Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Friday, March 17, 2006

Muslim "dialogue"

There was a conference last week in Copenhagen for 25 selected international Muslim youth to "dialogue" with Danish youth, to "build bridges."

It was marred by one Muslim preacher who insisted that Denmark owed the Muslim world an apology, but otherwise the Muslim participants thought it went well, according to Egypt's Al-Ahram.

No wonder. Look at what they consider the success of their "dialogue":

The first day of the two-day conference was dedicated to dialogue among the youths. They discussed who Islam's prophet is; what Islam is all about; freedom of expression from the Muslim point of view; respect of the other's holy scriptures. Young Muslim participants also proposed practical projects encouraging mutual respect and co-existence.

"The Danish youths were impressed and we, too, were very happy to find that many Danes are friendly to foreigners, had no biases against Arabs and Muslims, and in some cases, wore the Palestinian scarf to show solidarity with the Palestinian issue," Barakat said. The impression was based on field survey the young Muslims carried out, talking to Danish people in the streets, and asking them questions about the cartoon crisis.

"Many said they were against the publication of the offensive cartoons, but that they were equally offended to see their flags and embassies burnt," Barakat went on. "The dialogue was indeed a step forward on the way to building bridges. People should realise that the Danes are not a single entity and that we still have friends there. It's enough to know that we left with tears in our eyes."

Once again, the Muslim idea of dialogue is to have an opportunity to preach without having to listen to the other side's point of view. Nowhere does the author say that "I had never realized how important free speechwas inthe West" or anything remotely resembling a change of his attitudes or opinions. Only that he felt he impacted Danish thinking.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a dialogue - this is a monologue, a lecture under the pretext of being two-sided. And almost every single time you hear the word "dialogue" in the context of Islam they really mean the opportunity to spread their message, whetherit is religious or political (and usually the two are one and the same.) As can be seen, the recommendations of the conference are completely one-sided:

The conference concluded with recommendations, including the establishment of a cultural centre in Denmark, adding some information on Islam in school textbooks and promoting dialogue with various parties.

Of course, even this one-sided "dialogue" is criticized by Islamists:

The very concept of promoting dialogue with the Danes, even though the Danish government insisted it will not apologise for the cartoons, had already been a bone of contention among Islamic scholars. Many, like Qatar-based Egyptian Islamic scholar Sheikh Youssef El-Qaradawi, who heads the European Council on Fatwa and Research, argued that dialogue is an unwanted compromise for the time being. The Danish government, El-Qaradawi said, had blown the matter out of proportion when it refused to apologise or meet a delegation of Muslim figures to settle the matter. Meanwhile, El-Qaradawi was happy that "what happened in Denmark has stirred the Islamic world to move and unite after suffering long years of rifts."

But then we return to our theme of pretend bridge-building when it is actually buildin a mosque in Copenhagen:

For Khaled, however, the cartoon crisis should be invested to build bridges with the West, eliminate misconceptions and stereotypes about Islam and abort attempts by antagonists to Islam to attract neutral non-Muslims to their side and alienate Muslims. Which was, more or less, the same conclusion reached by 170 Islamic scholars at a recent conference in Qatar. The conference concluded that while public furor was only a normal reaction to the cartoons, it was high time for more dialogue with the West.

Prominent Al-Ahram columnist and Islamic thinker Fahmi Howeidi, however, insists that Khaled, although a "superb preacher", was not qualified enough for the job. Howeidi argued that fostering dialogue with the West involves many "sophisticated dossiers" that need the efforts of more experienced Western- based organisations that are acquainted with the Western mentality and legally complicated issues like freedom of expression and coexistence. Howeidi expressed widespread fears that Khaled's initiative would be abused by the Western media in attempts to abort more serious efforts by such well-known Islamic organisations as the World Islamic Conference.

Khaled had also repeatedly said he was greatly encouraged to launch the initiative "after 93 per cent of some 100,000 Muslim youths polled opted for a dialogue with the Danish people."

A very long article about dialogue without a single example of dialogue - only preaching and lecturing, not a bit of learning about the West or accepting the legitimacy of Western thinking.

It is important to realize when we are being taken for a ride.

