It's Not Just Bias
Topic: Eurabia
In his latest post David Medienkritik posits a question for us.

Why Are the German Media Silent about Iranian Terror?

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder desperately tries to energize his doomed re-election campaign by "warning" against military "adventures" of the U.S. government in the nuclear conflict with Iran. Only with peaceful means, according to Schroeder, can the Iranian government be convinced not to develop nuclear weapons. Of course, no one in German politics or in the German media would dare to oppose Schroeder's anti-war rhetoric.

Not much is heard, though, from Gerhard Schroeder and the German media about some not so peaceful activities of the Iranian government. The Iranian democratic opposition sure would appreciate some help...

An UN-biased observer might point out that this does not seem to be unique to the German Media.

Medienkritik does present a partial answer to their query. the German media don't turn a blind eye to unbearable torture. It's just that Abu Ghraib makes a much nicer copy, with Americans involved...

But for me that answer is only partial it does not address WHY:

When the French went in the Cote d'Ivoire took out most of their Air Force and then later fired upon unarmed demonstrators the World Press reacted with a collective yawn

Ivory Coast threatens take France to world court over destruction of planes
ABIDJAN (AFP) — France faced the threat of legal action at the world court following its destruction of Ivorian military aircraft, as an Ivorian police chief said he saw French troops fire directly at unarmed demonstrators at a rally in Abidjan

But when demonstrators were fired upon in Uzbekistan, since there was a US base in that country it became a US issue. I note that there has been little coverage of the US moving OUT of Uzbekistan as a result of our reaction to that tragedy.

We do not have any answers as to why Tuvalu in the Maldives is constantly held up as an example of America's perfidy in not signing on to the Kyoto Treaty. It's true the Island is sinking but even the most cursory examination of the real facts and science will show this is due to the sub-Ocean floor in that region SUBSIDING. Tuvalo is not going to disappear beneath the waves because the level of the Ocean is rising but because the Island is sinking. So why the finger pointing at the US.

This is an issue I have covered in one manner or another in many of my posts. It is an issue that prompted me to start writing again a few months back.

Bias is to mild a term for what I believe is happening.

Bias is defined as " A preference or an inclination, especially one that inhibits impartial judgment.

What we see in the Media today and in Diplomatic Circles goes far beyond "A preference or an inclination, that inhibits impartial judgment"

It is evidence of something else entirely.

I have NUMEROUS posts which illustrate this viewpoint, I will come back here later and put the links in.

Until then I want you to mull over a concept.
It is the title of an article I stumbled on sometime back, which gave me pause.

Diplomacy, as War by Other Means

No I have not gotten Clausewitz confused, HE
said "War is simply a continuation of political intercourse, with the addition of other means."

But if you think a bit the concept is also contained in the famous statement by Clausewitz.

We have heard the phrase "Business is War", but few have pondered the concept Diplomacy is War.

Today we stand upon a worldwide battle field.
In this conflict the fate of Civilization is in the balance.

There are two outcomes, victory will be in the hands of those who believe that the Control of the destiny of the individual should reside in the hands of an enlightened oligarchy comprised of the Intelligentsia (which by some odd coincidence includes them)

OR

That Liberty, Rights and Responsibility is the inalienble possession of the Individual and should not be abrogated by the State.

It matters not whether the battalions attacking are Islamic Jihadists, or Transnational Progressives, their goal, their ultimate society, in FORM and STRUCTURE is the same.

So NO, what we see today in the News, in the Media and by some Statesmen is NOT Bias, it is instead a concerted attack on ALL who hold this true.

" We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Some may do it for Principle, some may do it simply to obtain for themselves temporary power and prestige. It matters not their reasons or motives, what only matters is on which side of the barricades they have chosen to stand.

In this war there can be no Neutrality, at its end there can be only one victor. One mode of life for Humanity, as part of a Hive or as free Individuals.

That is the Future we face whether we wish to face it or not, it matters not, face it we shall, those who think they can hide from it? The future will seek out and find.

No Bias is too tame a word to describe this unrelenting attack upon America and what She stands for.

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Something Called Hope
From time to time it is pleasant to take a break from the Meme Wars, and post some nice surprise that has come my way in the Internet.

And I will admit that since I started this blog it has been a nice surprise that I have gotten a fair amount of hits on my website from the MidEast.

Truth be told, until a few days ago the second most common nationality to come here, has been from Saudi Arabia, then I got a rash of visits from Canada, but Saudi Arabia is in a solid third place with about twice the count of its closest competitor the UK.

Now I never was one of those who thought of all Muslims as the Enemy. I had that position even before I started reading The Religious Policeman and discovered someone who thinks a lot like I do. But that is not the blog I want to speak about today.

When I started this blog back up, a couple of months ago, after a hiatus since last November, I looked for interesting blogs to link to. One that I found was a blog in Saudi Arabia called From This Side of The Window, now it is true that most of what Prometheus posts in A Small Spot of Light is in Arabic and I cannot read it.

Still on a regular basis I look at my sitemeter account and see yet another visit from that same referral website. I think cool, Prometheus has paid me a visit and click on it to return the favor and see what if anything is new on that site.

