35 years. The pendulum has swung the other way. If a measure of anything, it is of their worthiness to be a part of a democracy. No sympathy is due, sorry. Whining, hand wringing, and I'm-more-symp-than-you-so-I'm-more-moral blather commences in 5...4...3...
#4
If they vote, my comments shouldn't pertain to them. The Shia is sticking their necks out, while many sunni whine like cowards. Are the sunni getting blown up, shot at?
Posted by: Captain America ||
01/16/2005 17:14 Comments ||
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#5
The whiners are ALL American Stalinists, people like Michal Moore, Howard Dean and the Fatty Teddy, al-Gore and al-Sharpton monsters.
What they are NOT smart enough to understand is that Iraq is MIXED in numerous ways! Some estimates show up to 20% of Iraqi's have Sunni AND Shia relatives. (In-laws's, etc).
A lot of Sunni's will vote. Probably MORE than 1/2 of them.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Sheik 
The flight from Kiev, Ukraine, to Moscow takes just over an hour and a half, but the countries' two airports are decades apart. The lines for passport control in Moscow's dilapidated Sheremetevo Airport are long and unorganized. Dim lights barely offer enough illumination to allow arriving passengers to sort through their documents before unfriendly border guards scrutinize them. In Russia, documents are still worth their weight in gold. Not just in the airport, but on the streets of central Moscow and elsewhere. Without them, you are subjected to fines and possible jail time, especially if you are from one of Russia's ethnic regions of the North Caucuses.
A recently-announced campaign by North Korea's state-controlled media to promote the benefits of shorter hairstyles may be the latest indicator of a significant power struggle between Kim Jong-Il and competing government officials. The campaign, running extensively on North Korean state television over the last few months exhorts the 'mental benefits; of short haircuts, particularly amongst men. According to the a January 8, 2005 report on the BBC's website, the campaign stresses the "negative effects" of long hair on "human intelligence," reasoning that both the brain and hair draw from the same nutritional sources and by reducing the amount of hair, North Koreans can increase their intellectual capacity. 
Last year's train bombings in Madrid left Spain in a state of shock. But the country is now waking up to an unintended consequence of al-Qaeda's first strike in Europe: the apparent demise of Eta, the violent Basque separatist group. According to police, politicians and security analysts, the events of last year have effectively ended Eta's 37-year insurgency. The March 11 2004 train bombings, initially blamed on Eta, left 192 people dead and injured thousands. In the Basque country in northern Spain, police say the tragedy marked a turning point in their fight against Eta, which had been viewed until then as Spain's biggest security threat. "The massacre provoked such revulsion that Eta has not dared stage a big attack since then," says Roberto Seijo, a leader of the Basque police trade union Erne. "Eta cannot match al-Qaeda's scale of terror. Even among Eta's own supporters, there is no stomach for the continued use of terror as a political instrument."
CANADA'S Muslim community is being torn apart by a controversial proposal to establish Sharia courts to enforce Islamic law in civil matters. Women's groups and moderate Muslims in the nation's largest province are outraged at the recommendation by former attorney-general Marion Boyd to allow arbitration tribunals to be governed by the principles of Sharia - the code of Islamic law. The ruling is the latest challenge for multicultural Canada, whose open-door policy to immigrants is under strain from the post-11 September terrorist threat. The proposal is also certain to raise eyebrows in the United States where a belief already exists that its northern neighbour and largest trading partner is honeycombed with Islamic radicals.
A photo showing 
Is the name Diane allowed for a girl revert to keep since the name means divine in French? 
THE Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) called for an end to all attacks that "harm the national interest" after a meeting of its executive committee today. "The committee gave its full support to Abu Mazen's inauguration speech to stop all military acts that harm our national interest and give an excuse to the Israeli position which is aimed at sabotaging Palestinian stability and the implementation of the roadmap," the executive committee said in a statement. PLO chairman Mahmud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, was sworn in as head of the Palestinian Authority yesterday. During his inauguration speech, Mr Abbas criticised attacks by militants as hampering efforts to "bring about the calm needed to enable a credible, serious peace process".
Nowadays, bookstores and press kiosks are overcrowded with all sorts of books and magazines. One of the most vicious terrorist organizations "Al Qaeda" decided to use the printed press to their own benefit as well. Terrorists have published the first issue of the Al Khansa magazine in red cover. The new magazine focuses on ideological and military training for wannabe female "Shakhids (female suicide bombers). It contains special advices for women who are willing to participate in Jihad. In its quarterly publication Gnosis, Italian security services have already termed such manual for young Shakhids as "emancipation bin Laden style."
"Bomb culture" threatens Bangladesh as militants linked to al Qaeda spread terror across the nation, especially in the holy town of Sylhet, 
The interior ministry has declared some cities of Balochistan, including Quetta, "dangerous zones" following major attacks on gas installations and sectarian violence in the region, reports Online news agency. The ministry has in a report described Dera Bugti, Sui, Khizdar, Cibi, Gwadar and Quetta as 
KARACHI: The 
Hundreds of Taliban fighters could abandon their insurgency in Afghanistan as a result of peace talks under way between local commanders and President Hamid Karzai's government, a provincial governor said on Saturday. Three years after US-led forces ousted the Taliban from power for harbouring Al Qaeda, Karzai and his US backers hope to coax lower-level Taliban fighters back to normal life, leaving senior commanders and Al Qaeda leaders isolated. Tribal chiefs are acting as intermediaries between the Taliban and Karzai's government in the southeastern provinces of Paktia, Khost and Paktika, said Paktia governor Assadullah Wafa. "We have more than hundreds of Taliban who want to return to their normal lives in Khost, Paktia and Paktika provinces," Wafa told the news agency. 