Saga of two Nazi Arab paratroopers

In October, 1944, at least six Nazis parachuted into an area near Jericho, presumably to sabotage British interests in Palestine. Each team of three Nazis included one Arab who was involved in the 1936 Arab riots against Jews and subsequently went to Iraq and then Germany where they joined the Nazis.

One team was captured a week after they landed:

Details of the operations were not publicized until after the war. The captured Arab, Zul Kifel Abdul Latif, tried to contact the Arab leaders in Jericho to support his mission.

To their credit, they didn't want to help him.

Of course, they didn't report him to the British, either.

The other team managed to evade capture. Since it is known that Latif tried to get protection from local Arabs, it is reasonable to assume that the other team actually was protected for the duration of the mission, and possibly the war. Its leader is identified here as Sheikh Hassan Salameh, a notorious terrorist leader and ally of the Mufti during the riots from 1936-39.

After the war, the Arabs started appealing for the Nazi Arab Abdul Latif to be freed from prison.

When the British refused to release the war criminal, the Arabs decided to do it themselves. They attacked the prison he was in and got him out, under the watchful eyes of the British.

I don't know what happened to Abdul Latif after that.

Meanwhile, the other Nazi Arab who evaded capture resurfaced as a leader of an Arab gang in Jaffa, again associated with the Mufti:

Sheikh Hassan Salameh is known to have fought against the Jews in 1948 with German Nazi recruits to the Arab cause. (Salameh died in June, 1948 in a battle for Ramallah.)

(His son, Ali Hassan Salameh, was chief of operations for Black September, the terrorist group responsible for the Munich massacre, and was assassinated by the Mossad in 1979.)

So here we have:

Arab connections to Nazis,
Arab terrorists who become national heroes, and
Arabs helping convicted terrorists escape from prison.

Once again, we ignore history at our own peril.

------
A small footnote: The Zionists also on at least one occasion freed a prisoner during the 1948 war. Here is a case where they freed an Egyptian sheikh who was imprisoned for the horrendous crime of advocating Arabs living in peace with Jews.

A Palestinian militant from the Fatah movement holds his weapon during a press conference in the West Bank city of Nablus, in which they claimed responsibility for the killing of an Israeli soldier in Jenin earlier Thursday, March 16, 2006.

They have press conferences, we have press conferences. They are just like us! We just have to learn to respect their cultural mores such as wearing masks, carrying sniper rifles everywhere and being proud of killing Jews.

Three good 'uns

I haven't been too inspired lately, but others have.

Check out Daled Amos' great post on stringers and media bias, Soccer Dad's scoop on a Forward article on Ariel Sharon, and AbbaGav's incredible Hollywood Squares spoof.

Is Abbas this smart?

March 7: Abbas seems to endorse Olmert and Kadima. "I hope that Olmert wins ... I know him well, and I believe that I could work with him in a productive way."

March 7: Abbas says "I have no problem releasing Ahmed Saadat tomorrow, but with one condition: to have a letter from the PFLP politburo saying that I am not responsible for what would happen to him after that."

Now that Saadat is released and captured by Israel, Olmert gets a boost from the Israeli electorate.

Beyond that, Abbas had nothing to gain from Saadat being in the PA parliament, as he would work against both Fatah and Hamas. By freeing him he would strengthen his opposition.

I tend to doubt it, as Abbas never betrayed any political smarts before, and it was not a huge win for him - the world Arab reaction has been that Abbas was humiliated by the Israeli operation. Still, it is something to think about.

Everything you need to know about Palestinian Arabs....

...you could have learned yesterday:

"(PFLP leader) Saadat's cell was more of an office. He had telephones and television sets. The jail's Palestinian guards stayed away from his quarters, which included a kitchen and an area to receive guests."
"Under the terms of the Ramallah Agreement, the six prisoners were meant to be kept in seclusion although this was routinely violated by the Palestinian jailers. The monitors made a note of these violations but they were powerless to intervene."
"Security officials contended long ago that the Jericho jail sentence was a joke. Except for a sign announcing the facility as a jail, there were no other trappings of such. Visitors were frequent, including Palestinian leaders. Comings and goings were almost unimpeded. The most egregious moment was when the secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Ahmed Saadat, was suspected of masterminding from his jail cell a suicide bombing in the Carmel Market in Tel Aviv."
Abbas on March 7: "'I have no problem releasing Ahmed Saadat tomorrow, but with one condition: to have a letter from the PFLP politburo saying that I am not responsible for what would happen to him after that.' " Abbas on March 15: "What happened is an unforgivable crime and an insult to the Palestinian people."
"Following a flurry of abductions Tuesday afternoon, foreigners in the Gaza Strip fled for the Israeli border with the help of the Palestinian police.
"Angry Palestinians abducted two French women doctors of Medecins du Monde, a Swiss delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and three unidentified foreigners. Two French journalists were also abducted, but it was unclear if they were from the hotel."
"The outgoing Fatah regime in the Palestinian Authority voted on March 5th to grant honorary citizenship to Lebanese terrorist Samir Quntar who murdered a 4-year-old Israeli girl and her father."