Then yesterday, I did this, and my immediate reaction was, the Universe certainly does love Symmetry. ;-)

There was a post called 75 years of America?s Mona Lisa it concerns the American Gothic painting by Grant Wood.

To get some idea of WHY this event gives me a sense of Symmetry and Balance in the Universe, I live in Iowa now. The painting's birthplace was the Iowa hamlet of Eldon.

Also I live a ten minute drive from the Mother Mosque of the Western Hemisphere. Like wheels within wheels my Blog in Cedar Rapids, linked to a blog in Saudi Arabia, which has a post about one of the archetypal Americana Paintings from Iowa and I am living right beside the Oldest Mosque in the Americas.

Perfect Symmetry, and that we are so connected is an incidation of something that I decided to make the title of this post, there really is "Something Called Hope" for all of us.

Now I will only post the beginning of Prometheus's post here I want you to go to that site and read the rest.

75 years of America?s Mona Lisa

The following is a critique of a new book, in which the author talks about America?s most famous painting: American Gothic .
Reporter John Miller does not seem to be fully satisfied with the author?s analysis and conclusions. He?d rather look at this piece of art as a celebration of American patriotism, whereas the author has a very different interpretation of the iconic picture.

National Review, August 18, 2005 - If the Mona Lisa is the world?s most instantly recognizable piece of art, then what?s the best-known piece of art to come from America?
That?s easy: It?s the painting that won third place in the Art Institute of Chicago?s 43rd annual exhibition on American paintings and sculpture, in 1930.
You know the one. You?ve seen it hundreds of times before: American Gothic, by Grant Wood.

I did get a chuckle out of seeing a European version of the painting.













New American Gothic? by Norwegian satirical painter Rolf Groven, modeled after Grant Wood's masterpiece.

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.

The Moral Authority
Topic: Iraq War
Of the mother

of a soldier

slain in Iraq

is not absolute

after all.

This in from

One Hand Clapping

Veterans for Peace dismiss Gold Star mother
by Donald Sensing @ 3:20 pm. Filed under War on terror, Domestic

Debbie Argel Bastian watched her son, Capt. Derek Argel, killed in Iraq, be buried at Arlington National Cemetery and is upset that a cross bearing his name has been erected by Veterans for Peace at Santa Barbara?s Arlington West memorial and a display outside President Bush?s Texas ranch, where Gold Star mother Cindy Sheehan continues to protest against President Bush.

Ms. Bastian has asked VFP to remove her son?s name from their displays, but they refused.

As long as a soldier?s name is on the Department of Defense list of war dead, his or her name will be erected on a cross, Mr. Anderson [Veterans for Peace] said. A family member, he added, ?doesn?t have that call? as to whether a name is listed.

But wait a minute ? haven?t we been told that ?the moral authority of parents who bury children killed in Iraq is absolute.

You can read the full story at

Yahoo News

The Gunner is a Minister now and does not allow profanity on his website. Pleas respect his wishes.

I would prefer the same here, but I AM thinking a few choice words.

If you feel like contacting

VETERANS FOR PEACE

Don't use profanity if possible. Simply ask them if they enjoy causing extra pain to the mothers of slain soldiers, and tell them you can understand why they do not have Mrs Bastian's photo on their website beside Mrs Sheehan's.

The Chrenkoff website has many other parents who feel much the same as Mrs Bastian, you won't be seeing them on TV, reading about them in the newspapers or seeing their photos on the Veterans for Peace website, normally, but you MAY see some of them on TV, because some of them are going to Crawford.

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This Isn't Supposed To Be Happening
Topic: Eurabia
French flag burnt outside Tehran embassy in nuclear protest



AFP

TEHRAN - A group of some 30 Islamist protesters Tuesday burnt the French flag outside France's embassy in Tehran in protest at its stand on Iran's controversial nuclear programme.

"England, France, two Satans, two Lucifers," chanted the demonstrators, as security agents tried in vain to stop the flag burning.

"Death to France, death to England, death to Germany," they cried.

The three European countries have been negotiating with Iran on behalf of the EU to keep its uranium-enrichment activities suspended in return for a package of incentives.

At their initiative, the International Atomic Energy Agency last week urged Iran to suspend all such activities. The Islamic republic could now be referred to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions.

The British embassy was pelted with stones and tomatoes on Sunday by some 300 Islamist students.

In a statement addressed to French President Jacques Chirac, the protesters condemned what they called the West's "double standards" when it came to dealing with the Muslim world.

"Any action which would harm the legitimate rights of Iran will be met with a decisive response," it warned.

Iran is at loggerheads with the international community over its nuclear programme after resuming the uranium conversion activities, ending a nine-month freeze agreed on during talks with the Europeans.


Anyone besides me have the strangest feeling something is MISSING in this article? ;-)

Maybe someone should tell them that, Germany has already surrendered so the,
"Death to Germany is rather redundant. This from

Medienkritik
After President George W. Bush commented this past week that he would not rule out military force as a last option in confronting Iran over its nuclear program, Schroeder quickly seized the opportunity by declaring that he was for "taking military options from the table,"

While I know it might grate on France to follow Germany's lead, can anyone doubt that Chirac will be that far behind Schroeder?

I will have to admit that it feels odd to be reading about a FRENCH flag being burned by demonstrators.

