Putin in the Red House, Obama in the White House, EU in the Squeeze

Well folks, what do you say now. The rise of new age marxism, before our very eyes.  Courtesy of Fox News:  New Europe’ Longs for Bush as Obama Turns Focus to EU, Russia

Eastern European governments that ran political risks to support former President George W. Bush’s security policies are now concerned that his successor, Barack Obama, will backtrack on those regional commitments.

Leaders in the Czech Republic, Poland and other former communist nations face a backlash at home over their support of Bush-era initiatives, including the proposed U.S. missile- defense system and troop participation in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, concern is growing in eastern Europe that it will be put on “the back burner” as the Obama administration talks about working with Russia and western Europe on issues such as Iran, says Annette Heuser, executive director of the Bertelsmann Foundation, a policy group in Washington.

Obama, 47, will have a chance to personally assuage concerns next month. After ignoring pleas from the east on his trip to Berlin, Paris and London as candidate last year, he will make his first visit there as president on April 5, Czech Premier Mirek Topolanek said yesterday. The president will travel to Prague to meet with European Union leaders, Topolanek said; the Czech Republic currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency.

While it’s too early to say what the president’s overall foreign policy will be, “we can see that Obama wants better relations with Russia and that he’s skeptical about missile defense,” says Jaroslaw Walesa, a lawmaker in Poland’s ruling Citizens’ Platform party and the son of the country’s first post-communist president, Lech Walesa.

Eastern Europe’s Angst

Technorati tags: putin, obama, red square, white house, eu, poland, germany, czech republic

The pro-amnesty goons are already lining up…

Courtesy of KFMB San Diego  (Los Angeles Times) Immigrant advocates said that long-stalled efforts to legalize millions of illegal migrants, crack down on employers who hire them and win more family visas would be revived next year and could possibly succeed in early 2010 following sizable Democratic gains powered by record turnouts of Latino voters in the November election. Frank Sharry of America’s Voice, a Washington-based immigrant advocacy organization, said that Democrats who favored a comprehensive reform approach beat Republicans advocating only border control and other enforcement measures in 20 of 22 congressional races in such battleground states as Colorado and New Mexico. Those results were in part driven by Latino voters, who doubled their turnout over 2000, supported President-elect Barack Obama over Republican nominee John McCain 67% to 31% and helped Democrats win, in addition to Colorado and New Mexico, other swing states such as Florida and Nevada, Sharry said. CONTINUED…

View article...

Technorati tags: pro amnesty, immigration, illegal alien, frank sharry, john mccain, immigration advocates

Congress has forgotten who its boss is!

Courtesy of KFMB San Diego: 

(Boston Herald) Will you be getting a pay raise next year? No, I didn’t think so. Well, guess who will be getting a little something extra in their direct deposits in a couple of weeks? The U.S. Congress - all 535 of those sticky-fingered windbags. Merry Christmas from the taxpayers. This is not a joke. Thanks for the subpri me mortgage crisis, Barney Frank! Here’s your bonus for tanking the economy - another $4,700, on top of the $169,300 you were already making. Isn’t it odd that this Yuletide pay grab is generating so little press? I spotted it yesterday on The Hill Web site, under the headline, “With economy in shambles, Congress gets a raise.” These same statesmen have been railing against Detroit’s Big 3 CEOs, demanding they take a dollar a year. Yet somehow it’s OK for them to chow down for another heaping helping at the public trough. CONTINUED…

View article...

Technorati tags: congress, golden fleece, sticky fingered, windbags, barney frank, the hill, pay raise, gravy train, economy, bail out, public trough, politics, pundists, socialist, republicans, democrats, pay grab

Postponing Reality

Courtesy of Thomas Sowell

Some of us were raised to believe that reality is inescapable. But that just shows how far behind the times we are. Today, reality is optional. At the very least, it can be postponed.

Kids in school are not learning? Not a problem. Just promote them on to the next grade anyway. Call it "compassion," so as not to hurt their "self-esteem."

Can't meet college admissions standards after they graduate from high school? Denounce those standards as just arbitrary barriers to favor the privileged, and demand that exceptions be made.

Can't do math or science after they are in college? Denounce those courses for their rigidity and insensitivity, and create softer courses that the students can pass to get their degrees.

Once they are out in the real world, people with diplomas and degrees-- but with no real education-- can hit a wall. But by then the day of reckoning has been postponed for 15 or more years. Of course, the reckoning itself can last the rest of their lives.

++For the rest of the article, link here

Technorati tags: reality, compassion, esteem, liberalism, college admissions standards, bailout, socialist agenda

Apostasy

Muhammadans are taught never to question the truth of Islam and to believe in Allah and his messenger with blind faith. Muhammadans are told that Allah would forgive all sins but the sin of disbelief (Qur'an Sura 4:48 and 4:116).
Honour kills do happen to protect the honour of the family and to punish those who fall away or appear to be falling away, even when they are just children in a somewhat rebellious stage of life.

Remember the Fox News special regarding honour killings?

Here is an update. FBI Calls Girls' Murder 'Honor Killing'

But some Muslims say that calling the case an honor killing goes too far.

"As far as we're concerned, until the motive is proven in a court of law, this is [just] a homicide," Mustafaa Carroll, the executive director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations in Dallas, told FOXNews.com.

He said he worries that terms like "honor killing" may stigmatize the Islamic community. “We (Muslims) don’t have the market on jealous husbands ... or domestic violence,” Carroll said.

The United Nations estimates that 5,000 women are killed worldwide every year in honor killings — mostly in the Middle East, where many countries still have laws that protect men who murder female relatives they believe have engaged in inappropriate activity. A U.N. report includes chilling examples of such cases. Source: First Time FBI Calls Case an 'Honor Killing'

__________________

Technorati tags: muhammad, muhammadan, honour killing, honor killing, fbi, islam, apostasy

Another Democrat uses the Race Card

Courtesy of Teddy Davis, ABC News

Florida Congressman: Palin 'Don't Care Too Much What They Do With Jews and Blacks'

ABC News' Teddy Davis Reports: Florida Democratic Congressman Alcee Hastings pointed to Sarah Palin on Wednesday to rally Jews to Obama...."If Sarah Palin isn’t enough of a reason for you to get over whatever your problem is with Barack Obama, then you damn well had better pay attention," said Hastings. "Anybody toting guns and stripping moose don’t care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks. So, you just think this through."....Asked about the Hastings criticism, Palin spokeswoman Maria Comella said, "We’re taking a pass."

Bout the only ones I know that are making an issue about Obama's ethnicity is Obama and his party hacks....America has cleaned up it's act regarding racism and I am offended by this Democratic Congressman Alcee Hastings' behavior and tongue. Obama spoke about not looking like the other presidents on our currency and now this racist remark..... If a republican had done it, G_d help us..... The democrats certainly abused Clarence Thomas. It is OK if it is a democrat.. Such double standards!

Technorati tags: Palin, Alcee Hastings, Democrat, Congressman, Political Hack, Obama, Race card, racism in america, election 2008

Was Hamdan's Trial Fair?

Crossposted from STACLU:

After years of litigation a verdict was finally reached for Salim Hamdan, Osama Bin Laden’s driver and detainee accused of war crimes. While cleared of conspiracy he was convicted on multiple counts of material support for terrorism. Legal groups like the ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights quickly criticized the ruling. Certain media elements were not far behind. Much of the criticism was understandable, and much was distorted through the lens of bias. Most of the criticism ended up being deflated after a surprisingly lenient sentence of five and a half years, including five years and a month already served. This sentence fell short of the thirty years to life the prosecutors wanted. Even one of Salim’s defense attorneys admitted the verdict was fair and just. However, a fair outcome doesn’t necessarily reflect a fair process. So, are the military tribunals for the Guantanamo detainees fair? To answer this question we must critically look at both sides of the argument, the details of the process itself, and understand how we arrived at this point.

When war has been declared the United States has made use of military tribunals to try captured enemies outside the scope of conventional civil and criminal matters, historically providing a trial for combatants acting in violation to the Rules of War. The Geneva Conventions established what most countries have adopted as the international standard regarding such rules.

The perception pushed by some is that combatants held at Guantanamo deserve protection under the provisions provided by the Geneva Convention. Others argued that the essence of the Convention is the distinction between lawful combatants and civilians and that terrorists violate this by being non-uniformed, negating this distinction and endangering innocent civilians. This argument applies that Prisoner of War status and the rights that come with that should not extend to those that violate its rules. The Supreme Court settled this argument in 2006 in favor of extending many of these rights to captured combatants held at Guantanamo. This decision was Hamdan vs. Rumsfeld which extended certain rights to the detainees and placed limits on the authority of the executive branch. This decision was the catalyst for Congress to pass the Military Commissions Act of 2006 authorizing the establishment of military commissions within the parameters set by the Supreme Court.

The 5-4 ruling in Boumediene vs. Bush threw another wrench into the efforts to prosecute prisoners at Guantanamo by determining that habeas corpus rights extend to these prisoners and that the Military Commissions Act unconstitutionally suspended those rights. Defense lawyers used this ruling in an attempt to delay the military trial of Salim Hamdan, but were unsuccessful in their argument that the procedures violated certain constitutional rights. District Judge James Robertson ruled against delaying the trial on the grounds that these arguments could be raised on appeal after the completion of the trial. How this ruling’s precedent will affect future proceedings against Guantanamo detainees is yet to be seen.

Determining whether the military commission process is fair requires looking at several factors. Hamdan’s trial served as a test case for the government prosecutors and the detainee defense lawyers. Behind Hamdan there are around 80 other Guantanamo detainees, including five alleged September 11th plotters, the Pentagon intends to try before the commissions. It is important to observe Hamdan’s case to determine the probability of fairness in future military commissions because of the precedents it has set.

Most of the key criticisms in Hamdan’s case were addressed. The concern that evidence obtained through coercive interrogation would be used was alleviated when the judge excluded statements obtained from Hamdan prior to his arrival at Guantanamo. Concerns remained over allowed statements obtained after his arrival due to defense allegations they were obtained through abusive procedures. However, no convincing evidence was presented to prove these allegations. Defense attorneys were also given adequate opportunity and access to challenge secret evidence. Many other points exist in favor of the fairness in this trial including the fact that Hamdan’s conviction is automatically appealed to a military appellate court. That court can reduce, but cannot increase, his sentence. Hamdan can then appeal to U.S. civilian courts as well. However, many legal concerns remain such as the question of whether his prosecution violated the Constitution’s prohibition of ex post facto laws. Concerns addressed in Hamdan’s case do not guarantee future trials will be addressed similarly, but recognized respect of precedent makes it probable.

In my opinion, Salim Hamdan received a fair trial and a lenient but just sentencing. The system in place for future military trials is still not perfect, but provides more protections and rights for captured enemy combatants than ever provided in history. Certain elements definitely need to be addressed while others are yet to be determined. The legal journey to refine the process has only begun.

Posted as a part of a Stop the ACLU Blogburst. Visit Stop the ACLU if you would like to participate...email jay-at-stoptheaclu-dot-com.

Murder in the family: Honour Killings in the Family

As seen last night on the Fox News Channel, courtesy of Fox News:

The United Nations estimates that as many as 5,000 women are murdered in
such honor killings each year for offenses like immodesty or refusing an
arranged marriage. They may be on the rise in the U.S., as seen anecdotally in
Kanwal's death and a handful of other prominent attacks:

• Fifty-year-old Yaser Abdel Said became the focus of a massive manhunt
after he allegedly killed his teenage daughters Sarah and Amina — for dating
boys against his will. Relatives say he tried to marry off Amina in his native
Egypt when she was 16, and he hasn't been seen since the girls were shot to
death on New Year's Day.
• Zein Isa, a Palestinian terrorist who lived in St. Louis, was convicted
of killing his daughter Palestina in 1989. Investigators say he was furious she
had a black boyfriend, went to a school dance and got a job at Wendy's.
Palestina's mother held her down as Isa plunged a 9-inch knife into his
daughter's chest, actions the FBI picked up on a microphone as they investigated
Isa for his terrorist ties.
• Waheed Mohammad, a 22-year-old immigrant from Afghanistan, was shamed by
his sister, who he thought was a "bad Muslim girl." At his mother's behest,
investigators say, he tried to "stop" his sister, stabbing her multiple times,
though she survived and spoke to FOX News.

To see more on honor killings in America, watch FOX News' special documentary, "Murder in the Family: Honor Killings in America," airing 8 p.m. EDT Saturday, July 26, and 8 and 11 p.m. EDT Sunday.

Technorati tags: honor killing, honour killing, foxnews, islam, muslim, mohammad, qur’an, Sarah said, Amina Said, yaser said, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Middle East

Google Shuts Down Anti-Obama Sites on its Blogger Platform

-By Warner Todd Huston

It looks like Google has officially joined the Barack Obama campaign and decided that its contribution would be to shut down any blog on the Google owned Blogspot.com blogging system that has an anti-Obama message. Yes, it sure seems that Google has begun to go through its many thousands of blogs to lock out the owners of anti-Obama blogs so that the noObama message is effectively squelched. Thus far, Google has terminated the access by blog owners to 7 such sites and the list may be growing. Boy, it must be nice for Barack Obama to have an ally powerful enough to silence his opponents like that!

It isn't just conservative sites that Google's Blogger platform is eliminating. For instance, www.comealongway.blogspot.com has been frozen and this one is a Hillary supporting site. The operator of Come a Long Way has a mirror site off the Blogspot platform and has today posted this notice:

I used to have a happy internet home on Blogger: www.comealongway.blogspot.com. Then on Wednesday night, June 25, I received the following e-mail:

Dear Blogger user,

This is a message from the Blogger team.

Your blog, at http://comealongway.blogspot.com/, has been identified as a potential spam blog. You will not be able to publish posts to your blog until we review your site and confirm that it is not a spam blog.

Sincerely,

The Blogger Team

It turns out that there is an interesting pattern where it concerns the blogs that Google's Blogspot team have summarily locked down on their service. They all belong to the Just Say No Deal coalition, a group of blogs that are standing against the Obama campaign. It seems the largest portion of these blogs are Hillary supporting blogs, too.