"Leaders of the Palestinian group Hamas were feted at a reception by hardline Saudi clerics during a visit this week to ensure continued financial aid from the wealthy Muslim country, a delegation source said. Members of the five-man delegation, headed by exiled leader Khaled Meshaal, said that Saudi officials had assured them of continuing political and financial aid in private meetings since their arrival on Friday."
"As for being considered a terrorist organization, (Hamas Politburo chief Khaled Meshaal) said that none of the Arab and Muslim countries accepts this unjust categorization of Hamas, which is mainly an American categorization. "Whoever considers Hamas a terrorist organization is categorizing the whole Palestinian people as terrorists because they chose Hamas."

Without a touch of irony

Reuters' caption:
An Indonesian Muslim student walks in front of a banner during a protest against visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice outside the U.S. embassy in Jakarta March 14, 2006. Rice began a trip to Indonesia on Tuesday, seeking closer ties with the moderate Islamic country in a region where China's influence is growing. REUTERS/Crack Palinggi

With moderates like these, who needs extremists?

Original Mohammed Artwork Here!

Inspired by AbbaGav's thoughts, I hereby present some original works of art depicting the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh):

First is my variant on AbbaGav's brilliant original picture:

The Prophet (pbuh) on an Overcast night in Medina.

Next, I took the theme in new directions:

Mohammed (pbuh) After the Avalanche on his Swiss Ski Vacation

As a true artist, I knew that like the proverbial shark, I must move forward or I will die. I am broke new ground with this masterpiece:

An Extreme Close-Up of the Prophet (pbuh)'s Iris in his Left Eye (pbui)

And what's art without a little controversy?

The Prophet (pbuh) Completely Wrapped Up in a Flag

happy, freilechen, purim sameach

Just wanted to wish any readers out there a great Purim!

Mubarak: Pay Palestinian Arabs, or else

Sounds suspiciously like a protection racket.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said that cutting aid to the Palestinian Authority would encourage terrorism.
"The aid is used by the man-in-the-street to buy medicine and to send his children to school. If this money is cut, terrorism will grow and all the (Palestinian) people will suffer," Mubarak told reporters after meeting in Vienna with Austrian President Heinz Fischer, whose country is the current EU president on Monday.
"Hamas was elected by the Palestinian people and Israel must recognize that it can form a new government. The renunciation of Hamas of violence and its recognition of preceding engagements (in peace talks) is for a second stage," Mubarak said.

Here' a crazy thought. If the West has so many aid dollars to give, why not give them to starving and sick people who don't threaten us with more terror?

Egypt would be a great starting place - the $2 billion it receives every year from the US could help untold millions of people. It wouldn't be wasted on propping up an autocratic government that supports terrorists and threatens us every few weeks.

Insane Muslim Protesters of the Day - Taanit Esther Edition

They didn't get the memo.

Entire forests have been felled by columnists who insist that Islam has no problem with Jews, only Zionists. And then these hotheads in Pakistan show up and set that propaganda initiative back by years.

I couldn't figure this one out, though:

Give peace Hamas a chance

When Hamas decided to run in the Palestinian elections, there was a small problem: it could not do so legally, under Oslo Interim Agreement Annex II:

The nomination of any candidates, parties or coalitions will be refused, and such nomination or registration once made will be canceled, if such candidates, parties or coalitions:

1. commit or advocate racism; or
2. pursue the implementation of their aims by unlawful or non- democratic means.

So Hamas changed its name for a couple of months and everyone looked the other way as they continued to advocate the genocide of Jews from the Middle East. At the time many people excused this illegal act by saying that Hamas will reform and moderate as it uses the political process.