However the TRUTH is, these were rather LAME protests, now weren't they? I mean. 30 outside the French Embassy and 300 outside the British Embassy??
PLEASE, the Mullahs KILL and WOUND numbers like that in protests against the Government all the time.

Iran sends in troops to crush border unrest
The Guardian

Michael Howard

The Iranian government has deployed large numbers of troops in cities in the northwestern region which borders Iraq in an effort to quell three weeks of civil unrest that has left up to 20 people dead and more than 300 wounded, according to reports from dissident groups.

They said as many as 100,000 state security forces, backed up by helicopter gunships, had moved into the region to crack down on pro-Kurdish demonstrations.
*********************************************
The protests in the Kurdish areas came after the killing of a Kurdish activist by Iranian security forces in the city of Mahabad on July 9. Since then, anti-regime demonstrations have erupted in the mainly Kurdish towns of Sanandaj, Mahabad, Sardasht, Piranshahr, Oshnavieh, Divandareh, Baneh, Sinne, Bokan and Saqiz.

In the worst violence so far, Iranian security forces are reported to have killed at least 12 Kurdish demonstrators and injured more than 70 in a clash in the city of Saqiz on Wednesday.

Witnesses said the unrest began just before noon as hundreds of protesters attacked a paramilitary outpost with sticks and stones. Government buildings, including the governor's office, were also attacked and some were ransacked.

Protesters then gathered in the main square, chanting "Down with Khamenei", the country's supreme leader.

Witnesses said that security forces responded with live bullets, and some protesters were fired at by helicopters.

Kurdsat, an Iraqi-Kurdish satellite channel based in Sulaimaniyah, reported yesterday that police had detained as many as 1,200 people after the incident.

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There Is Something VERY Wrong Here Folks
Topic: Iraq War
I do the best I can to cover the issues that I feel are important in an interesting way.

I try the best I can to find items of importance I feel the Major Media has neglected, for instance the unrest and turmoil in Iraq.

When I see in my sitemeter account that someone has found my site via a search engine, I try to find out by what means, what key words they arrived on my site.

TODAY I saw THIS link.

CNN Websearch

I thought now THAT is cool, someone got here from CNN's website via their search on the web engine

Want to know what keywords they used?

casey sheenan If you click on the link the search will come up. I found my site to be the
18th hit

"Committees of Correspondence
... any persons who are theatre professionals at the Sheenan vigil, they should arrange things much more theatrically ... you have it folks, FIRST Casey Sheehan must be forgotten and his ...
www.angelfire.com "

This should not happen folks. Of COURSE I am pleased that people come here and it shows up in search engines, but I am a SMALL site.

I should NOT be the 18th link for "casey sheehan"
Unless the denizens of DailyKos are succeeding.

Remember one of their goals was Casey Sheehan must be forgotten

The man and what he stood for must NOT be erased and replaced by a political agenda which defames him and the men he served with,

We must NOT let that happen.

Ordinarily I would be very proud, to rank so high on a websearch, it is one of the greatest complements someone doing this can get.

But today, my temporary victory is hollow, I feel only disgust and loathing.

I don't rank that high. I should be way back in the links, a minor site on the internet, that some but still a very few go to. I should NOT be the 18th link on the worldwide web with this man's name as keywords.

NO this is NOT right, even GOOGLE has me here

Google Search

"Results 31 - 40 of about 3,840 for casey sheenan. (0.41 seconds)"

"Committees of Correspondence
If there are any persons who are theatre professionals at the Sheenan vigil, ...
THEY would like to extinguish the name and desires of Casey Sheehan. ...
www.angelfire.com/ky/kentuckydan/ CommitteesofCorrespondence/ - 81k - Aug 17, 2005 - Cached - Similar pages "

DAMN IT! Being ranked that high on a google search on a major issue should make me PROUD instead I feel like crying. It's like have the grand prize turn into ashes.

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Seven Steps to the Caliphate.
Topic: Islamic Jihad
I found the following through a website called,
The Word Unheard. Man he got that right.

THE FUTURE OF TERRORISM

What al-Qaida Really Wants

By Yassin Musharbash

If there is anyone who might possibly have an inkling as to what al-Qaida are up to, it is the Jordanian journalist Fouad Hussein. He has not only spent time in prison with al-Zarqawi, but has also managed make contact with many of the network's leaders. Based on correspondence with these sources, he has now brought out a book detailing the organization's master plan.
**************************************************
An Islamic Caliphate in Seven Easy Steps

In the introduction, the Jordanian journalist writes, "I interviewed a whole range of al-Qaida members with different ideologies to get an idea of how the war between the terrorists and Washington would develop in the future." What he then describes between pages 202 and 213 is a scenario, proof both of the terrorists' blindness as well as their brutal single-mindedness. In seven phases the terror network hopes to establish an Islamic caliphate which the West will then be too weak to fight.



The First Phase Known as "the awakening" -- this has already been carried out and was supposed to have lasted from 2000 to 2003, or more precisely from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York and Washington to the fall of Baghdad in 2003. The aim of the attacks of 9/11 was to provoke the US into declaring war on the Islamic world and thereby "awakening" Muslims. "The first phase was judged by the strategists and masterminds behind al-Qaida as very successful," writes Hussein. "The battle field was opened up and the Americans and their allies became a closer and easier target." The terrorist network is also reported as being satisfied that its message can now be heard "everywhere."