All I can say is, WOW! If Google is willing to abuse its power like this even against fellow leftists, what does it plan against conservatives, the folks Google hates even more!?

Here is a list of the Blogspot blogs that have been frozen by Google thus far:

• Blue Lyon @ http://bluelyon.blogspot.com



• Come A Long Way @ http://comealongway.blogspot.com



• Hillary or Bust @ http://hillaryorbust.blogspot.com



• McCain Democrats @ http://mccaindemocrats.blogspot.com



• NObama Blog @ http://nobamablog.blogspot.com



• politicallizard.blogspot.com @ http://thelizardannex.blogspot.com



• Reflections in Tyme @ http://reflections-in-tyme.blogspot.com

Crossposted from Stop the ACLU

Plan your trip to the Flight 93 crash site for the weekend of August 2nd!

Are you thinking of visiting the Flight 93 crash site? If you plan your visit for the weekend of August 2nd, you can help stop the gigantic terrorist memorial mosque that will soon start rising from the ground there.



August 2nd is the next scheduled public meeting of the Memorial Project, where anyone can sign up to speak during the public comment period. Tom Burnett Sr. (whose son Tom Jr. broke into the cockpit of the hijacked airplane) announced last Friday that he and Alec Rawls will be traveling to Somerset for the August meeting. They will be rallying outdoors, speaking at the public meeting, and visiting the crash site.



Mr. Burnett is asking other concerned parties who can make it to please come. The crash site is a beautiful and meaningful place to visit in any case, and here is a chance to make your visit even more meaningful. It is an opportunity to in some small way follow the lead of the heroes of Flight 93 by helping to stop the re-hijacking of Flight 93.



Mr. Burnett's announcement came on the Mancow Muller radio show, where Congressman Tancredo was also a guest. When controversy over the Crescent of Embrace design first arose back in 2005, Tom Tancredo was instrumental in forcing the Park Service to alter the design. Last fall he noted that the giant crescent remains unchanged in the so-called redesign and asked the Park Service to scrap the design entirely. On Friday he said that he would help Mancow Muller and Tom Burnett to stop the crescent design (audio, 19 seconds):

Certainly I will do everything I can to help you. I will bring it to the attention of my colleagues. I'll use the time I have on the floor of the House to rail against it.

THANK YOU CONGRESSMAN TANCREDO!



Mr. Burnett said that he would join Mancow in going to jail for taking sledgehammers to the crescent memorial if this tribute to the terrorists actually gets built. (Audio, 25 seconds.)



Cao has the whole segment of Mancow and the two Toms up as a YouTube video, with her own background graphics.





To join our blogbursts, just send your blog's url.

ACLU Supports Legalized Unregulated Prostitution

Crossposted from STACLU

Since New York Governor Eliot Spitzer brought the topic into the national discussion, I thought it would be interesting to dust off this oldy but goody. I know that some more libertarian leaning people actually agree with the ACLU on this, but I don't. It will be interesting to watch the debate in the comments.

Keep in mind that all laws are based on some moral code. That code isn't necessarily that of any one specific religion, but a reflection of the collective morals of the community and general public. It is my belief that issues like this one should be decided at the state level by the representatives of the people.

Also keep in mind that even in States where prostitution is legal it is regulated. The ACLU believe it should be unregulated. I think this is the most retarded and absolutist position that the ACLU has on this one. I don't know about you, but I don't want someone being pimped on the same corner my kid catches the school bus.

Not only have the ACLU argued before a federal appeals court that having a ban on federal funds to organizations that promote commercial sex work inhibits free speech, but they even advocate the legalization of unregulated prostitution themselves.

The ACLU's Policy 211 is straightforward. "The ACLU supports the decriminalization of prostitution and opposes state regulation of prostitution". They base their argument on several points, including that existing laws are discrimination against women, and the right of individual privacy. They argue that what two consenting adults in private do is their own business. However, when you also oppose zoning laws, and regulation you can hardly argue that prostitution is a private business.

As for it being a privacy issue, it seems a contradiction to me when they also state that the "public" solicitation of prostitution is "entitled to the protection of the First Amendment". "It's not just the bedroom that the ACLU wishes to make off-limits to public censure, but also the local street corner, presumably even if that corner is regularly used by school children crossing the street." Source

And what good would it do for women's rights to decriminalize this? One could argue that women should not be punished for their own exploitation. But how does decriminalizing pimps, buyers, procurers, brothels or other sex establishments offer any solution to this? Decriminalization would do nothing but expand the sex industry and send a message to society that it is acceptable. And a system unregulated would do nothing for women's health, and would only promote the spread disease.

They don't belive in zoning laws, and do believe in fully legalalized, and unregulated prostitution. So there wouldn't be any law that could keep a prostitution house from being a certain distance from your neighborhood, your Church, or your child's preschool. This is especially disturbing when they think child pornography distribution and possession should be legal, and fight for convicted child molesters to live across the street from elementary schools and parks.

This is just one of many in a very long list of extremist positions of the ACLU.

Detainees Treated Fairly, Rehabilitated to Re-enter Iraqi Society

Courtesy of Multi-National Force Iraq: Detainees Treated Fairly, Rehabilitated to Re-enter Iraqi Society

Detainees form a crowd inside the compound as the loud cheers and even louder jeers intensify. Guards on the catwalks above watch closely as the mob’s shouting reaches its peak. It’s over suddenly, and the participants trickle away in ones and twos, replaying the highlights of the afternoon’s volleyball game and already planning for the next.

Allowing detainees freedom - even fun – inside a detention facility may seem odd, but it is part of a strategic counterinsurgency tactic to engage detainees and separate violent individuals from the rest of the population. The goal is to create a safe and positive environment for successful detainee reintegration into Iraqi society.

Army Staff Sgt. Gregory Smith, 535th Military Police Battalion, is a Reservist military policeman and a civilian police officer from Nashville, Tenn. He works as the noncommissioned officer in charge of Compound Two, known inside the TIF as the most compliant compound. Much of his day is spent walking the compound’s four zones, overseeing his guards and meeting with the detainee zone chiefs, he said.

“I like to describe my job in the TIF as putting out small fires before they turn into big ones,” said Smith.

Link to rest of story

Technorati tags: BAGHDAD, razor-wire fences, Camp Cropper, Coalition forces theater internment facility, TIF, western Baghdad, detainee

Prophet offenders must be killed - bin Laden

A trip down memory lane to put radial Islam into prospective, 24 April 2006:

Dubai - Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has called for people who ridiculed the Prophet Mohammad to be killed, weighing into the furore that erupted after a Danish newspaper ran cartoons lampooning Islam's holy messenger.

"Heretics and atheists, who denigrate religion and transgress against God and His Prophet, will not stop their enmity towards Islam except by being killed," the Saudi-born militant said.

Bin Laden's remarks were part of an audio tape which Al Jazeera television aired excerpts from on Sunday 23 April 2006.

Related Articles

• Osama slams the West for 'war against Islam'
• Bin Laden condemns 'crusader war' on Islam
• Muslims slam cartoons published in Estonia
• Cartoon protester appears in UK court
• No case against paper that printed cartoons
• No time limit to ransom for cartoonist's head
• Thousands march during new cartoon protest

Technorati tags: bin laden, al qaeda, radical Islam, crusader war, muslim cartoons, heretics, atheists, infidels

The liberal mind

Top psychiatrist concludes liberals are clinically nuts!
Makes case ideology is mental disorder

---

Courtesy of WorldNetDaily

WASHINGTON – Just when liberals thought it was safe to start identifying themselves as such, an acclaimed, veteran psychiatrist is making the case that the ideology motivating them is actually a mental disorder.

"Based on strikingly irrational beliefs and emotions, modern liberals relentlessly undermine the most important principles on which our freedoms were founded," says Dr. Lyle Rossiter, author of the new book, "The Liberal Mind: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness." "Like spoiled, angry children, they rebel against the normal responsibilities of adulthood and demand that a parental government meet their needs from cradle to grave."

Dr. Rossiter says the liberal agenda preys on weakness and feelings of inferiority in the population by:

• creating and reinforcing perceptions of victimization;
• satisfying infantile claims to entitlement, indulgence and compensation;
• augmenting primitive feelings of envy;
• rejecting the sovereignty of the individual, subordinating him to the will of the government.

For the rest of the article please visit WorldNetDaily

Related special offers:

Get your copy of "The Liberal Mind: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness"

Get Michael Savage's prophetic "Liberalism Is a Mental Disorder"

Technorati tags: michael savage, savage nation, lyle rossiter, liberalism, mental disorders, irrational beliefs, modern liberals

Al-Qaeda in Iraq Offers Palestinians Military and Economic Aid – And Help in Manufacturing Rockets

Courtesy of MEMRI

VIEW THE NEW MEMRI TV WEBSITE AT: www.memritv.org

Special Dispatch-Jihad & Terrorism/Palestinians February 17, 2008 No. 1845
Al-Qaeda in Iraq Offers Palestinians Military and Economic Aid – And Help in Manufacturing Rockets

To view this Special Dispatch in HTML, visit: Al-Qaeda in Iraq Offers Palestinians Military and Economic Aid – And Help in Manufacturing Rockets .

In a 30-minute video posted February 14, 2008 on the Islamist website Al-Hesbah (hosted by NOC4Hosts Inc. in Florida), Abu Omar Al-Baghdadi, commander of the Al-Qaeda-founded organization Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), presents his position on "winning the war against the Jews." In it, he calls Israel "a malignant germ that was implanted in the heart of the Islamic nation and must be eradicated," and stresses that liberating Al-Aqsa mosque is a duty incumbent upon each and every Muslim. He also accuses Hamas of treason for entering into the political process with Israel while turning its back on jihad fighters around the world.

Addressing the Palestinians, Al-Baghdadi calls on them to embrace the path of jihad, and to make no distinction between the infidel Jews and the Palestinians who betray Islam. He advises them to establish a special Salafi organization to train the children of the stones in noble jihad goals, and urges them to eradicate Shi'ism, which has begun to spread in Palestine in the guise of "resistance." He also calls upon all Muslims to strengthen the existing jihad fronts – especially in Iraq and Afghanistan – and to establish new jihad fronts in order to take some of the Israeli-American pressure off the Palestinians. Finally, he offered the Palestinians economic aid as well as help in training fighters and in manufacturing rockets.

Following are excerpts from his address:  

"Israel is a Malignant Germ… The Jewish Traits, as Described in the Koran, Have Persisted through the Ages, and Are Passed from One Generation [of Jews] to the Next"

"Today, I will devote my address to my perception about how to prevail in the struggle against the Jews... Before discussing the solution, let me state some facts that I believe to be true: The [duty of] liberating Al-Aqsa is incumbent upon every Muslim [around the world], just as every Palestinian Muslim has a duty [to participate in] liberating Iraq, Chechnya and other Muslim countries... Israel was founded on a religious basis. It is a religious state, and anyone who calls it a secular state is lying... Israel is a malignant germ implanted in the heart of the Islamic nation, and it must be eradicated, even if the traitors sign a thousand capitulation agreements with it. There is no difference between Zionism and Judaism... since the traits of the Jews, as described in the Koran, have persisted through history, and are passed from one generation [of Jews] to the next...

"The nationalist Arabs and their wretched revolution had a hand in the establishment of Israel... The [various] Palestinian organizations... are the root of the problem... Allah has brought disaster upon them and has exposed their shame... The armed organizations affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, and especially Hamas – with the exception of the loyal ['Izz Al-Din] Al-Qassam Brigades – have betrayed Islam and the [Islamic] nation, and have renounced the blood of the martyrs..."

"The Leadership of Hamas has Betrayed Islam and Has Turned Its Back on Jihad Fighters Everywhere"

"The treason of the Hamas leadership is characterized by the following: Its joining the political [process] within the framework of a constitution written by man and on the basis of the Oslo Accords, which surrenders three fourths of Palestine; its implicit recognizing of Israel; its announcement that it will honor the international agreements...; its forming a suspect alliance with Israel and with the regimes that have betrayed Islam, particularly with Egypt and Syria...; its turning its back on jihad fighters [everywhere]...; its announcing, in Moscow, that the issue of Chechnya is an internal [Russian] affair; [its announcing] that [Hamas] has had nothing to do with the jihad in Iraq and has not fired a single shot there; its announcing that [Hamas] is not interested in Islamization of [Palestinian] society... and its not demanding that the political process be in accordance with shari'a as well as its not implementing shari'a once it gained full control of Gaza; its [display of] overt hostility towards jihadi Salafism [the Islamic creed followed by Al-Qaeda]...; and its violating the [religious] prohibition on spilling Palestinian blood..."

"Jihad is the Solution; There Is No Distinction Between Olmert... and 'Abbas" 

"Our brothers in Palestine must know that jihad is the solution, and that under the pure flag of monotheism, there is no distinction between war against the Jewish infidel and [war against] the Palestinians who have betrayed Islam. Thus, there is no distinction between [Israeli Prime Minister] Olmert, with his [band of] criminals, and [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] 'Abbas and his gang...

"Another sector that must be dealt a heavy blow is the Shi'ites, and particularly their leaders. This cancer has already begun to spread among our brothers in Palestine, taking advantage of ignorance and poverty. [It is being spread by] a group of traitors who are collaborating with the Iranian Shi'ites, under the guise of 'resistance [fighters]'... Allah's warriors know that Shi'ism is not the [true] Islam revealed by our Prophet Muhammad, but is based on polytheism...

"What would help our brothers in their jihad against the Jewish attack... [is] the establishment of a Salafi organization, which would embrace the [Salafi] ideology... would maintain active ties with the [religious] scholars, the sheikhs, the mosques and the leaders [of Palestinian society], and would train Palestinian youth to wage noble jihad... [Also,] the loyal [fighters] of the ['Izz Al-Din] Al Qassam [Brigades] should announce that they are severing ties with Hamas and with its corrupt and deviant political leadership..."