Then Hamas won, but those who want to fund those who want to destroy Israel didn't miss a beat. They said the West should continue to fund the PA because Hamas hasn't taken power yet.

Then Hamas took power, and those who want to fund those who want to destroy Israel didn't miss a beat. They said that we need to wait until Hamas publishes its platform, and until then the money should flow freely.

Now Hamas released its platform, which includes:

We announce that the founding principles of our government will be based on the following points.

1. The expulsion of the occupation and the establishment of a sovereign independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

2. A commitment to the right of return of Palestinians to their homes and property. We believe that the right of return is a private and collective right that can't be given up.

3. Resistance in all its formed is a legitimate right of the Palestinian people in its path to put an end to the occupation and the reinstatement of its national rights.

Now, let's see how many of the advocates of "peace" will take a principled stand and agree that no money should go to unreformed terrorists.

Because if they still want to fund Hamas (directly or indirectly) after giving the terrorists so many chances to embrace peace, one must start to wonder whether peace is really their goal.

I anxiously await the principled peaceniks' pronouncements.

The latest in tznius fashions

Religious Jewish women always has problems finding fashionable yet modest clothing on-line. Sure, they have places like ModestWorld.com but as religious standards get stricter, the bar goes higher.

Tznius.com is so last year.

Forget Below the Knee.com.

If you want modest fashions, you've got to go to Gaza:

Trendy green and calligraphy along with the baseball cap (so people cannot see the shape of your covered head) is the latest "in" thing in the religious fashion world.

HH - Roger Maris edition

Jack of Jack's Shack has put together an excellent Haveil Havalim roundup of the weeks best JBlogosphere posts.

I am honored to be mentioned 3 times - for The Most Moral Army in History, for the Esther Hamalka Oranges from 1936, and for the interesting way some Goerings turned out.

It is a great collection of links - check it out!

Another peaceful protest in Gaza

A Palestinian militant from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades carries a homemade rocket launcher during a protest demanding job opportunities at the Palestinian Electric Company near Nusseirat in the central Gaza Strip, Saturday, March 11, 2006.

Oh dear, I'm out of a job. What is the best way to get one?

I know! I'll dress my best, go to a good company, hand in my resume and ask them to hire me! I'll prove to him that I am industrious, hard-working and reliable.

Or, I can just cover my face up with my keffiyeh, bring my homemade rocket launcher and threaten to blow up anyone who doesn't give me money.

The latter method has a better track record in Gaza, anyway.

Dhimmi Carter: Israel is the problem

Jimmah has come out with his most anti-Zionist rant yet, in an article published in Pakistan. Even though he would insist he was being "even-handed" he purposefully uses words that he knows will be interpreted by his Muslim audience as being against the entire state of Israel's existence. Here is Pakistan's Daily Times' summary of his words:

The pre-eminent obstacle to peace is Israel’s colonisation of Palestine... Acting prime minister Ehud Olmert and others pointed out years ago that permanent occupation will be increasingly difficult as the relative number of Jewish citizens decreases demographically both within Israel and in Palestine. This is obvious to most Israelis, who also view this as a distortion of their moral and religious values

The article itself seems to imply that Cater calls "Palestine" the West Bank and Gaza, but he clearly chose words that could make that impression ambiguous, as he certainly knows that his readers consider Palestine to be a state between the Mediterranean and the Jordan.

He also peppers his text with outright lies:

...since 1967, the universally adopted UN Resolution 242 has mandated Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied territories. This policy was reconfirmed even by Israel in 1978 and 1993, and emphasised by all American presidents, including George W Bush. As part of the Quartet, including Russia, the UN, and the European Union, he has endorsed a “Road Map” for peace. But Israel has officially rejected its basic premises with patently unacceptable caveats and prerequisites.

Again, Dhimmi knows very well the text of 242 and that it does not speak of total withdrawal.

He goes on to imply that Hamas should be respected because it was democratically elected, that the Clinton/Barak offer was woefully inadequate, that the wall to stop terrorists is unacceptable - on and on and on, a word-for-word capitulation to the Arab viewpoint of the conflict that could have been written by the editors of Al Jazeera.