The Second Phase "Opening Eyes" is, according to Hussein's definition, the period we are now in and should last until 2006. Hussein says the terrorists hope to make the western conspiracy aware of the "Islamic community." Hussein believes this is a phase in which al-Qaida wants an organization to develop into a movement. The network is banking on recruiting young men during this period. Iraq should become the center for all global operations, with an "army" set up there and bases established in other Arabic states.


The Third Phase This is described as "Arising and Standing Up" and should last from 2007 to 2010. "There will be a focus on Syria," prophesies Hussein, based on what his sources told him. The fighting cadres are supposedly already prepared and some are in Iraq. Attacks on Turkey and -- even more explosive -- in Israel are predicted. Al-Qaida's masterminds hope that attacks on Israel will help the terrorist group become a recognized organization. The author also believes that countries neighboring Iraq, such as Jordan, are also in danger.


The Fourth Phase Between 2010 and 2013, Hussein writes that al-Qaida will aim to bring about the collapse of the hated Arabic governments. The estimate is that "the creeping loss of the regimes' power will lead to a steady growth in strength within al-Qaida." At the same time attacks will be carried out against oil suppliers and the US economy will be targeted using cyber terrorism.


The Fifth Phase This will be the point at which an Islamic state, or caliphate, can be declared. The plan is that by this time, between 2013 and 2016, Western influence in the Islamic world will be so reduced and Israel weakened so much, that resistance will not be feared. Al-Qaida hopes that by then the Islamic state will be able to bring about a new world order.


The Sixth Phase Hussein believes that from 2016 onwards there will a period of "total confrontation." As soon as the caliphate has been declared the "Islamic army" it will instigate the "fight between the believers and the non-believers" which has so often been predicted by Osama bin Laden.


The Seventh Phase This final stage is described as "definitive victory." Hussein writes that in the terrorists' eyes, because the rest of the world will be so beaten down by the "one-and-a-half billion Muslims," the caliphate will undoubtedly succeed. This phase should be completed by 2020, although the war shouldn't last longer than two years.




A Serious Plan?

But just how serious is this scenario? "Al-Qaida makes no compromises," says the book's author Fouad Hussein. He obviously believes that this seven-point plan could well become the guiding principle for a whole range of al-Qaida fighters. Hussein is far from an hysterical alarmist -- in fact he is seen as a serious journalist and his Zarqawi book is better than most of the reports in Arabic on the subject. Only last year, the journalist made a film which was received with great interest and was shown on the German-French TV channel arte. In it he provided deep insights into al-Qaida's internet propaganda machine.


.





Nevertheless, there is no way the scenario he depicts can be seen as a plan which al-Qaida can follow step by step. The terrorist network just doesn't work like that anymore. The significance of the central leadership has diminished and its direct commands have lost a great deal of importance. The supposed master plan for the years 2000 to 2020 reads in parts more like a group of ideas cobbled together in retrospect, than something planned and presented in advance. And not to mention the terrorist agenda is simply unworkable: the idea that al-Qaida could set up a caliphate in the entire Islamic world is absurd. The 20-year plan is based mainly on religious ideas. It hardly has anything to do with reality -- especially phases four to seven.

But that doesn't mean that we should simply discount everything that Hussein has uncovered. A few of the steps in the agenda are plausible. The idea that Syria will become a focus for the Mujahedin is regarded by experts as highly likely. "Close ranks, concentrate on getting more recruits, set up cells," was the call to the "Mujahedin in Syria" which appeared on one Web site at the beginning of August. From the point of view of the jihadists, Israel and Turkey are also fairly logical targets for an escalation of the confrontation. "Al-Qaida views every fight as a victory, because for so long Muslims didn't have any weapons at all," says Hussein. He may not be far off. As for Jordan, al-Qaida leaders such as al-Zarqawi, have already made attacks on the country. They have also stated on numerous occasions that Jerusalem is the real target.

Equally, the idea that in the future al-Qaida could increasingly become a movement that attracts young frustrated men, is hardly a theory plucked out of thin air. The terror network puts a lot of effort into its propaganda -- assuredly in order to expand its support base.

Attacks on the West: a Means to an End

What is interesting is that major attacks against the West are not even mentioned by Fouad Hussein. Terrorism here cannot be ignored -- but it seems these attacks simply supplement the larger aim of setting up an Islamic caliphate. Attacks such as those in New York, Madrid and London would in this case not be ends in themselves, but rather means to a achieve a larger purpose -- steps in a process of increasing insecurity in the West.

Nowadays, it is harder than ever to truly understand al-Qaida: the organization has degenerated into branches and loosely connected cells, related groups are taken in, and people who hardly had anything to do with al-Qaida before, now carry out attacks in its name. It is hard to imagine orders which come right from the top because Osama bin Laden spends all his time struggling to survive. At the same time, the division between foot soldiers in the organization and sympathizers is becoming increasingly blurred. It is all too easy to fall prey to disinformation -- al-Qaida also excels in this area. Even Hussein's scenario should be judged skeptically.