The Islamic Nation Should Establish New Jihad Fronts To Ease Pressure on the Palestinians 

"The role that the [Islamic] nation must play in liberating Al-Aqsa is manifold. It must open new jihad fronts in order to take some of the Jewish and American pressure off our brothers in Palestine. At the same time, it must make sure to strengthen the existing jihad fronts – especially [where there is] a direct confrontation with [U.S.] troops, as in Iraq and Afghanistan... [The Islamic nation] must also break down the despicable checkpoints that encircle our brothers in Palestine: the Palestinians in Jordan must breach the [Jordanian] border in order to lift the economic siege off the West Bank... while the Egyptians must breach the border separating them from their brothers in Gaza...

"In this context, I suggest that every Muslim put aside two dollars of his monthly income; half [the money] will go to our brothers in Palestine and the other half will go to the other [jihad] fronts.

Virtuous people should establish secret charities... to collect this money and hold it until it can be sent on to its destination...

Religious scholars must break down the barriers of fear... and inform [everyone] of the danger posed to the faith and to the [entire] world by the regimes that have betrayed Islam. [They must] support the jihad fighters and advise them by issuing fatwas... [In addition,] the media must truly support the jihad fighters by emphasizing their virtues and ignoring their flaws..."

The ISI is Persecuted Because It is the Key to Liberating Jerusalem

"As for the role of the ISI in liberating Palestine... we hope it will be the key to restoring [Muslim control over] Jerusalem. The Jews and the Muslims have already realized [its crucial importance], and have tried to prevent us from [attaining] this goal in every possible way. The vicious attack on the Al-Anbar [district] was motivated only by their realization that medium-range missiles fired from Al-Anbar can reach Israel, as demonstrated by Saddam [Hussein in the first Gulf War]... They know that some of [his] missiles are still around, and that new ones can be manufactured...

"The crimes perpetrated by the Muslim Brotherhood in Iraq, and especially by Hamas-Iraq, by the [Iraqi] Islamic Party and by Al-Jaysh Al-Islami – [namely] the establishment of the Awakening movement and their continuing attempts to drive us out of Al-Anbar, with direct [collaboration] with the Americans – were aimed solely at preventing us from helping you [i.e. the Palestinians], even if [this help was] only from afar. But know that with Allah's help, the future will be bright, [for] we will never [let] the collaborators and the traitors stand in our way...

"We are willing to help you with the little money we have, and to train your fighters [in everything], from preparing explosive charges to manufacturing rockets...

"[Signed] your brother, Abu Omar Al-Quraishi Al-Baghdadi." 

*********************
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MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be used with proper attribution.

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Phone: (202) 955-9070
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Technorati tags: al jayah al islami, al anbar, palestinians, palestine, muslim brotherhood in iraq, saddam hussein, collaborators, memri, al baghdadi, islamist, al hasbah, jews, christians, infidels, jihad, muslim, qur'an, koran, islamization, salafism, al qaeda fighters, afghanistan, al aqsa, chechnya, israel, islamic nation, caliphate, secular state

House Dems 'Leave Washington, Leave America Exposed to Attack'

Courtesy of CNSNews

By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
February 15, 2008

(CNSNews.com) - President Bush and Republicans are blasting House Democratic leaders for taking a week-long President's Day recess without passing a key piece of national security legislation.

The Protect America Act -- which authorizes the U.S. intelligence community to quickly monitor terrorist communications -- will expire at midnight on Saturday.

"If Congress does not act by that time, our ability to find out who the terrorists are talking to, what they are saying, and what they are planning will be compromised," President Bush warned on Thursday. "It would be a mistake if the Congress were to allow this to happen."

House Democrats are going to allow it to happen, however.

They have refused to take up a bipartisan bill that easily passed the Senate earlier this week, because that bill would not only modernize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) -- it also would grant legal immunity to telecommunications companies that assisted the government in its warrantless electronic surveillance after Sept. 11, 2001.

"Without this protection, without this liability shield, we may not be able to secure the private sector's cooperation with our intelligence efforts," President Bush warned. That would put the American people at risk, he added.

Two days ago, the House rejected a short-term FISA extension intended to give Democrats more time to work on a permanent fix. Even some Democrats voted against a short-term fix. (See related story).

"Terrorists seeking to harm America and destroy our way of life have been handed a major victory by the Majority's decision to bar intelligence officials from opening any new foreign surveillance cases without needless bureaucratic hurdles," House Republican Leader John Boehner said on Thursday.

"As Members of Congress return to their congressional districts for the 12-day recess, terrorists will continue plotting to attack our nation and our allies. And the American people will have every reason to ask why House Democrats have undermined the ability of our intelligence officials to protect us."

The FISA bill is so important to President Bush, he offered to delay his trip to Africa on Friday if it would help House leaders finish work on the FISA bill.

President Bush says it's clear that the Senate bill would easily pass the House, if only House Democratic leaders would bring it to the floor for a vote.

"Our government has no greater responsibility than getting this work done, and there really is no excuse for letting this critical legislation expire," Bush said. "The House should not leave Washington without passing the Senate bill."
In response to a question, President Bush said he hopes Congress isn't "playing politics," as some Republicans have charged. "I can assure you al Qaeda in their planning isn't thinking about politics. They're thinking about hurting the American people again."

President Bush says the U.S. intelligence community needs to know what America's enemies are saying, planning and thinking. He said electronic surveillance "has been very effective."

President Bush noted that the House passed a short-term FISA fix last summer - the Protect America Act, which expires this weekend. "And if it was necessary last summer, why is it not necessary today?" Bush asked.
Instead of tackling a FISA bill on Thursday, House Democrats further infuriated Republicans by issuing contempt of Congress citations against former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten.

The House voted 223 to 32 to hold Miers and Bolten in contempt for refusing to comply with a legally binding subpoena relating to the Bush administration's firing of U.S. attorney-generals.

Pelosi said members of Congress take their "oversight" responsibility "seriously."

Too bad House Democrats don't take national security seriously, House Republican Whip House Republican Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.) said on Thursday.

"I am amazed that while Democrats are eagerly taking political potshots at White House employees, including one who left over a year ago, they refuse to consider bipartisan legislation to safeguard our nation.

"Taking up these contempt citations with only two days until a critical intelligence law expires is as poorly timed as it is poorly reasoned, and it demonstrates the Democrats' cavalier approach to national security."

House Republicans walked off the House floor in protest on Thursday afternoon.

On Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi brushed aside Republican complaints that the nation will suffer if the Protect America Act expires.

"Even if the Protect America Act expires later this week, the American people can be confident that our country remains safe and strong. Every order entered under the law can remain in effect for 12 months from the date it was issued," Pelosi said.

But the Bush administration says without the force of law to protect them, telecommunications companies are increasingly reluctant to cooperate with warrantless surveillance.

losi on Wednesday also slammed Republicans for refusing to support a short-term extension of the bill. Republicans "therefore will bear the responsibility should any adverse national consequences result," Pelosi insisted. (President Bush said it's time for the House to pass a permanent fix, just as the Senate did -- not another patch.)

Technorati tags: pundits, pelosi, house of representativs, warrentless surveillance, national security, fisa, protect america act, bush, democrats, congress

House Dems 'Leave Washington, Leave America Exposed to Attack'

Courtesy of CNSNews

By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
February 15, 2008

(CNSNews.com) - President Bush and Republicans are blasting House Democratic leaders for taking a week-long President's Day recess without passing a key piece of national security legislation.

The Protect America Act -- which authorizes the U.S. intelligence community to quickly monitor terrorist communications -- will expire at midnight on Saturday.

"If Congress does not act by that time, our ability to find out who the terrorists are talking to, what they are saying, and what they are planning will be compromised," President Bush warned on Thursday. "It would be a mistake if the Congress were to allow this to happen."

House Democrats are going to allow it to happen, however.

They have refused to take up a bipartisan bill that easily passed the Senate earlier this week, because that bill would not only modernize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) -- it also would grant legal immunity to telecommunications companies that assisted the government in its warrantless electronic surveillance after Sept. 11, 2001.

"Without this protection, without this liability shield, we may not be able to secure the private sector's cooperation with our intelligence efforts," President Bush warned. That would put the American people at risk, he added.

Two days ago, the House rejected a short-term FISA extension intended to give Democrats more time to work on a permanent fix. Even some Democrats voted against a short-term fix. (See related story).

"Terrorists seeking to harm America and destroy our way of life have been handed a major victory by the Majority's decision to bar intelligence officials from opening any new foreign surveillance cases without needless bureaucratic hurdles," House Republican Leader John Boehner said on Thursday.

"As Members of Congress return to their congressional districts for the 12-day recess, terrorists will continue plotting to attack our nation and our allies. And the American people will have every reason to ask why House Democrats have undermined the ability of our intelligence officials to protect us."

The FISA bill is so important to President Bush, he offered to delay his trip to Africa on Friday if it would help House leaders finish work on the FISA bill.

President Bush says it's clear that the Senate bill would easily pass the House, if only House Democratic leaders would bring it to the floor for a vote.

"Our government has no greater responsibility than getting this work done, and there really is no excuse for letting this critical legislation expire," Bush said. "The House should not leave Washington without passing the Senate bill."
In response to a question, President Bush said he hopes Congress isn't "playing politics," as some Republicans have charged. "I can assure you al Qaeda in their planning isn't thinking about politics. They're thinking about hurting the American people again."

President Bush says the U.S. intelligence community needs to know what America's enemies are saying, planning and thinking. He said electronic surveillance "has been very effective."

President Bush noted that the House passed a short-term FISA fix last summer - the Protect America Act, which expires this weekend. "And if it was necessary last summer, why is it not necessary today?" Bush asked.
Instead of tackling a FISA bill on Thursday, House Democrats further infuriated Republicans by issuing contempt of Congress citations against former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten.

The House voted 223 to 32 to hold Miers and Bolten in contempt for refusing to comply with a legally binding subpoena relating to the Bush administration's firing of U.S. attorney-generals.

Pelosi said members of Congress take their "oversight" responsibility "seriously."

Too bad House Democrats don't take national security seriously, House Republican Whip House Republican Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.) said on Thursday.

"I am amazed that while Democrats are eagerly taking political potshots at White House employees, including one who left over a year ago, they refuse to consider bipartisan legislation to safeguard our nation.

"Taking up these contempt citations with only two days until a critical intelligence law expires is as poorly timed as it is poorly reasoned, and it demonstrates the Democrats' cavalier approach to national security."

House Republicans walked off the House floor in protest on Thursday afternoon.

On Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi brushed aside Republican complaints that the nation will suffer if the Protect America Act expires.

"Even if the Protect America Act expires later this week, the American people can be confident that our country remains safe and strong. Every order entered under the law can remain in effect for 12 months from the date it was issued," Pelosi said.

But the Bush administration says without the force of law to protect them, telecommunications companies are increasingly reluctant to cooperate with warrantless surveillance.

losi on Wednesday also slammed Republicans for refusing to support a short-term extension of the bill. Republicans "therefore will bear the responsibility should any adverse national consequences result," Pelosi insisted. (President Bush said it's time for the House to pass a permanent fix, just as the Senate did -- not another patch.)

Technorati tags: pundits, pelosi, house of representativs, warrentless surveillance, national security, fisa, protect america act, bush, democrats, congress

Al Qaida Leader's Diary Reveals Organization's Decline

Courtesy of Multi-National Force Iraq WASHINGTON — U.S. troops found a diary belonging to an al Qaida in Iraq leader that has Coalition forces believing the terrorist organization is “on its heels,” a senior military official in Baghdad said yesterday.  Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team captured a diary Nov. 3, 2007, belonging to Abu Tariq, an al Qaida emir in control of five battalions within two sectors, U.S. Air Force Col. Donald J. Bacon, a Multi-National Force - Iraq spokesman, told online journalists and “bloggers” during a conference call.

View Translated Diary (PDF)

The Soldiers found the diary during a patrol conducted about 15 kilometers south of Balad. Bacon said the 16-page diary contains records about man power, operations, weapons, and finances, and it shows that al Qaida is hurting badly in the belts of Baghdad.

“There were 600 al-Qaida members in this sector, now there (are) 20 or less,” said Bacon.

In the diary, Tariq describes each battalion’s number decline and goes on to describe the 4th battalion as “scoundrels, sectarians and nonbelievers.” Tariq attributes his terrorist organization’s decline in large part to groups of Concerned Local Citizens (CLC), who are also known as the ‘Sons of Iraq’.

Many high-ranking al Qaida members, including Osama Bin Laden, have spoken out about the negative impact that the CLC groups have had on their organization. As a result, the CLC are being attacked more frequently by the terrorists, Bacon said.

Nevertheless, Bacon said the numbers of CLC are growing, which indicates that they are less afraid of al-Qaida.

“Right now there (are) approximately 77,500 CLC with 135 different initiatives, and more and more are being hired,” Bacon said.

Bacon said he believes the diary is also in part a will of sorts, in case anything was to happen to Tariq.

“He wanted to keep a clear record,” Bacon said.

Bacon said he believes the diary is indicative of some other areas in Iraq but not all of Iraq. He cautioned that al Qaida is still a dangerous enemy.

“We still believe they are our number one threat,” said Bacon.

“There is a 90 percent decline of violence in Anbar but we are still fighting them in Diala,” he added. “They still have the capacity and the will but we have the momentum.”

Bacon noted, however, that “overall levels of violence in Iraq are down, and we are seeing positive trends.”

(Story by Navy Seaman William Selby, Special to American Forces Press Service)

Technorati tags: iraq, al qaeda fighters, us forces, Coalition forces, Concerned Local Citizens (CLC), sons of iraq, baghdad

Send the ACLU a Christmas Card

Crossposted from: Stop The ACLU:

Its become a popular yearly tradition now to send the Anti-Christian Liars Union grinches a Christmas card. I personally think its ineffective, and that the money you waste on a stamp for the organization to toss in the shredder would be better served towards a good cause. So, I encourage you to save that money, dig a little deeper, and contribute to an organization that fights the ACLU and defends Christmas. The Alliance Defense Fund, and the ACLJ are both great organizations that defend Christmas each year. The Alliance Defense Fund does it for free. Why not help groups like that out this year?