His book should therefore be read for what it really is: an attempt to second guess how al-Qaida terrorists think, what they really want and how they propose to get there.
****************************************************
This reminds me of a book I bought and read a few years back, and from an online Islamic Bookstore, might I add, not some redneck, neo-con webite.

It was called:

Methodology Of Dawah in American Perspective
In the light of the Dawah strategies developed by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) at various stages of Islamic propagation, this book addresses the issues related to modern day Dawah and guides the Muslims on preparation, techniques, medium selection, and other related challenges particular to dawah in North America.

Now THAT sounded innocuous didn't it? Until you actually READ it and discover that one of the main attractions to the Author for turning America into a Caliphate is our economic and military power would in his eyes make converting the rest of the world SO much easier.

No, really they are that to the point in this book, I guess they don't think anyone but like minded Muslims would bother reading it. At $6.95 plus shipping I recommend picking up a copy, rather like reading Mein Kampf before Hitler made his place in History. It EVEN has a detailed plan over a long period of time, not to just convert Americans, but to infiltrate the government and over throw it.

You see they figure it is not necessary to convert EVERYONE just enough to get the job done. The first stages of Dawah are to be pacific and peaceful. the last stage after a core of believers is established is simply the armed overthrow of any previous system of government.

Well as I live and breathe, the man now has his own website at

FOR UNDERSTANDING ISLAM IN AMERICAN AND GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

Be worth scanning to see what plans this guy has for us Infidels.

Of course this guy's worldview is not like that of most Americans. In his world, soldiers just do what their officers tell them to do. In our world? The main part of the population which tends towards military service is what is called Jacksonian American. The oath taken when enlisting is to Support and Defend the Constitution.
Jacksonians take that seriously and I do not see the rank and file following orders to overthrow the Constitution and set up an Islamic Caliphate.

Still it would be sweet to create a virtual universe in which this did happen and dump into it all the Useful Idiots who keep shrieking how Fascistic America is and let them find out what that would REALLY be like were it the Truth. ;-)

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The News and Shell Games
Topic: Out of Flyover Land
What I want to know, is under WHICH Shell, can you find the pea?

I mean where is the REAL News these days?

I feel for the parents of the girl who went missing, but I am getting real tired of Aruba.

Aruba, the man who went overboard while on a cruise ship and now today, there is a woman who is in her 9 month and is missing.

These are tragic events, but they are LOCALIZED.

Where are reports that:

There were over 280 protests, demonstrations and riots in Iran during the month of July, where demonstrators were not only fired upon but arrested and summarily executed on the street?

But then the OFFICIAL reports may be that their injuries were self inflicted???

Iran judiciary official claims slain youth beat himself

Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Aug. 17 – The head of the coroner's office in the province of Western Azerbaijan, northwest Iran, told the state-owned ISNA news agency that a young Kurd who was shot and killed by police in the Kurdish town of Mahabad on July 10 had not been tortured as has been claimed by his family and eye-witnesses but instead had beaten himself.

Firouz Mohammadi, the chief coroner in Western Azerbaijan, claimed that forensic examination on the body of Shoan Qaderi had shown that the young Kurdish dissident had been shot once in the chest and once in the right thigh and had beaten himself. "Bruises as a result of self-beating could be seen, and that is a reflection on his character", Mohammadi said.

Eye-witnesses, however, reported at the time that after Qaderi was gunned down by State Security Forces, he was dragged on the back of a Toyota jeep in the streets of Mahabad and taken to a police station where he was tortured to death.

According to locals, the SSF killed Qaderi because he was active in anti-government protests and authorities wanted to intimidate the local population.

Since the incident, there have been continuous demonstrations and clashes between people and agents of the SSF in Kurdish towns and cities throughout northwest Iran, leaving several dead and hundreds injured or arrested.



Where are the reports that:

There were over 1000 terrorist bombings in China last year?

August 09, 2005
Suicide Bomber Blows Up Bus in China: Government Covers Up (UPDATED)









BBC News World Edition

There were more than a thousand reported bombings last year.

Most go unreported by the country's tightly-controlled state media

Oh and where is the intense editorial commentary, linking the above to the presence of US forces in Iraq and our support for Israel?


And along with the docudrama of Mrs Sheehan in Crawford and the photo ops of the crosses run over by that in truth slimy cretin, why is there not ONE mention in the Major Media of the families who seeing their sons name on one of those crosses bitterly OBJECTED to his memory being used to degrade what he was PROUD to be doing?

Where are the reports about THEM?
Other ways to grieve, part 2

Matt and Toni Matula:

Matthew was very proud of being a Marine and proud of his unit and what they were doing," Toni Matula said.

When the Matulas saw the Crawford protest on TV, something did more than just bother them.

"All this stuff going in Crawford, we've just been watching it and shaking our heads until two days ago, we saw the crosses with the names on there," Matt Matula said.

On one white cross read the name Matthew Matula: their 20-year-old son who was killed in Iraq last year.

"He's not a victim, he's a hero, and I think that everybody that's serving our country is heroes," Matt Matula said.

"He knew joining the Marines, his chances are, that was the purpose. His main number one job was to defend our country. He was very aware of that before he signed up," Toni Matula said.

So Matt Matula went to Crawford to stand up for his son, a Marine who proudly stood by the war he died in.

"I went there and had Matthew's name taken off of there. It's fine for people to grieve their own way. It aggravates me to see them using other people's names to further their cause," Matt Matula said.

"For people to use his name against it is not what he died for. He died so that they can do that though," Toni Matula said.

(I only copied on statement go to Chrenkoff via the link for others)

Is their moral authority less "absolute" than Mrs Crawfords? Someone should ask Maureen Dowd to clarify this.


Maybe that is why I get most of my news on the internet these days.

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The War of Light and Darkness
Topic: Out of Flyover Land
I read the following in the comments section over at
roger l. simon

Back to the real topic. A war to end Islamic state sponsored terrorism is a little vague, but has some limits. I have to disagree with the notion that the war is about womens rights around the globe. Many practices of Arab culture strike me as bizarre and abhorrent. It does not follow that we can or should try to remake their societies into what we find acceptable. Nothing is more likely to cause further conflict.


Posted by: flenser at August 16, 2005 09:43 AM
****************************************************
The post in question begins

Women's rights are the very center of the War on Terror. In fact I would argue Islamofascism at its core is more than anything else an expression of rage against women and that Islam itself is not much better on that score. That is why to me Ayaan Hirsi Ali is one of the great positive figures of our time, a modern Joan of Arc who surpasses the original Joan in a moral sense and is at least her equal in pure guts.

At first I intended to merely comment, but my thoughts expanded, and I decided to share them here.

In my mind the Struggle we in which we are now engaged, is YES about Islamofacism, YES about the rights of Women, but as SUBSETS of the whole.

It is a much broader struggle, and to me it is between these two Memes.

Those who believe that Society should be under total control for the benefit of all, and run by oligarchic Intelligentsia, which of course includes them in the seat of power (is this not always the case) AND those who believe that Rights, Liberty and Responsibility should be the inalienable possessions of the Individual.

From this perspective the goals and Ideals of the Islamofacsist and the Far Left Socialist are identical. For the STRUCTURE of the Ideal Society is the same, for both of them. If there are no Rights for the Individual, there can be no Rights for Women.

The question was raised in the main post, as to WHY some of those on the Left seem so unconcerned with the Rights of Women, as regards Islamofacism?

From where comes the assumption that the Far Left is concerned about Rights PERIOD? What historical evidence has ever given to the World that RIGHTS were a concern of theirs? Lenin? Stalin?
Mao Tse Tung? Pol Pot? Kim Jung Il? I would be very interested in evidence that this is the case.

The commenter I started this thought sortie with, states a concern with conflict. We have as a Culture and a Society engaged in Conflict before this to wipe the stain of "bizarre and abhorrent" practices from the Face of the Earth. They were called SLAVERY and GENOCIDE. Were the goal at that time to merely avoid CONFLICT? We would all now be either in Chains or Ashes drifting out of Gas Chambers.

But wait. That WAS the Goal for a while during the last century, to avoid conflict, we have oft stated Never Again and we have with ease forgotten this and responded to some modern day Genocide and Slavery with Neville Again.

Our enemy comes in many forms and shapes, some easy to detect and some with smiles and promises, which are much more difficult to perceive.

The Fanatic Jihadist, cutting off the head of an innocent is rather easy to see as a danger. Kelo versus New London is more subtle. IT has the smile and the promise that it can make things better for the Whole, more jobs, more Tax Revenue, just TAKE what belongs to someone away from them, so WE can make more money as a Whole? Some may call my view extreme, I do not claim that this last example is not SO subtle that it is harder to see it as a threat but it, to my eyes is the same enemy.

Our young men and women go in Harm's Way to defend us against a terrible foe in the Service of Darkness.

It is to us who remain behind to , Protect and Defend what they leave behind with us, Freedom , Liberty, Equality, as laid down in the Constitution.

This WAR has many fronts and many faces and it is NOT one that we can draw back from lest we wake up one day to find ourselves and our children in chains.

Those of you who have been reading here for a while may have noticed that I often like to quote Patrick Henry.

Today I will be more blunt than what he had to say.
The Republic stands in peril, from without and from within. There is, as there was over 200 years ago a Call to Arms to Defend her. Some have answered, some will not.

We are TOLD that there can be many different sincere opinions and it would be WRONG to question the Patriotism of All of those on the other side of the political divide.

Well I will not question the Patriotism of ALL of my political and philosophical opponents , but to SOME of them?

This my Gauge
I THROW DOWN.

And in the SAME words used by
SAMUEL ADAMS

for the SAME reasons
I say to You.

"If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude
greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace.
We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand
that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity
forget that ye were our countrymen."

Samuel Adams
American Patriot & Politician

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There ARE Other Women In The World
Topic: Islamic Jihad
We have been focused the last few days on ONE solitary woman. Her grief, her complaints, her demands and her political agenda.

You know? There ARE other women in the world. We should not be distracted from THEIR just demand for our attention, aid and succor. For it is not the Media Event in Crawford where the real story of the War we are in is being played out.

It is in Iraq, Afghanistan, Holland Canada and even here.