However, from experience last year...I know that many will insist on sending the ACLU a Christmas card. Afterall, it is tradition. If that is how you want to make your message...we have some great greeting cards and postcards available at our online store. Plenty of other great Christmas gifts too.

Send your Christmas card to the ACLU at:

ACLU
125 Broad Street
18th Floor
New York , NY 10004

Travels with Abe, an Israeli's perspective: Yaman

Welcome back with another article from an Israeli friend, Abe. Abe is a guest contributor with history to tell. Perhaps you will begin to see an Israeli’s perspective of this world that we live in and what we are up against. Respectfully, Bosun

Yaman:

I first met Yaman when we were both in Basic Training. Yaman is a nickname that is automatically bestowed on all Yemenite Jews in Israel. He was slightly built, wiry and a fast runner, no matter how much weight you piled on him. He was dark skinned and black haired. He looked like the archetypical Yemenite. We immediately dubbed him “Yaman.” He kept the name, even after he explained, to anyone who would listen, that he wasn’t Yemenite. He was ethnically Indian. We didn’t care. To us he was Yaman.

Our basic training was that of Armoured Infantry. Back in 1967, the Armoured Infantry was transported mainly by half-tracks. We didn’t have APCs yet. After basic training, we tankers went on to tank training while the infantry guys went to their advanced training. Throughout basic, Yaman was my buddy. He could out-march and out-run anyone on base, and that included the corporals and sergeants who were training (abusing) us. On one march, when we were traversing a freshly plowed field during a rainstorm, my leg muscles cramped up badly. Every step we took, we raised these heavy clods of mud that stuck to our boots. The farmer sat in his tractor and laughed as we trudged through the mud. Keeping pace with us, he sipped lemonade and told us how tough his service had been, and how spoiled we were. I was barely able to walk; Yaman took my pack and rifle, and supported me for the next 5 km to the end of that day’s march. Back in our tent, he helped me lay down and brought a medic who wrapped up the legs and assured me that they’d be as good as new by morning.

When we finished Basic, I went to Tank Driver’s school and Yaman went to Advanced Infantry Training. We didn’t see each other for months. When, as a newly trained tank driver, I arrived in the Central Canal Sector, the first person I saw was Yaman. The Suez Canal Zone was divided into three sectors. The total length of the Canal was 160 km (100 miles). The Northern Sector started way up at the northern tip of the Canal and reached a point just south of Al Kantara. The city of Al Kantara was empty. The inhabitants had fled when our forces reached the city in the Six Day War. Driving a tank through a ghost city was eerie. You drove through streets that were empty. Houses were empty.

The Central Sector extended from just south of Kantara (where the Northern Sector ended), to just south of Doer Suwair. At its center, the outposts faced the City of Ismailiya, on the other side.   The Southern Sector went from there all the way to the Gulf of Suez. We would be stationed at the Canal itself for about three months. Another unit would relieve us. We would then move to a base in the center of the Sinai for three months. After three months of non-stop training, we would, once again, return to the Canal for a three-month stint. Each such stint was called a “line.” You did “lines” and “rears” your whole service.

This was my first “line,” and I was excited. A history buff, I had read a lot about the Suez Canal. I was excited to actually be there. This excitement, of course, faded somewhat after I had dodged some shells. Yaman and I lived in the same bunker. There were six of us living in this bunker. The bunker consisted of a dugout in the earth, covered by a steel arch with sandbags on it. The IDF Corp of Engineers was planning to upgrade the bunkers, but that was it in the meantime.

This first “line” was in the Central Sector, opposite the ghost-city of Ismailiya. The Egyptians had artillery aimed at us. We used tanks. This meant that they could fire from a greater range. We had to get closer (to, at least, a range of 4000 meters, or less). Israel didn’t have an Artillery Corp the size of the Egyptian one. Besides, we were trained to be mobile, and we were with the tanks.

Yaman and his infantry guarded the outpost and the tanks. He became a Squad Leader, and his men loved the “little Yemenite.” His protestations of being Indian and not Yemenite were to no avail. As far as we were concerned, he was “Yaman,” a Yemenite.

We cooked our own meals at the outpost, and every day, there would be a different tank crew in charge of the kitchen. Yaman had brought spices from home, and they were hidden in plastic bags among his “stuff.” Once in a while, he would shoulder us aside as we were cooking, and take over, with his spices. We would then be rewarded with an incredible curry or other Indian dish. We would laughingly call it “Yemenite Curry.”

Back then, we would get to go home about once in six weeks. At one of our Backgammon games, (Called Shesh-Besh in the ME, it’s a very popular game), I mentioned to Yaman that I’d be going home on leave the next week. He asked me to pick up some sunflower seeds for him. Eating sunflower seeds is an Israeli passion, and I also confess to the act. I went home. On the radio, (Israel didn’t yet have TV), the morning news would include the names of those killed the day before at the front (Egypt or Syria). I was sipping coffee, when I heard the announcer say, “Yitshaq Tzadiq!”

I couldn’t believe it. Yaman was dead. I hadn’t even been there. I had been relaxing at home while he was dying. I picked up some sunflower seeds, and headed back to the Canal. My holiday was over. Once back at the outpost, they told me how Yaman got caught up in a direct hit on the bunker. One of the steel beams comprising the arch of the bunker had been sent flying and skewered him. It happened very fast. He didn’t feel a thing. I laid the bag of sunflower seeds at the base of the arch, and went aside to mourn my friend.

Yaman was the first friend I lost in the Canal. I only wish he had been the last.

 

Technorati tags: Israel, rumors of war, yaman, yemenite, israeli self defense force, sdf, Kantara, Doer Suwairl, Ismailiya, Gulf of Suez, six day war

Travels with Abe, An Israeli's Perspective: The Technological Edge

Welcome back with another article from an Israeli friend, Abe. Abe is a guest contributor with history to tell. Perhaps you will begin to see an Israeli’s perspective of this world that we live in and what we are up against. Respectfully, Bosun

The Technological Edge:

Israel has a technological edge over its neighbours. Israel has ALWAYS had a technological edge over its neighbours. It’s one of the things that ensure its survival. There is one thing that needs to be understood by anyone before discussing what Israel can or can’t do; Israel is a technological giant. Anti-Israelis, (I’m loath to use the other anti-** word too loosely), have a tendency to equate Israel with third-world countries. They make the mistake of believing their own propaganda. Because they hate Israel, they downgrade it in their minds. “It’s not possible,” they say, “that a country so reviled (by us), could be so technologically advanced without importing this technology from the West.”

This reminds me of the Six Day War, back in 1967. Egypt, Syria and Jordan, (followed by anti-Israeli institutions world-wide), stated that the devastating air-attack that Israel carried out at the beginning of the war to destroy their air-forces, was actually done by the British and American air-forces. Anti-Israelis everywhere were only too happy to believe this. Bogged down in their denial of Israeli technological superiority, it gave some order to their explanation of Israel’s dramatic victory.

Israel’s technological edge goes back a long way. Jews have always been at the forefront of scientific advance. No need to mention the many Jewish scientists who, through the ages, helped the human march to what we have today. During the middle ages, when being a scientist in the Christian world was dangerous, and being a Jew was even more dangerous, Jewish scientists worked in Muslim states such as Egypt, where they were honoured and permitted to function. One of Judaism’s greatest sages, Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon, the Ramba’m), was also the personal physician to the Sultan, Saladin (Yusuf Ibn Ayoub, Salah-a-Din).
Jews continued to participate in the development of technology throughout history. When the Modern Zionist movement began to accelerate in the late 19th Century, Jewish scientists started paying attention. There were scientists who abandoned their posts in the West and “ascended” to the Holy Land. In the early 20th Century, Germans came by the thousands. They built the sister-cities of Netanya and Nahariya. There’s a story in Israel that’s so old, it has a beard as long as Israel’s Coastal Road. Back when Netanya was being built, a group of Bedouin camel drivers heard a loud “whooshing” sound in the sand dunes of the Sharon plain. It sounded like a waterfall. They cautiously climbed dune after dune, until they came to the Mediterranean coast, where they saw an astonishing site. The Jews were building a city in the sand. Bricks were being passed to the masons. As he passed a brick to a mason, a worker would say, “Bitte Schön, Herr Doktor,” to which the mason would reply, “Danke Schön, Herr Doktor.” That, multiplied by the hundreds, was the “whooshing” sound the Bedouin had heard. The “Herr Doktors” were PhDs in virtually every science of the time. They built cities, roads and farms, and created one of the soundest scientific communities in the world.

Israel has offered to share its technology with its neighbours a few times. Back in the early 20th Century, Kibbutzim would offer medical aid to nearby Arab villages. An average Kibbutz would have an infirmary. Many of them had a doctor and all had a nurse or two. The clinic was always open, at no cost, to local Arabs. Some took advantage of it, some didn’t.

When Peace was established between Israel and two of its neighbours, Egypt and Jordan, Israel immediately offered to share technology. Israel had a lot to offer in the field of agriculture (among others), but Egypt did not break any speed records agreeing. The trouble is an inferiority complex. Egypt feels that agreeing to accept this from Israel makes it lose face. There are now many projects in which the two countries co-operate, but Egypt doesn’t like to advertise them. Jordan is more open with these projects, as well as the combined projects being run with chemicals from the Dead Sea. The border runs right down the center of this salt lake.

In the town of Rehovot, just southeast of Tel-Aviv, stands the Weitzman Institute. Named for Israel’s first President, who was a physicist, it’s a modern research institute that provides data to like institutes all over the world. There is no field of science today that is not represented by Israeli scientists. Israeli schools have very high standards. Many Israelis study in overseas universities because they can’t pass the difficult entrance-exams to Israeli colleges. The bar is so high, that US corporation recruiters show up on Israeli campuses to “snatch” the graduates. Many end up in Silicon Valley. Israeli companies have to offer a lot to prevent a “brain-drain.”  

As a result, IAF pilots are well trained to operate today’s technologically advanced fighters (with an attitude). Israel’s navy runs complex systems in its array of weapons and the Merkava tank has electronic systems that rival those of the M1 Abrams. Israel’s technological edge is what keeps it alive (along with pure attitude-Hutzpa). Let no one make the mistake of thinking that Israel’s technology is a borrowed one. It’s very solidly based and is respected everywhere. Israel holds expositions every year to advertise agricultural technology including, but not limited to, desert irrigation and other techniques of growing produce and flowers in the region. Representatives come from all over the world to see the innovations and make orders. I’ve met reps from the Gulf States, and from other Arab countries that, officially, are at war with Israel, but know that they need the technology. Gaza earned $3 million dollars last year from the export of flowers, an industry, left behind by Israel, which survived the destruction of the hothouses.

The American Southwest uses Israel’s Drip-Irrigation system. Years ago, Israeli scientists discovered what amount of water each plant needed optimally. Depending on what you were growing, water would spurt out of a perforated pipe at certain intervals and in certain amounts. This greatly economizes on water, while keeping the plant well supplied. These upgraded, computerized systems are causing an agricultural revolution in areas that were traditionally considered to be “too dry to grow anything.”

Many Americans are not aware how many Israeli tools they use daily, from cell phones to computer software. Most of the software used today all over the world was developed in Israel. A United Middle East using Israeli technology and an Arab workforce would be an economic bloc that would be hard to beat. It’s my dream.

Nuclear power? Israel has nuclear plants. That much is common knowledge. What is going on there is not. Most of us believe that we have the bomb. International military think tanks say that Israel has nuclear armaments that number in the hundreds (depending on the source), and that it has a capability of delivery both by air and artillery. We (the public) tend to believe that but, apart from an occasional “blurt” by Israeli leaders, Israel neither denies nor admits it. This, neither denying nor admitting, works for us. It has a stronger effect than if we admitted it outright. Keeps them guessing. Will they, or won’t they? Do they, or don’t they? Can they, or can’t they? Personally, I don’t see Israel using nukes under just about any condition, but just not admitting or denying is, in itself, a deterrent.

Israelis are well aware that the technological edge helps Israel to survive. We are very proud of the high standards we have and are determined to maintain them in a world that is increasingly being “dumbed down.” If we succeed, we’ll keep the technological edge. If we don’t, our very existence is in peril.

 

Technorati tags: Israel, Technological edge, six day war, egypt, syria, jordan, anti-israeli, maimonides, sultan, saladin, netanya, nahariya, coastal road, mediterranian, kibbutz, arabs, kibbutzim, rehovot, tel-aviv, weitsman institute

Ohio Man sentenced to 10 years conspiracy to provide support to terrorists

Must have missed this in the lamestream media. it is good to focus on some of our successes and also keep an eye on our vulnerabilities of potential future terroristic endeavors in America. Not all who come to our shores come with love and peace in their hearts.
Have a nice day.
Bosun

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2007
http://www.usdoj.gov

Press Release link ( HERE)

OHIO MAN SENTENCED TO TEN YEARS IMPRISONMENT FOR CONSPIRACY TO PROVIDE MATERIAL SUPPORT TO TERRORISTS

WASHINGTON – An Ohio man has been sentenced to serve ten years in prison for conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, Assistant Attorney General for National Security Kenneth L. Wainstein, U.S. Attorney Gregory G. Lockhart of the Southern District of Ohio, Assistant Director Joseph Billy, Jr., of the FBI Counterterrorism Division, and Julie L. Myers, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), announced today.

Nuradin M. Abdi, 35, a Somali national living in Columbus, Ohio, was named in a four-count indictment returned under seal in the U.S. District Court in Columbus on June 10, 2004. On July 31, 2007, Abdi pleaded guilty in federal court to Count One of the indictment, which charged him with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.

Count One of the indictment specifically alleged that on April 27, 1999, Abdi applied to the Immigration and Naturalization Service - now known as ICE - for a travel document, wherein he concealed his destination by representing that he intended to visit Germany and Saudi Arabia for the purpose of "Umrah (Holly[sic] - Mecca) and visit my relative," when he actually planned to travel to Ogaden, Ethiopia, for the purpose of obtaining military-style training in preparation for violent jihad. Abdi allegedly sought training in radio usage, guns, guerilla warfare and bombs.

“Today's sentence is just punishment for a defendant who exploited our country's freedoms and manipulated our immigration system on numerous occasions, all in an effort to support and conspire with international terrorists,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security, Kenneth L. Wainstein.

“I want to commend the men and women who have diligently investigated and prosecuted this case,” U.S. Attorney Lockhart said. “They are successfully carrying out one of our nation’s most important jobs in the fight against terrorism - stopping those in this country who provide support to terrorists.”

“Nuradin Abdi's sentence should send a very clear message to those who, like Abdi, provide support to terrorist organizations and operatives. The FBI will not tolerate the propagation of violence and discord by those who wish to harm the U.S. and its citizens, and we will continue to work with our partners to pursue suspected terrorists and their supporters” said Assistant Director Joseph Billy, Jr., FBI Counterterrorism Division.

“Today's sentencing brings to conclusion one aspect of a critical joint investigation that identified and stopped three terrorist supporters bent on causing panic and significant harm to U.S. citizens,” said ICE Assistant Secretary Julie L. Myers. “This investigation highlights the aggressive pursuit by ICE and the Department of Justice to identify and prosecute those who seek to terrorize America and its allies.”

According to the statement of facts agreed upon by the government and the defendant, Abdi first entered the United States in 1995 using a false passport. He once again illegally entered the United States from Canada in 1997. Abdi was later granted asylum in this country based on a series of false statements.

In the ensuing years, Abdi befriended co-conspirators Christopher Paul and Iyman Faris in Ohio. Christopher Paul was later arrested and indicted in April 2007 on charges of providing material support, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction (explosives). Iyman Faris was later convicted of providing material support and conspiracy to provide material support to Al Qaeda. He is currently serving a 20-year prison term.

Federal agents arrested Abdi on Nov. 28, 2003. Abdi subsequently agreed to be interviewed by FBI agents and admitted conspiring with Faris, Paul and others to provide material support to foreign terrorists. These admissions by Abdi have been corroborated in a variety of ways, including bank records, travel records, invoices, and items seized in search warrants.

This case was investigated by the Southern Ohio Joint Terrorism Task Force, a multi-agency operation that includes agents and officers from 15 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

The investigation was a joint investigation by agents and officers of the JTTF, specifically ICE Special Agents Bob Medellin and Rich Wilkens; and FBI Special Agents Steve Flowers and John Corbin.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dana M. Peters and Robyn J. Hahnert from the Southern District of Ohio and Sylvia Kaser, Trial Attorney with the Department of Justice’s Counterterrorism Section.

Technorati tags: terrorism suspects, america, somolia, illegal aliens, cio-conspirators, al qaeda, federal agents, ice, department of justice, department of homeland security

And now, a neutered Australia.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/feedarticle?id=7100509
http://www.arabtimesonline.com/clien...d=8321&ccid=18

Interesting to see where the Aussie's will end up, now that they has cast aside Prime Minster Howard for a liberal leftist.

'Don't mention the war'
Alex Bainbridge, Sydney
17 November 2007

“We have a plan to withdraw from Iraq, while Mr Howard doesn’t” — with these words on October 14, ALP leader Kevin Rudd described the war on Iraq as one of five “critical areas where the difference [between Labor and the Coalition] couldn’t be clearer”. He then went on to virtually ignore the Iraq war throughout the rest of the election campaign.

True, Rudd did utter the words “I will implement an exit strategy for our combat forces from Iraq” in his opening address to the October 21 “great debate” between PM John Howard and Rudd. He was then silent on the topic until ABC journalist Chris Uhlmann asked Howard about “terrorism” towards the end of the 90-minute debate.

http://www.greenleft.org.au/2007/732/37950

The left cheers that it is a great day for Australia with the mantra "Right wing thuggery defeated at long last."

I say, that is a very misguided analogy and that the leftist apologists and appeasers are rather naive and  willing to sell out the free world.  Don't they realize that they will be next?

Technorati tags: australia, prime minister howard, prime minister kevin rudd, labor and coalition, iraq, greenleft, anti-war

US Navy denied port visit to Hong Kong

USS Kitty Hawk Carrier Strike Group returning to port in Yokosuka, Japan

By U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs

Posted: 11/23/2007

---

SOUTH CHINA SEA -- After the USS Kitty Hawk Carrier Strike Group had been refused entry into the port of Hong Kong yesterday, building seas and deteriorating weather conditions necessitated the strike group’s departure from the area. The strike group is returning to Yokosuka, Japan.

Kitty Hawk Strike Group ships originally scheduled for the Nov. 21-24 port visit are: USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63), USS Shiloh (CG 67), USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), USS McCampbell (DDG 85), and USS Mustin (DDG 89). The Los Angeles class nuclear fast attack submarine USS Topeka (SSN 754) was also due to enter port with the Strike Group.

The USS Kitty Hawk Strike Group is permanently forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan. It is commanded by Rear Adm. Richard B. Wren.

 

Also reporting:  Associated Press, courtesy of the Globe and Mail

After snub by China, U.S. carrier battle group sails home

ERIC TALMADGE

Associated Press

November 23, 2007 at 1:46 AM EST

TOKYO — Thousands of sailors aboard the USS Kitty Hawk and its carrier battle group had to mark the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday at sea after they were denied entry to Hong Kong for a port call that had been planned months in advance, navy officials said Friday.

China turned the ships away when they neared the port for the planned four-day stop. Beijing later reversed its decision but by that time the aircraft carrier, along with four warships and a nuclear submarine, were already leaving the area under heavy weather.

China has given no reason why it refused the ships entry.

The top U.S. military commander in the Pacific said he's “perplexed and concerned” by China's move.

“It's hard to put any kind of positive spin on this,” Adm. Timothy Keating told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Thursday while flying back to the U.S. after visiting troops in Iraq.

“The crew members were disappointed but that did not deter them from celebrating Thanksgiving on the ships with meals and movies,” said Lt.-Cmdr. Steven Curry, a spokesman for the 7th Fleet, which has its home port in Yokosuka, Japan, just south of Tokyo.

The Kitty Hawk and its strike group were on their way back to Yokosuka on Friday, he said.  link to article in Globe and Mail

Related Articles:

• China's U-turn: U.S. Navy can visit Hong Kong
• U.S. warships refused entry to Hong Kong

Technorati tags: uss kitty hawk, 7th fleet, hong kong, communists, us navy, china, us warships, port of call, japan, yokosuka, uss shiloh, uss fitzgerald, uss mccampbell, uss mustin, uss topeka, admiral richard b wren, uss kitty haw strike group, south china sea, happy thanksgiving

 

Keeping the Meaning of Thanksgiving Alive

Courtesy of CBN NEWS

By Wendy Griffith, CBN News Senior Reporter

November 22, 2007

CBNNews.com - Millions of Americans are celebrating Thanksgiving today, a holiday tradition that dates back hundreds of years. But some say there's an attempt to remove the religious significance from this great American holiday.

President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving official in 1863. He proclaimed the last Thursday in November to be "a national day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent father who dwelleth in the heavens."

But for most of us - when we think of that first Thanksgiving - we think about the Pilgrims and the Indians.

RELATED STORY:
Thanksgiving and the True Story of Squanto

The Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating. Weak and sick - they began to die. The Pilgrims needed help to survive and they got it from an English-speaking Indian named Squanto.

Historian Peter Marshall explained, "Here comes this American Indian suddenly who speaks perfect English, who offers them his services. So they plant all this corn under his tutelage. In October the corn is ripe finally, and they want to have a celebration, a Thanksgiving celebration."

Marshall continued, "So they invite Chief Massasoit, who had taken Squanto in when he had no family, no relatives. So Massasoit and 90 braves show up for this celebration festival, and they had a three day celebration of feasting, bow-and-arrow shooting contests, foot races and relay races and games."

Although some would say it was just a day of celebration - historical records show it was a time to give thanks to God.

Rev. Paul Jehle said, "They looked at everything as a gift from God, even the sorrowful things they saw as God allowing that to perfect their character. So they were amazing Christians and great examples for us today."

For a lot of people thanksgiving has become a day to watch football, eat turkey, and watch the Macy's Day Parade. And these are not bad things, but some believe the most important part of Thanksgiving - giving thanks to God for our many blessings - is being down-played or left out altogether.

That's why private Christian schools like Stonebridge Christian School in Virginia make a point of teaching children the real Thanksgiving story - including the religious aspects.

"God was very much a part of that first Thanksgiving and we teach that," said Stonebridge history teacher Ed Sotto."

Parent Steve Elliott says he's glad his four daughters are learning the whole story.

And the students, who recently re-enacted the story of the Pilgrims at Jamestown, agree that the Thanksgiving story they're learning now is not the one they were taught in public school.

"In public school, we colored turkeys and it was all about the turkeys - like they were an idol," ninth-grader Anastasia Peele said.

Colson Vorwald, also in the 9th grade, said, "We were taught that the Pilgrims were thanking the Indians - not God - for the blessings."

What's sad is that here in the U.S. the day after Thanksgiving is often more celebrated than Thanksgiving itself. But many people like the teachers

Technorati tags: thanksgiving, pilgrims, liberal left, indians, religion, usa, uniited states, priviate schools, public schools. guilt, leftists, christians, squanto, holiday

Pilots' valor honored for thwarting ambush

Courtesy of Centcom

By Sgt. 1st Class Rick Emert

1st ACB, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs

CAMP TAJI, Iraq - Set up in five trucks with heavy machine guns, enemy forces sat in wait for a helicopter to fly over their location west of Baghdad on the last day of May.

It appeared their plan was to strike a blow to Multi-National Division-Baghdad by taking down a U.S. Army helicopter.

The enemy forces were trained and prepared with personnel to drive the trucks, man the guns and keep a lookout for any of the U.S. helicopters that patrol the skies of Baghdad in search of roadside bomb emplacers or insurgent mortar teams.

The 1st Air Cavalry Brigade's Apache crews had become a thorn in the insurgency's side by regularly disrupting terrorist attacks on Coalition Forces and Iraqi civilians.

As they waited, four Apache pilots from 1st "Attack" Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st ACB, 1st Cavalry Division, were getting an intelligence briefing before heading out on their mission. The intelligence indicated that there were up to 30 gun trucks in a specific area, and the pilots' mission was to check it out.

With both determination and caution, 1st Lt. Brian Haas, chief warrant officers 4 Steven Kilgore and Elliott Ham and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Cole Moughon took to the skies to check the validity of the report.

All four said they thought from the onset that some sort of engagement was imminent. They expected to find at least several trucks with gun mounts that could easily be modified to attack air and ground assets.

The two Apache crews, each with a pilot in command and a copilot-gunner, came up on a truck and sedan that stopped suddenly; the occupants quickly exited the vehicles and low crawled toward a ditch. The crews didn't know if this meant the people were being cautious, preparing for a possible engagement by taking cover, or if they knew that an engagement was imminent.

"That instantly heightened our awareness; something is going on out here," said Kilgore, a Portage, Ind., native. "These people aren't just scared of us. They may be a little bit, to an extent, but there's something going on out here. We started keeping an eye open."

It didn't take long for their suspicions to be confirmed.

"I remember ... thinking this is weird; something's up," said Moughon, from Gray, Ga. "We (in the lead aircraft) heard (Kilgore) make the call over the radio: "Hey, I'm taking fire at my rear." We heard (Haas) say there was a big gun. I looked over to my right, and I was about to say: "Oh, I got it." I just got out "oh." I could see the flash from the muzzle. I saw a stitch of dirt in the road coming up towards us."

It was even worse than the intelligence report had predicted; the trucks had more than just weapon mounts.

"We were looking for trucks with mounts - not trucks with heavy machine guns looking to kill us," Moughon said. "At that point, it was pretty scary, because I knew - back in February, we lost an aircraft to heavy machine gun fire - we knew what the deal was right away. We knew that we were in something pretty dangerous."

Kilgore spotted a gun truck about one-and-a-half kilometers away shooting at the helicopters, but there was a much more ominous threat.

"We started taking fire from my right side about 1,500 meters away," Kilgore said. "What I didn't know is there was another gun about 300 meters away in the same line that started shooting at the same time. That rattled the aircraft. It didn't hit ... but rattled the aircraft."

A seasoned Apache pilot with multiple deployments under his belt, Kilgore initially thought his aircraft had been hit.

"We were so close to the gun that when the aircraft started to rattle, I thought I was taking hits," Kilgore said. "I actually saw muzzle flashes from it. It was about 250 to 300 meters out my right door."

Within a couple of minutes, the Apache crews had gone from searching for the gun trucks to becoming the targets of a planned ambush by the enemy forces.

"I was definitely at a position of a disadvantage, and I needed to gain an advantage," Kilgore said. "That meant ... moving out away from that (gun truck) to get out of his ability to track me. I was able to put a salvo of (rockets) on that gun truck and clear that gun truck. We came back later and destroyed the gun truck."

Both aircrews broke contact safely, and then came back in to engage the trucks and insurgents.

The trail aircraft had disabled one of the trucks, and Moughon and Ham in the lead aircraft took out another one on the second pass.

"They broke off that truck, and we followed them out and then came back in. (Ham) called and said he had trucks fleeing to the north," said Haas, from Ashley, N.D. "They came around and engaged there. We came in behind them and just kind of suppressed again as they were breaking. They shot another missile. I think we made two more passes."

With nearly half of the gun trucks already disabled, the aircrews were not about to let some of them get away to launch an ambush on another aircraft.
"I saw three trucks with machine guns in the back in kind of like a straight trail formation hauling ... down the road," Moughon said. "As soon as I got the sight on them, I launched the missile. I saw the guy swing his gun around and just a bright flash of the gun firing. The (driver) braked. The missile hit right in front of the truck and didn't do anything. We broke, I think (the trail aircraft) suppressed, then we came back around and fired another missile.

"(It was) the same thing; the guy knew what he was doing. He slammed on the brakes, but this time it killed the driver. That caused him to careen into his buddy and pushed him off the road. We further engaged with the (30mm) gun and got several guys that were running away. We just started (destroying the weapon systems) from there."

The seemingly determined enemy forces had blinked and tried, without success, to flee.