Heed the words now of a DIFFERENT kind of woman than the one who is having her 15 minutes of media glory in Crawford,

Ms. Hirsi Ali, a member of the Dutch parliament for the Liberal Party, was born in Somalia. She took refuge in the Netherlands in 1992 to escape an arranged marriage, and has had armed bodyguards after receiving death threats from Muslim extremists. She writes at http://www.ayaanhirsiali.web-log.nl/.

Unfree Under Islam
Shariah endangers women's rights, from Iraq to Canada.

BY AYAAN HIRSI ALI
Tuesday, August 16, 2005 12:01 a.m. EDT

In every society where family affairs are regulated according to instructions derived from the Shariah or Islamic law, women are disadvantaged. The injustices these women are exposed to in the name of Islam vary from extreme cruelty (forced marriages; imprisonment or death after rape) to grossly unfair treatment in matters of marriage, divorce and inheritance.

Muslim women across the world are caught in a terrible predicament. They aspire to live by their faith as best they can, but their faith robs them of their rights. Some women have found a way out of this dilemma in the principle of separation of organized religion and state affairs. They fight an uphill battle to achieve and hold on to their basic rights. Two cases demonstrate just how difficult that struggle can be, in the context of new as well as established democracies.

The first is the draft constitution of Iraq, now due next week. Iraqi women like Naghem Khadim, demonstrating on the streets of Najaf, are fighting to prevent an article from being put in the constitution that would establish that the legislature may make no laws that contradict Shariah edicts. The second case is the province of Ontario, in Canada. There, Muslim women led by Homa Arjomand, an activist of Iranian origin, are fighting--using the Canadian Charter of Rights--to keep Shariah from being applied as family law through a so-called Arbitration Act passed as law in Ontario in 1992.





It seems strange to associate the context of Canada with that of Iraq, but a closer look at the arguments used to reassure the demonstrating women in both countries reveals the similar ordeals that Muslim women in both countries must go through to secure their rights. It shows how their legitimate and serious worries are trivialized, and how vulnerable and alone they are. It shows how the Free World led by the U.S. went to war in Iraq, allegedly to bring liberty to Iraqis, and is compromising the basic rights of women in order to meet a random date. It shows how the theory of multiculturalism in Western liberal democracies is working against women in ethnic and religious minorities with misogynist practices. It shows the tenacity of many imams, mullahs and self-made Muslim radicals to subjugate women in the name of God. Most of all, it shows how many of those who consider themselves liberal or left-wing see their energy levels rise when it comes to Bush-bashing, but lose their voice when women's rights are threatened by religious obscurantism.
Hamam Hamoudi, the head of Iraq's constitution committee, refuses to discuss the article that worries the Muslim women. He also refused to put in the draft constitution that men and women have equal rights, creating a bizarre situation whereby the women had more rights under Saddam Hussein's regime than in post-Saddam Iraq. Mr. Hamoudi insists that women will have full economic and political rights, but the overwhelming evidence shows that when Shariah--which gives a husband complete control over his wife--is in place, women have little chance to exercise any political rights. Does Mr. Hamoudi realize that it took the removal of Saddam and the establishment of a multiparty democracy for men to vote, while if his draft constitution is ratified, women will need the permission of their husbands to step out of the house in order to mark their ballot? I thought that President Bush and all the allies who supported the Iraq war aspired to bring democracy and liberty to all Iraqis. Aren't Iraqi girls and women human enough to share in that dream?

Under Shariah, a girl becomes eligible for marriage from the moment she starts to menstruate. In countries where Islamic law is practiced, child-brides are common. Do the drafters of the constitution grasp what this will mean for the school curriculum of girls or the risks of miscarriages, maternal fatalities and infant deaths? These and other hazards that affect subjugated women are common phenomena in the 22 Arab-Islamic countries investigated in the Arab Human Development Report. An early marriage also means many children in an area of the world that is already overpopulated and poor.





The draft Iraqi bill of rights favors men in other respects, such as the right to marry up to four wives, and the right to an easy divorce, without the interference of a court, simply by repeating "I divorce you" in the presence of two male witnesses. A wife divorced in such a fashion will receive an allowance for a period of three months to one year, and after that period nothing. On the other hand, if a wife wants a divorce, she must go to court and prove that her husband does not meet her material needs, that he is infertile and that he is impotent. Once a divorce is finalized, if there are children, the custody of the children will automatically go to the father (for boys at age 7 and for girls from the start of menstruation). Inheritance based on the Shariah means that wives will get only a small portion of the property of their husbands and a sister will get half what her brother gets.
Canadian women are told that the Arbitration Act of 1992 was passed in order to provide citizens with the opportunity to resolve minor conflicts through mediation and thereby save valuable court time. They are reassured that Muslim women in Canada have nothing to fear because parties must enter into arbitration out of their free choice, and that there are enough limits to safeguard the rights of women. The Muslim women's arguments that "free choice" is relative when you are psychologically, financially and socially dependent on your family, clan or religious group seem to fall on deaf ears. The populations of battered Muslim women in "tolerant" Canada's women's shelters seem to be ignored. In Canada, battered Muslim women say that their husbands told them that it is a God-given right to hit them. If the current Iraqi constitution goes through, Iraqi wife-abusers will be able to add "It is my constitutional right to beat you."