"Once they knew that we weren't going to run away from them, that's when we got the advantage and just got real aggressive," Haas said. "I think that helped us, because we got noise and rockets flying off the helicopter, and they saw that and they knew they were in for it."

A couple of days later, with plenty of time to reflect on the engagement, the pilots realized there were some things they could have done differently.
"In this situation, you're going to make mistakes," Moughon said. "It's not like (training) back at Fort Hood where we've got time. Everything was heat of the moment. You had to get rounds out. It was all a matter of who made fewer mistakes - whether or not you were going to be going home.

Obviously, we made fewer mistakes than the enemy."

While that may have been true about their actions during the 15 intense minutes that the engagement lasted, the Apache crews were simply more prepared, thanks to a whole team of Soldiers from the 1st ACB who provided support back at home base, Kilgore said.

He explained that the information on the gun trucks from the brigade's intelligence report, the operational briefing from the brigade operations staff and the aircraft maintenance and armament personnel all contributed to the mission's success.

"All of that led to us being successful in this engagement," Kilgore said. "Yes, we were the executors - the four of us - but, there is a big picture here that goes into everything we do. It's really the Army aviation team that led to this win, this success. I think we can all take pride in that. We, 1ACB Army aviation, defeated the enemy. We did it pretty much by ourselves as aviation. We didn't have ground forces with us. We didn't use artillery.

"We can see that teamwork that went into it - across the board teamwork - we can see that tenacity that is being exhibited every day by these guys. I think it's something we can all take pride in. This was a big win for the whole team."

For their quick and heroic actions in the chaotic scene on May 31, the pilots were awarded Distinguished Flying Crosses - the top aviation-specific military award. The awards were presented Oct. 28 by Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, Multi-National Corps-Iraq commanding general.

"I've been an aviator my whole career, and I've always wanted to be an aviator, since I was a little kid," Kilgore said. "The Distinguished Flying Cross ... is a special award. For me to be included in that group that has received the Distinguished Flying Cross - it feels a little humbling. There have been a lot of great aviators who have received the Distinguished Flying Cross and great aviators who haven't received the Distinguished Flying Cross. How do I match up to that? I don't know; maybe it's a one fight thing, and it was something special enough that someone took notice and thought that we deserved the Distinguished Flying Cross for it."

For Moughon, it still hasn't sunk in that he earned the prestigious medal.
"When I got to the unit, my commander (for Company B, 1-227th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion) had gotten a DFC for acts in OIF II. I got to looking at it, because I wanted to know what it was," Moughon said. "Then, I realized who all had got it before him. When somebody mentioned that we might get it, I thought: 'I am not in their company.' I'm just two years out of flight school. I was just trying to stay alive. Receiving the award was a very humbling experience and almost embarrassing. There are guys out here that do just as much every day - sacrifice every day to go out there and find the enemy and kill them. They don't get recognized for it."

While the pilots couldn't pin down what made their actions heroic, perhaps how they approached the engagement itself is telling as to why they received Distinguished Flying Crosses. In the initial moments of the engagement, with bullets and tracers flying past their aircraft like something out of "Star Wars" - as Moughon said - and with the Apaches outnumbered nearly three to one by gun trucks on the ground, the pilots never even considered high-tailing it to safety.

"I can't say that I thought: 'We should get out of here.'" Haas said. "I don't know why, but it never crossed my mind. Maybe that's just the way we are. I didn't come here to say: 'Yep, there's bad guys out there. I'm not going out there.' I came over here to - I'm not going to be naïve and say to make a difference - but I came over here to do my job and do it to the best of my ability. There's a lot of the guys that I've flown with before, and they're the same way. The hard part is finding (the enemy). We fly around Baghdad where there are millions of people and they all look the same; unless somebody is shooting at you, you don't know. When they shoot at you first, that makes it easy."

"The initial contact was scary, and you thought about - yeah, this was a big deal," Moughon added. "At that point, it was like they say in the westerns: 'If you're in for a penny, you're in for a pound.' We were in it, so we had no choice. If we had just flown away, they probably would have been there to take somebody else down. We're a gunship; that's what we do. We don't get low and suppress and run. We stay and fight. Our job is to go out, find the enemy and kill them. That's what we do."

Photo - Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, commanding general of Multi-National Corps-Iraq, (left) presents the Distinguished Flying Cross to Onawa, Iowa, native Chief Warrant Officer Elliott Ham, (second from right), as Portage, Ind., native Chief Warrant Officer 4 Steven Kilgore, (right), waits in a ceremony Oct. 28 at Camp Taji, Iraq. Four Apache pilots from 1st "Attack" Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, earned Distinguished Flying Crosses for their actions against five gun trucks with heavy machine guns on May 31. The Distinguished Flying Cross is the U.S. military's highest aviation-specific award. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Rick Emert, 1st ACB, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs.

Technorati tags: apache helicopter, camp taji, iraq, baghdad, 1st air calvary brigade, emplacers, insurgent mortar team, military intelligence, coalition forces, distingushed flying cross, military engagement, us army

WOMAN SHOT FOR NOT HELPING TALIBAN

Courtesy of Centcom

11/14/2007

Release Number:

07-01-03P

Description:

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Coalition forces medically treated and evacuated an Afghan woman after the Taliban shot her for not supplying help in Shaheed Hasas District, Oruzgan Province Nov. 13.

“The Taliban came to her tribal camp asking for food and supplies,” said the detachment commander. “The tribal elders explained they did not have any extra food to give the Taliban, and that they were in short supply themselves…the Taliban retaliated by shooting at the civilian residents’ homes.”

An innocent Afghan woman received a severe gunshot wound to the hand. Her husband, knowing that ANSF and Coalition forces are willing to help Afghan citizens, brought her to a Coalition base for treatment.  Upon examination by a trained medical staff, it was determined that the wound required extensive treatment at a more sophisticated facility.  Friendly forces treated the woman’s wound and medically evacuated her, along with her escort, for further treatment. 

“The Taliban continue to display their brutality,” said Army Maj. Chris Belcher, a CJTF-82 spokesman. “Fortunately, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Afghan National Security Forces, and Coalition forces continue to improve their ability to provide emergency services to the people of Afghanistan.”

Contact Information – CJTF-82 Public Affairs Office Tel – 0093-799-063-013
DSN: 318-431-7852
bagrammoc@afghan.swa.army.mil

For more news and information about CJTF-82, please visit www.cjtf82.com

 

Technorati tags: bagram airbase, afghanistan, coalition forces, taliban, shaheed Hasas, oruzgan, cjtf-82, afghan national security forces, friendly forces

UPDATE: COALITION FORCES POSITIVELY IDENTIFY TERRORIST KILLED IN RECENT RAID

Courtesy of Centcom

Release Number: 07-01-03P

Description:

BAGHDAD– One of the terrorists killed in Tarmiyah Nov. 5 has been positively identified as Tha’ir Malik.

Tha’ir Malik was the al-Qaeda in Iraq leader for the Tarmiyah sector of the northern belt. Reports indicate Malik was previously involved in a terrorist group that conducted attacks against Iraqi citizens for not following Taliban-like rules.

During the operation, surveillance elements observed Malik operating in the area and supporting aircraft was called to strike the time-sensitive target. Secondary explosions erupted from the building, indicating that weapons and ammunition were stored inside. As Coalition forces cleared the surrounding area, they discovered two terrorists believed to be killed by the initial blast to include Malik, small arms ammunition and rocket-propelled grenades. The target building ignited from the secondary explosions, preventing the ground force from assessing the building’s interior.

Malik was a subordinate of Abu Ghazwan, the al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leader of the northern belt and direct associate of Abu Ayyub al-Masri. Reports indicate that as Coalition forces operations captured al-Qaeda in Iraq elements in Tarmiyah, many of the northern belt leadership were forced out, but Malik remained and was promoted to military emir of the northern belt network. He was allegedly in charge of as many as 120 individuals and directed a variety of operations, including kidnapping, car-jackings, extortion, and attacks on Coalition and Iraqi security forces, and members of the Awakening.  The previous AQI military leader for the Northern Belts who Malik replaced was killed as a result of Coalition Force operations last August.

“This was a dangerous terrorist who is no longer part of the al-Qaeda in Iraq network,” said Maj. Winfield Danielson, MNF-I spokesman. “We will continue to relentlessly pursue the terrorist leaders and their replacements who plan to deny the Iraqi people a future of their choice.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE MNF-I PRESS DESK AT: MNFIPRESSDESK@IRAQ.CENTCOM.MIL. 
FOR THIS PRESS RELEASE AND OTHERS VISIT WWW.MNF-IRAQ.COM.

Technorati tags: tha'ir Malik, al qaeda, tamiyah, counterinsurgency, beit, iraqi citizens, surveillance operations, weapons and ammunition, terrorists, coalition forces, abu ghazwan, al qaeda in Iraq, multi-National Force iraq

DESPITE WOUNDS ANA, ANP FIGHT BRAVELY TO SECURE ORUZGAN PROVINCE

Courtesy of Centcom

Release Number: 07-01-03P

Description:

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police and Coalition forces disrupted Taliban activities while conducting a reconnaissance patrol in Khas Oruzgan District, Oruzgan Province Nov. 10.

The combined force was conducting a reconnaissance patrol in order to establish future checkpoints in the area when Taliban fighters conducted simultaneous attacks from the east and southeast with small-arms fire, machine guns and rocket propelled grenades. The ANA and ANP immediately repelled the initial attack with effective small-arms and close-air-support fire putting the enemy on the defensive. The insurgents repositioned into several homes occupied by Afghan citizens.

The ANA and ANP cleared all of the structures, chasing the enemy out of the civilian residents’ homes. During the chase, the combined forces exchanged small-arms fire with the fleeing enemy, continuing to put them on the defensive.

“It is simply deplorable how the Taliban try to put innocent Afghan citizens in harms way,” said Maj. Chris Belcher, a Combined Joint Task Forces-82 spokesman. “Fortunately, highly trained ANA and ANP members cleared the houses saving Afghan lives.”

During the battle, an ANP officer and ANA soldier suffered minor injures. Both members were treated and continued to fight on, out-maneuvering the insurgents and killing several Taliban fighters. Following the engagement, the injured members were transported to a nearby Coalition forces medical facility in Oruzgan Province for further treatment.

“This is another heroic tale of our Afghan National Security Forces dedication to duty and country to ensure the security of the Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,” the spokesman said.

Contact Information – CJTF-82 Public Affairs Office Tel – 0093-799-063-013
DSN: 318-431-7852
bagrammoc@afghan.swa.army.mil

Technorati tags: bagram airbase, afghanistan, afghan national army, afghan national police, khas oruzgan, taliban, ana, government of islamic republic of afghanistan, war-on-terror, cjtf-82, coalition forces

Iraq Policemen Basic Training

Courtesy of Centcom

Iraqi Policemen Learn the Basics During 10-day Prep Course

By Spc. Shejal Pulivarti

1st BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs

CAMP TAJI, Iraq – “Left, left, left, right,” the 30-man platoon of Iraqi Police in training shouted in Arabic while marching to their next class.

The Military Police Platoon from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment developed a 10-day preparatory class to implement the basics for Iraqi Police recruits prior to attending the Baghdad Police Academy which initiates them as official police officers.

“This course is designed to give … IPs a basic understanding on what their job will consist of,” said Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Brinson, the MP Platoon’s top sergeant for HHC, 1st Squadron, 7th Cav. Regt.

The trainees, waiting to attend the academy, come from various stations in the surrounding area to learn basic policeman skills, he added. It’s an orientation, ensuring all baby IPs go into the academy on the same level of general knowledge.

“The training covers basics on ethics, principles, Iraqi law, first aid, basic rifle marksmanship, responding to a crime scene and search techniques in various scenarios. The recruits follow a structured daily schedule emphasizing teamwork and discipline,” said Brinson, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native.

The 10 days are spent introducing the material in the classroom and then actively applying them. The last two days consist of practical exercises that incorporate the entirety of the course.

“Everything learned has to be applied during the hands on scenarios. The situations gradually get harder to test their understanding,” explained Brinson. “Everything is a perishable skill; they have to practice it in order to retain it. They understand the task; they are definitely learning what they need to know to be successful.”

“The trainees get better every day. The course helps them become good IPs and work with the coalition forces to do our job,” said Iraqi Police 1st Lt. Hesham Saman Ali Sauba Boor, a course instructor.

Each IP station is responsible for sending an academy graduated officer to teach the new IP recruits various topics. Military personnel rotate through as instructors from the MP Platoon and are also assisted by the Iraqi Army liaison officers.
“Having the IP officers teach them accomplishes a lot; it mainly helps the Iraqi Police force become self-sufficient,” Brinson said. “It’s another step in the progress to make security forces stronger.”

As he watched the IP recruits successfully complete a bounding exercise, Brinson noted, “I see the trainees take more pride in themselves, and this course is helping them to become a cohesive unit to accomplish the mission.”

Staer Gabar Abedallah, a trainee, shared that he chose to become an Iraqi Police officer to serve his country, secure his community and stop the terrorists.

“The training is a great opportunity to concentrate on training and help the Iraqi people move forward in self governance,” said Stonington, Ill. native, Sgt. David Ashbridge, a military police team leader for HHC, 1st Squadron, 7th Cav. Regt.

Photo - Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Brinson, the platoon sergeant for the Military Police Platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, instructs an Iraqi Police trainee in a 10-day preparatory course how to properly bound when under direct fire at Camp Taji, Iraq Oct. 27. Photo by Spc. Shejal Pulivarti.

Technorati tags: war-on-terror, iraqi police cadets, iraqi police training, basic training, camp taji, iraq, military police platoon, war

Gadhafi being threatened by Al -Qaeda and Ayman al-Zawahiri

I don't know were these moronic radicals get crazy wild eyed extremist Mohammedans to follow them. Al Zawahiri is now got his sites fixed on Gadhafi (Qaddafi or however you spell his name).

Courtesy of AP and Fox News

Al Qaeda Deputy Leader Takes Aim At Libya's Gadhafi In New Video
Saturday, November 03, 2007

CAIRO, Egypt — Al Qaeda's No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri harshly criticized Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in a new audio tape Saturday, accusing him of being an enemy of Islam and threatening a wave of attacks against the North African country because it improved relations with the United States.

In the 28-minute audiotape called "Unity of the Ranks," al-Zawahiri also announced that the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group was joining ranks with Al Qaeda.

"The Islamic nation is witnessing a blessed step ... The brothers are escalating the confrontation against the enemies of Islam: Gadhafi and his masters, the Washington crusaders," al-Zawahiri said in the audiotape. The recording could not be independently verified, but it appeared on a Web site commonly used by insurgents and carried the logo of Al Qaeda's media production house, as-Sahab.

The recording also carried a message Abu Laith al-Libi, a Libyan Al Qaeda commander in Afghanistan who accused Gadhafi of decades of tyranny.

"He is the tyranny of Libya and is dragging the country to the swamp," al-Libi said in the recording that also featured old video footage of him walking with other masked gunmen.

"After long years, he (Gadhafi) discovered suddenly that America is not an enemy ... and is turning Libya into another crusader base," said al-Libi, who has appeared in several recent Internet Al Qaeda videos.

For the rest of the story visit Fox News: Gadhafi

Why don't the (estimated) 1,902,095,000 Mohammedans in the world purge these whacked out radical Mohammedan morons from the Muslim religion and clean up the al Qaeda problem?

If radicalized Islam is the problem, why don't the "moderates" step up to the plate? Just where do Bin Laden and Al Zawahiri find wild eyed foaming at the mouth radicals to follow them anyway?

Technorati tags: mohammedans, gadhafi, moammar qaddafi, al-libi, al qaeda, america, muslim religion, Ayman al-Zawahiri, islam, north africa, libyan islamic fighting group, unity of the ranks

Progress in Iraq Real, Momentum Growing, Odierno Says

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON - Coalition and Iraqi troops are creating security in Iraq, and life is returning to normal for the vast majority of Iraqi citizens. But the momentum is not irreversible, the commander of Multi-National Corps-Iraq said Nov. 1.

Coalition and Iraqi troops have been able to break the cycle of violence in the country, and all trends are positive, Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno told Pentagon reporters via teleconference from his headquarters at Camp Victory, Iraq.

When the Army's 3rd Corps arrived in Baghdad a year ago, Iraq was enmeshed in sectarian violence. Al-Qaida in Iraq was launching daily deadly attacks, and al-Qaida and Shiite groups had sanctuaries from which they could plan and launch attacks.

The surge of U.S. troops into Iraq was the solution. Beginning in January, five brigades of American troops came into Iraq and ripped the initiative away from extremist groups. The surge was meant as a way to protect the Iraqi people and to give the Iraqi government the time and space it needed to take control, Odierno said.

It has done that. Since the full measure of troops arrived in Iraq in June, "we have achieved some momentum," Odierno said. "Although it is not irreversible momentum, this positive momentum has set the conditions for political accommodation, economic development and for basic services to progress."

Phantom Thunder was the first corps-level operations to flex this new power. Launched in June, the operation targeted al-Qaida and extremist groups in, near and around Baghdad. U.S. and Iraqi forces worked together closely in this operation, and the increase in troops allowed the coalition to hold area once it has been seized. The surge also allowed the coalition and the Iraqi government to bring needed services into the towns and villages, Odierno said.

"We have been able to eliminate key safe havens, liberate portions of the population, and hamper the enemy's ability to conduct coordinated attacks," he said.

In the four months of the surge, Iraq has seen security get better. "I believe that continued aggressive operations by both coalition and Iraqi forces are the most effective way to extend our gains and continue to protect the citizens of Iraq," the general said.

Over the past four months, attacks of all kinds have declined, which illustrates the success of the surge, he said. Particularly significant was that the decline continued through the holy month of Ramadan – a time when attacks spiked in years past, Odierno said.

Total attack levels are where they were before the Samarra Golden Mosque bombing in February 2006, the event that ignited increased sectarian violence in the country. The general compared statistics on violence from the past week in 2006 to those of 2007. In that week in 2006, more than 300 attacks took place in Anbar province alone. This past week, the number of attacks was 30. In and around Baghdad, the number of attacks in the last week of 2006 was 143. Last week it was under 100.

"While we are encouraged by these positive trends, we are not satisfied, and we will continue to work to reduce them," Odierno said.

Improvised-explosive-device detonations are at their lowest levels since October 2004 and continue on a downward trend, the general said. Iraqi civilian deaths are down from 3,000 a month in Dec. 2006 to fewer than 1,000 in October. Finally, the number of coalition troops killed and wounded in Iraq was down for the fifth month in a row.

"Nothing is more important to any of us than the lives of our courageous service men and women," Odierno said. "Even one coalition death is too many, but we are experiencing a five-month decline in combat deaths. While this is encouraging, we will not be satisfied until we drive this to zero."

The coalition has to keep training Iraqi security forces, Odierno said. Qualitative and quantitative gains in the Iraqi army and police are a pillar in taking down extremist groups and in maintaining security in cleared areas. "The Iraqi security forces are building the trust and confidence of the Iraqi people and are dedicated to defending their safety as well as their country," he said.

And the Iraqi people themselves are a huge force in the movement against extremist groups, the general added. "There's a clear rejection of al Qaeda and other extremists by large segments of the population," he said. "This is coupled with the bottom-up awakening movement by Sunni and Shiia who want a chance to reconcile with the government of Iraq."

Trends on attacks are good, but how people feel is a better measure of improvements in security, Odierno said.

"Whenever I travel around Iraq, people come up to me and tell me how much safer they feel in the neighborhoods," he said. "This perception is real and has been enhanced by volunteers coming forward to work with us and by the general public giving us information on terrorists and criminals."

Technorati tags: sunni, shiia, odierno, iraq, pentagon, baghdad, al qaeda, american troops, coalition forces, camp victory, multi-national force iraq, 3rd corps

Is tomorrow forever certain?

I received this from a friend in Australia, Brendan.  Read it and think about it.

Normally I don't send this kind of stuff. I have a reason..so, just this once......

If I knew it would be the last time that I'd see you fall asleep, I would tuck you in more tightly and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time that I see you walk out the door,  I would give you a hug and kiss and call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,  I would video tape each action and word,so I could play them back day after day.

If I knew it would be the last time, I could spare an extra minute to stop and say "I love you," Instead of assuming you would KNOW I do.

If I knew it would be the last time I would be there to share your day,

Well I'm sure you'll have so many more,so I can let just this one slip away. For surely there's always tomorrow to make up for an oversight, and we always get a second chance to make everything just right.  There will always be another day to say "I love you,"  And certainly there's another chance to say "Anything I can do?"

But just in case I might be wrong, and today is all I get,
I'd like to say how much I love you and I hope we never forget.  Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,young or old alike,

And today may be the last chance you get to hold your loved one tight.  So if you're waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today?

For if tomorrow never comes, you'll surely regret the day,
That you didn't take that extra time for a smile, a hug, or a kiss and you were too busy to grant someone,what turned out to be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today, and whisper in their ear,  Tell them how much you love them and that you'll always hold them dear.  Take time to say "I'm sorry," "Please forgive me," "I forgive you" "Thank you," or "It's okay."

And if tomorrow never comes, you'll have no regrets about today.

Brendan

President Bush discusses appropriations

Courtesy of the Presidential Office, White House.gov
Roosevelt Room

Video (Windows)
Presidential Remarks
Audio

10/26/2007

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. I went out to California yesterday to meet with families affected by the wildfires, and to thank the state and local officials for their outstanding work in this difficult time. While I was there I saw the terrible destruction and heartbreaking loss. Yet I was also encouraged by the spirit I found -- the families determined to rebuild, the volunteers who stepped forward to help neighbors in need, and the first responders who have shown such courage in battling the flames and caring for those who were displaced.

I returned to Washington late last night. And when I got back to the White House, I was disappointed by what Congress had been doing -- and even more disappointed by what they had not been doing. This week, the majority in the House passed a new SCHIP bill that costs more over the next five years than the one I vetoed three weeks ago. It still moves millions of American children who now have private health insurance into government-run health care. It raises taxes to pay for it. And it fails to do what needs to be done: to put poor children first.

After I vetoed their last SCHIP bill, I designated members of my administration to work with Congress to find common ground. Congressional leaders never met with them. Instead, the House once again passed a bill that they knew would not become law. And incredibly enough, the Senate will take up the same bill next week, which wastes valuable time.

As the House was debating SCHIP, the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee unveiled a massive tax package that raises taxes on more than a million small business owners, among others. Earlier this week, Congress sent me a fiscally irresponsible water resources bill. The House version came in at $15 billion. The Senate version came in at $14 billion. So the House and Senate compromised -- and sent me a bill that costs $23 billion. In Washington, they call that "splitting the difference."

And today Congress set a record they should not be proud of: October the 26th is the latest date in 20 years that Congress has failed to get a single annual appropriations bill to the President's desk. And that's not the only thing congressional leaders have failed to get done.

They have yet to make the Internet tax moratorium permanent, or even extend it -- even though this moratorium is set to expire in just a few days. The House and Senate have both passed temporary extensions but have not agreed on a final bill. I urge Congress to keep the Internet tax-free -- and to get a bill to my desk that I can sign.

They have yet to move Judge Michael Mukasey's nomination to be Attorney General out of the Senate Judiciary Committee -- even as members complain about the lack of leadership at the Department of Justice.

They have yet to act on our emergency war funding supplemental -- even though our troops on the front lines depend on these vital funds to fight our enemies and to keep us safe at home.

This is not what congressional leaders promised when they took control of Congress earlier this year. In January, one congressional leader declared, and I quote: "No longer can we waste time here in the Capitol, while families in America struggle to get ahead." He was right. Only a few weeks left on the legislative calendar -- Congress needs to keep their promise, to stop wasting time, and get essential work done on behalf of the American people.

Thank you.

Technorati tags: congress, politics/Debate, senate Intelligence Committee, judge michael mukasey, attorney general, congressional leadership, partisan, america, president bush, california, wildfires, washington, schip bill, ways and means comittee, taxes, fiscally irresponsible

Have you hugged and Islamofascist Today?

In her new column, Ann Coulter targets Democrats complaining about Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week on college campuses.

Writes Coulter: "Elected Democrats at least make empty rhetorical gestures about opposing Islamic fascism. Of course, amidst their nonspecific condemnations of Islamic terrorism, they make very specific demands that we genuflect before Islam and perform exotic fetishes on the fascists.

"Liberals believe in burning the American flag, urinating on crucifixes and passing out birth control pills to 11-year-olds without telling their parents – but God forbid an infidel touch a Quran at Guantanamo."

Read Ann's entire column now at WorldNetDaily.com: Have you hugged an Islamofacist today

Technorati tags: ann coulter, democrats and Republicans, islamofascism week, islamists, qur'an, guantánamo, liberals

Dream Act Amnesty Bill falls 8 votes short

Courtesy of NumbersUSA

DREAM Act amnesty in Senate falls 8 votes short -- This may have been Pro-Illegals' best shot

CONGRATULATIONS!

As NumbersUSA posted on their Home page immediately after the vote, the Senate early this afternoon voted 52-44 in favor of "cloture" on the DREAM Act amnesty. That was 8 votes short of the 60 necessary to allow the bill to even be brought to the floor.

SEE VOTE TALLY AT BOTTOM OF THIS EMAIL.
WHO SWITCHED TO AMNESTY? WHO SWITCHED AGAINST?

For the third time this year, an amnesty failed in the Senate. (Until this year, the Senate was widely considered a lost cause for those of us interested in reducing overall illegal and legal immigration.)

THE END OF AMNESTY ATTEMPTS THIS YEAR?
Optimistically, we can hope that Democratic leadership will decide that it just isn't worth wasting more of the calendar and more divisiveness by bringing up any other amnesties this year -- and maybe not even next year.
We'll soon see because the open borders pushers are clamoring for a vote on the AgJOBS Amnesty when the Farm spending bill comes up probably next week.
We are hearing that some of the Democratic mid-level leaders are balking at adding the AgJOBS Amnesty to the Farm bill in committee. The question now is whether Reid will try to talk the amnesty zealots out of trying to attach it on the

SEN. HUTCHISON (R-TEXAS) MAY CAUSE DREAM AMNESTY TO COME BACK UP?
Perhaps the darkest cloud on the horizon is that Sen. Hutchison and Sen. Durbin have already announced their intent to create a new DREAM amnesty as a substitute that might garner the extra votes for passage.
Hutchison's key concept seems to be that the illegal aliens would get the right to live here permanently, to work and to get in-state tuition but would never be allowed to become U.S citizens.
We'll see.

WHO SWITCHED SIDES FROM THE JUNE AMNESTY VOTE?
The final cloture vote for the Comprehensive Amnesty in June was 46-53. The amnesty side fell 14 votes short.
Today, it was only 8 votes short.

Here is what was different today:
---------------
TO THE BAD SIDE
8 Democrats switched to pro-amnesty after voting AGAINST the amnesty in June.
Bayh (D-Ind).
Bingaman (D-N.M.)
Brown (D-Ohio)
Harkin (D-Iowa)
Nelson (D-Neb.)
Rockefeller (D-W.Va.)
Stabenow (D-Mich.)
Webb (D-Va.)