An Iraqi constitution is necessary, and the need for urgency is apparent, but urgency is a bad argument for passing a bill that strips half the nation of its rights. In Ontario, minorities come first and individual women within minorities last, living as second-class citizens and suffering in silence.

Read and then, ponder, then answer the question posed by Patrick Henry.

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren (and sisters) are already in the field!

Why stand we here idle?

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An Ace High Straight Flush, Beats A Queen High Hand
Topic: Iraq War
Quite some time ago, I got into a "disagreement" on a Netscape Discussion Board. It's too bad that since Compuserve took over the message boards there, that forum among others with several years of debates dropped into the world wide void.

In any case my opposite number was making a large production of an outfit called,VETERANS FOR PEACE, he loudly proclaimed that they were the largest Anti-War Vet org and proof that the Veteran Community opposed the War.

SO, I checked out their website. At the time they were proudly proclaiming that their membership had rocketed to a whole 2500 members.

Say WHAT? I posted back that, there being some 25 MILLION Vets in the US, I could not see where 1/10 of 1/10 of One Percent had any moral claim to speak for the whole and while I was not going to make the claim that the entire Vet Community supported the War without consulting them, neither could this group, they could only speak for themselves and NOT the Veterans Community.

The exchange rapidly devolved into sputtering invective and ad hominem attacks. I, to paraphrase Alice's Restaurant, was obviously someone who likes to Eat Dead Burnt Bodies and KILL, KILL, KILL!

We have all been there on the internet at one time or another, hold up and mirror and show them how foolish they look uttering some ludicrous claim and all the ills of the world become YOUR fault

The point I wish to make is that the Anti-War Movement is holding a Queen high hand, now if we meander over to Chrenkoff, you can see what a Ace high Straight Flush looks like.
"Maureen Dowd: "The moral authority of parents who bury children killed in Iraq is absolute."

Don't argue and fuss, AGREE. Say of COURSE this is true and we should LISTEN to:

Lynn Kelly
"I don't agree" with Sheehan's views, said Lynn Kelly of Pitman, whose son, Marine Cpl. Sean P. Kelly, was killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq in January.

Linda Ryan:
"Marine Cpl. Marc T. Ryan, of Gloucester City, was killed in an explosion in Ramadi, Iraq in November.
"George Bush didn't kill her son, it's the evildoers who have no value of life who killed her son. "George Bush was my son's commander-in-chief. My son, Marc, totally believed in what he was doing," she said."

Thomas Zapp:Among those attending the pro-Bush rally was Thomas Zapp, of Richmond, Texas, whose 20-year-old son, Marine Lance Cpl. T.J. Zapp, was killed by a bomb in Iraq on Nov. 8, 2004
Zapp said that it was unfair for Sheehan to demand a

second meeting

with the president when many parents of slain GIs, like himself, have not even had a single meeting.

"I have not met with President Bush," he told the Tribune-Herald.

"Why should she get to meet with President Bush again?"





Robert Hoffman:Motorcycles roared their engines Saturday to herald the funeral procession of Marine Sgt. Justin Hoffman, one of 14 Marines killed last week in the deadliest roadside bombing since U.S. troops invaded Iraq...

"'Freedom is not free' is a phrase we hear every day, but few of us understand what it means," Robert Hoffman said Saturday at his son's funeral in Powell, another Columbus suburb. "Justin and the Lima Company understood. They gave up their lives for it


Jim Boskovitch:
Jim Boskovitch is the father of Corporal Jeff Boskovitch, one of five Marine snipers killed on Monday [8 August]. He says his family came to the vigil to support the troops still in Iraq.



I have only gone down part of the page, but why post anymore names here? You have drawn to an Ace High Straight Flush, are you going to discard and draw another card?

Just like 1/10 of 1/10 of One percent of Veterans could not speak for all 25 Million Vets, one parent cannot speak for all.

My personal thoughts are that we should not directly confront Mrs. Sheehan on any contradictions in her statements. It allows the other side to put on the Moral Armor of Righteous Indignation and accuse us of attacking the mother of a slain soldier. Remember in DailyKos it was suggested that Casey Sheehan's name never be mentioned, they wish to bury his memory and forget he was a Volunteer, who reenlisted

Instead let us go forth under this banner

The moral authority of parents who bury children killed in Iraq is absolute."

But let the other parents carry that banner as our vanguard. Let their own rally call be used against them.

Maureen Dowd may be a broken clock, but even a broken clock tells the correct time twice a day.

UPDATE OH My GOD! Mrs Sheehan's handlers have NO Idea what is heading towards them or how it is going to hit them
Just read this at Michelle Malkin
Meanwhile, Move America Forward has a new spot from the head of Marine Moms of America. They are also organizing a caravan of military families that will head to Crawford, Tx., to counter the anti-war circus.

No corporate jets for these grass-roots activists.

Can you think of anything more intimidating than a caravan of PO?d Marine Moms?
I mean for one thing they make no attempt to pass themselves off at Pacifists. and DailyKos was crowing about getting a herd of Moms after Bush? THEY are about to have a MMEF (Marine Mom Expeditionary Forces) land on their heads and kick the other end. ROTFLMAO





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