----------------
TO THE GOOD SIDE
1 Democrat switched to our side against the amnesty after voting FOR the June amnesty.
Conrad (D-N.D.)
This is an extremely welcome development. His fellow North Dakota Democratic Senator, Dorgan, has been one of our finest allies in protecting American workers from unfair foreign labor. But Sen. Conrad usually votes on the other side. He is not up for re-election next year. On the face of it, this switch would seem to be more about generally realligning with where the people of North Dakota are.
-----------------
TO THE BAD SIDE
1 Democrat who didn't vote in June voted FOR this amnesty.
Johnson (D-S.D.)
-----------------
TO THE BAD SIDE
1 Independent switched to pro-amnesty after voting AGAINST the June amnesty.
Sanders (I-Vt.)
------------------
TO THE BAD SIDE
5 Republicans switched to pro-amnesty after voting AGAINST the June Amnesty.
Brownback (R-Kan.)
Coleman (R-Minn.)
Collins (R-Maine)
Hatch (R-Utah)
Hutchison (R-Texas)
Brownback began to vote somewhat better on immigration once he entered the Presidential campaign and started talking to voters especially in Iowa. But he dropped out of the race last week. So, it appears he will go back to his championship for illegal immigration and foreign workers that he demonstrated before he started looking for votes nationally.
They all need your faxes of chastisement in hopes that they may return to the anti-illegal fold on the next votes.
-------------------
TO THE GOOD SIDE
4 Republicans switched to our side against the amnesty after voting FOR the June amnesty.
Graham (R-S.C.)
Gregg(R-N.H.)
Kyl (R-Ariz.)
Specter (R-Pa.)
Those of you in those four states really hammered these Senators for their pro-amnesty votes in June. I think all four of them are wanting to have at least a somewhat different profile on immigration. This is the beinning of what may be a long path of rehabilitation. Let's hope so.
-------------------
HELPED BY NOT VOTING
On a cloture vote requiring 60 votes, not showing up to vote has the same effect as voting NO. So we appreciated the fact that the following did not vote today. All four voted FOR the June amnesty.
Boxer (D-CA)
Dodd (D-Conn.)
Kennedy (D-Mass.)
McCain (R-Ariz.)
TOTAL VOTE TALLY ON CLOTURE ON S. 2205, THE DREAM ACT AMNESTY

==========
YEAs ---52 (a vote for amnesty by letting it come to floor for consideration)
==========
Akaka (D-HI)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennett (R-UT)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Brown (D-OH)
Brownback (R-KS)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Craig (R-ID)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Hagel (R-NE)
Harkin (D-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inouye (D-HI)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Obama (D-IL)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Snowe (R-ME)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)
===========
NAYs ---44 (a vote against amnesty by keeping bill from consideration)
===========
Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bond (R-MO)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Byrd (D-WV)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Conrad (D-ND)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
McCaskill (D-MO)
McConnell (R-KY)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Pryor (D-AR)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Sununu (R-NH)
Tester (D-MT)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)
===============
Not Voting - 4
===============
Boxer (D-CA)
Dodd (D-CT)
Kennedy (D-MA)
McCain (R-AZ)

 

Technorati tags: immigration, amnesty, amnesty bill S. 2205, reid, lugar, durbin, hagel, congress, politics, dream act

Dream Act: Reid invoked Rule 14

I understand that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has invoked Rule 14 on the new stand-alone DREAM Act amnesty! This came to me by way of Rosemary Jenks, Director of Government Relations, Numbers USA Director of Government Relations.

Invoking Rule 14 means that Reid may be setting up Senate procedure to spring the amnesty at any time without hearings or committee action. For the Majority Leader to invoke Rule 14 means that he can bring a bill to a floor without it going through the debate and markup of a committee.

Under the rule, the amnesty bill (S. 2205) can be brought up as early as Tuesday.
The rule also allows Reid to wait until concerned senators are distracted and bring it at any time in the future at the spur of the moment.

Besides Reid, the chief culprits in this mess are Senate Assistant Majority Leader Durbin (D-Ill.), Sen. Hagel (R-Neb.) and Sen. Lugar (R-Ind.).

Let these four Senators know how you feel about their aggressive leadership to pass this amnesty.

Phone Senate Switchboard : 202-224-3121

You can see all the direct Capitol office phone numbers and the numbers for their offices back home at:
www.numbersusa.com/congressinfo/

1. A key thing to say to your two Senators:
S. 2205, the stand-alone version of the DREAM Act, has been placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar under Rule 14 because the Leadership knows that if the bill is out there long enough to go through the normal committee process, Americans will have a chance to express their overwhelming opposition to it and it will fail.

2. A second point to make:
This underhanded attempt to bypass the process and shove this through before the public catches on is shameful and must not be allowed to work.

3. Tell everybody, "NO amnesty!"

Then, if you want to and have time, make a couple of specific points about the DREAM Act that you can find at NumbersUSA website www.numbersusa.com

 

Technorati tags: immigration, amnesty, amnesty bill S. 2205, reid, lugar, durbin, hagel, congress, politics, dream act

Portents of A Nuclear Al-Qaeda

Courtesy of Washington Post and by permission from the author, David Ignatius, Link to the article: Here

Rolf Mowatt-Larssen is paid to think about the unthinkable. As the Energy Department's director of intelligence, he's responsible for gathering information about the threat that a terrorist group will attack America with a nuclear weapon.

With his shock of white hair and piercing eyes, Mowatt-Larssen looks like a man who has seen a ghost. And when you listen to a version of the briefing he has been giving recently to President Bush and other top officials, you begin to understand why. He is convinced that al-Qaeda is trying to acquire a nuclear bomb that will leave the ultimate terrorist signature -- a mushroom cloud.

We've all had enough fear-mongering to last a lifetime. Indeed, we have become so frightened of terrorism since Sept. 11, 2001, that we have begun doing the terrorists' job for them by undermining the legal framework of our democracy. And truly, I wish I could dismiss Mowatt-Larssen's analysis as the work of an overwrought former CIA officer with too many years in the trenches.

But it's worth listening to his warnings -- not because they induce more numbing paralysis but because they might stir sensible people to take actions that could detect and stop an attack. That's why his boss, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, is encouraging him to speak out. Mowatt-Larssen doesn't want to anguish later that he didn't sound the alarm in time.

Mowatt-Larssen has been gathering this evidence since a few weeks after Sept. 11, when then-CIA Director George Tenet asked him to create a new branch on weapons of mass destruction in the agency's counterterrorism center. He helped Tenet prepare the chapter on al-Qaeda's nuclear efforts that appears in Tenet's memoir, " At the Center of the Storm." Now that the uproar over Tenet's mistaken "slam dunk" assessment of the Iraqi threat has died down, it's worth rereading this account. It provides a chilling, public record of al-Qaeda's nuclear ambitions.

Mowatt-Larssen argues that for nearly a decade before Sept. 11, al-Qaeda was seeking to acquire weapons of mass destruction. As early as 1993, Osama bin Laden offered $1.5 million to buy uranium for a nuclear device, according to testimony presented in federal court in February 2001. When the al-Qaeda leader was asked in 1998 if he had nuclear or chemical weapons, he responded: "Acquiring weapons for the defense of Muslims is a religious duty. If I have indeed acquired these weapons, then I thank God for enabling me to do so."

Even as al-Qaeda was preparing to fly its airplane bombs into buildings, the group was also trying to acquire nuclear and biological capabilities. In August 2001, bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, met around a campfire with Pakistani scientists from a group called Umma Tameer-E-Nau to discuss how al-Qaeda could build a nuclear device. Al-Qaeda also had an aggressive anthrax program that was discovered in December 2001 after bin Laden was driven from his haven in Afghanistan.

Al-Qaeda proclaimed a religious rationale to justify the WMD attacks it was planning. In June 2002, a Kuwaiti-born cleric named Suleiman Abu Ghaith posted a statement on the Internet saying that "al-Qaeda has the right to kill 4 million Americans" in retaliation for U.S. attacks against Muslims. And in May 2003, at the same time Saudi operatives of al-Qaeda were trying to buy three Russian nuclear bombs, a cleric named Nasir al-Fahd issued a fatwa titled "A Treatise on the Legal Status of Using Weapons of Mass Destruction Against Infidels." Interrogations of al-Qaeda operatives confirmed that the planning was serious. Al-Qaeda didn't yet have the materials for a WMD attack, but it wanted them.

Most chilling of all was Zawahiri's decision in March 2003 to cancel a cyanide attack in the New York subway system. He told the plotters to stand down because "we have something better in mind." What did that mean? More than four years later, we still don't know.

After 2004, the WMD trail went cold, according to Mowatt-Larssen. Many intelligence analysts have concluded that al-Qaeda doesn't have nuclear capability today. Mowatt-Larssen argues that a more honest answer is: We don't know.

So what to do about this spectral danger? The first requirement, says Mowatt-Larssen, is to try to visualize it. What would it take for al-Qaeda to build a bomb? How would it assemble the pieces? How would the United States and its allies deploy their intelligence assets so that they could detect a plot before it was carried out? How would we reinvent intelligence itself to avert this ultimate catastrophe?

A terrorist nuclear attack, as Tenet wrote in his book, would change history. If we can see how this story might end, perhaps we can deflect the arrow before it hits its target.

The writer is co-host of PostGlobal, an online discussion of international issues. His e-mail address is davidignatius@washpost.com.

washingtonpost.com readers have posted over 187 comments about this item. View All Comments »

Technorati tags: george tenet, cia, iran, nuclear weapons, al qaeda, David Ignatius, Mowatt-Larssen, Bush, Energy Department, DOE, Osama bin Laden, wmd, new york subway, Nasir al-Fahd, fatwa, Suleiman Abu Ghaith, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Pakistani scientist, us intelligence, Iran, Iraq, global war on terror, bin laden, Umma Tameer-E-Nau

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Deciphering Progressive through their actions

DISCLAIMER: The different points of views on the Rick Roberts are not supported nor do they reflect the views and beliefs of the The Bosun Locker or any entity affiliated with The Bosun.

DECIPHERING “PROGRESSIVES” THROUGH THEIR ACTIONS
Courtesy of Rick Roberts, KFMB San Diego

October 17th, 2007

Let’s discuss the meaning of the word “PROGRESSIVE”. It’s a code word for “LIBERAL”. Leftists changed their moniker on purpose since the word “LIBERAL” holds such a negative connotation these days.

But I still want to explain the actual meaning of the word “PROGRESSIVE”… It’s the feeling you get, the ideas that pop in your head when you hear that word.

To me, “progressive” means to “MOVE FORWARD”. It has a very positive meaning.

So, tell me: When the progressives get together and decide to be so forward thinking that they hand out forms of birth control to middle school students and tout tax-funded “shooting centers” (AKA heroine houses) in San Francisco… explain to me how that’s positive. How is this kind of warped state of mind “PROGRESSIVE”?

How is letting people- children included- do whatever they want to do, setting no rules and guidelines that might one day save their lives or bring them a positive life instead of one wrought with problems- How is THAT progressive?

Since when did having morals become a radical, right-wing trait?

Since when did common sense become political?

Read this story:

PORTLAND, ME: The Portland School Committee is poised to take up a proposal that would enable students at King Middle School to obtain birth-control prescriptions from the school’s health center. Under the plan scheduled for consideration, King would become the first middle school in Maine to make a full range of contraception available to students in grades 6 through 8, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services. King’s health center, which opened in 2000, already provides condoms as part of its reproductive health program. Prescription birth control, such as pills or patches, would be prescribed after a physical examination by a physician or nurse practitioner, said Lisa Belanger, who oversees Portland’s student health centers. The centers require that students have written parental permission before being treated. Under state law, students are allowed to seek confidential health care and decide whether to inform their parents about the services they receive. Most middle school students range in age from 11 to 13. Proponents of the proposal say a small number of King students are sexually active, but those who are need better access to birth control. Five of the 134 students who visited King’s health center during the 2006-07 school year reported having sexual intercourse, said Amanda Rowe, lead nurse in Portland’s school health centers. Rowe said that it is a service that is “totally needed”.

How is encouraging promiscuity in MIDDLE SCHOOLS a “PROGRESSIVE” ideal?! These kids are 11-14. They’re going to suffer a self-esteem downfall that naturally comes when they get raped at an early age. These are CHILDREN. They’re not old enough to consent.

Now, onto this story:

SAN FRAN-SICKO, CA: The city is looking at something called “safe sites” that could reduce the harmful effects of drug use. The concept is so controversial that no other city in the United States has implemented the program. The main sponsor, the San Francisco Public Health Dept., will be holding an all-day symposium Thursday to discuss these so-called safe injection facilities. Twenty-seven cities in eight countries now have these sites. So far, there are none in the United States. Public health officials say Hepatitis C is reaching epidemic levels. The city hopes clean needle exchange is one way it can reduce harmful effects of drug use… “This city has declared states of emergency repeatedly in order to do the needle exchange and that’s been a very successful program,” says Grant Coffax with the San Francisco Public Health Department. Now the city is exploring another, perhaps more controversial approach. It’s something called “safe injection facilities.” It’s modeled after the only one in North America; currently in Candad. Adam Dean, an IV drug user, said that it saved his life… and it’s saved hundreds of lives since its inception. Adam Dean is a young IV user who goes to the only safe injection facility in the continent. The facility, called Insite, in in Vancouver, Canada. It’s in the city’s downtown east side which has one of the highest AIDS and Hepatitis C infection rates in the country. Demonstration video shows an addict coming to the clinic with heroin he’s bought on the streets, then shooting up with a nurse watching. He can then relax in the chill out room where he can talk with case workers if he wants. SF public health official Grant Colfax says the Vancouver model seems to be working: “There are data that support the approach in terms of reducing overdoses and actually reducing discarded needles around the parameter of these sites,” says a city official.

Is promoting and coddling drug use- and in this case, the shooting up of heroine, really “PROGRESSIVE”? Apparently! The progressives in San Francisco want to provide these derelicts a facility to kill themselves. How is this considered “PROGRESSIVE”??

Do you know what WOULD be progressive? If we took a step to take the needle out of that junkie’s hand and put them in rehab. (And NOT at the taxpayer’s expense, by the way. It’s not my fault that someone was weak-willed enough to throw their life away one needle at a time).

What’s so “right-wing” about setting someone on the right road? To me, THAT’S progressive. Progressive is to take a step forward, not aid in leaping backwards.

Why can’t these so-called “progressives” teach kids to wait until they’re a legal adult to have sex? Why are they so hell-bent on eliminating childhood yet perpetuating eternal immaturity by giving them the impression that big government will take care of them if they’re too apathetic to work and do their part in society when they ARE adults?

Do you know what WOULD be progressive? If we gave kids something higher- something moral- to reach up to.

What these progressives don’t seem to realize is that the best social program is a set of morals, a job, and a drug-free life.

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