He ends off with yet another completely unfounded piece of fiction, saying effectively that if Israel trusts him, the hundreds of millions of Arabs who shout "Death to Israel" in rally after rally will all accept her right to exist:

There is little doubt that accommodation with the Palestinians can bring full Arab recognition of Israel and its right to live in peace. Any rejectionist policies of Hamas or any terrorist group will be overcome by an overall Arab commitment to restrain further violence and to promote the well being of the Palestinian people.

Proof by assertion, along with large dollops of wishful thinking to replace real facts. A favorite far-left prescription for peace.

And if he's wrong? And if he has been willfully ignoring the mountains of evidence that is as clear as day that Arabs will never accept Israel except perhaps as a temporary accomodation on the way to its total destruction?

Oops.

Jimmah is now a sick joke, an embarrassment to the United States who now is actively working to undermine the current administration.

He is a hero - to terrorists and their supporters.

Palestinian leaders again show no interest in statehood

I have posted on this topic before, and this is just more proof:

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday that he opposed the creation of a Palestinian state with temporary borders and unilateral Israeli withdrawals from the West Bank.

“We reject unilateral solutions and a state with temporary borders,” Abbas said in an address at festivities on the eve of International Women’s Day.

“It should be clear to everyone that we reject such a solution,” he added.

Abbas recognised that the creation of a Palestinian state with temporary borders was outlined as a possibility in the internationally drafted road map peace plan, which has made next to no progress since its launch in 2003.

“It’s an option, not an obligation and it is an option we reject,” he said."

So to recap: They want to be recognized as a state in the Olympics and in the Oscars. But if the statehood offered requires the slightest bit of responsibility or compromise, they run away.

Infantilization, indeed.

"Palestinian militant stands above the gate of the European Union (EU) commission's headquarters in Gaza City. "

OK. Here is someone who is in a Jew-free Gaza, where the elected government supports terror explicitly. There is no fear that anyone will shoot him or arrest him. His leaders support his cause.

Why does he still need to cover his face?

The answer is as obvious as it is disturbing: He does not know any other way to act. He grew up idolizing murderers who hide among civilians, who target women and children. Terror is his life and nothing can change that.

Is these a trick question's?

Headline bias

There were many stories in the news today about the Israeli missile attack that killed Islamic Jihad leaders (using an ice cream truck) and unfortunately also killed three kids.

Predictably, the headlines in most newspapers spoke only about the kids:
Death of two boys in airstrike stirs anger in Gaza, soul-searching in Israel

Most of the stories, all based on AP reporter Sarah El Deeb's articles, have similar headlines, although most only had room for the "anger" part and not for the "soul-searching" part. Interestingly, the articles mentioned 3 boys and most headlines said 2 boys, showing the level of editorial care taken in most newspapers.

Also predictably, practically none of the stories highlighted in their headlines that Israel managed to get rid of two terrorists.

But by far the worst and most biased headline was in the Newark Star Ledger:
One Israeli missile, three dead kids

Am I finally out of protester material?

Yahoo Pictures did not add any new pictures today yet for insane Muslim protesters, and I'm suffering from withdrawal. Tomorrow is Friday so I'm cautiously optimistic that protests, riots and stupid signs will return.

But meanwhile, here is someone that AP seems to have fallen in love with yesterday. Look at the really photogenic guy with the green headband in the middle:

Clearly, here was a good representative of Islam, and AP wanted to get a closer look:

You can just imagine the photographer thinking "this dude will get me my photojournalism award and I'll finally get out of this stinking country!"

Not quite close enough. His uvula is not quite visible yet. One more "Itbach al-Yahud" and, watch out, Life Magazine!

YESSSS!

Nowadays it is still a good idea to send Israeli products for mishloach manot baskets.

What's wrong with this picture? Insane Muslim protesters of the day

Good news: Pakistani women are protesting demanding freedom, equal rights and an end to discriminatory laws against them.

Bad news: Here are the women in Karachi:

Yes, the women of Pakistan are in favor of burqas, but against discrimination.

In Islamabad, the protesters for women's rights made even less sense:

Let's protest for women's rights, and in the interests of efficiency, we'll protest against the one nation that supports and promotes women's rights more than any other! That'll show 'em!

At least these weren't cartoon protests. But there's always tomorrow.

The legacy of Goering

In the Independent (UK): (hat tip: Maven Yavin)

Matthias Goering says: "I used to feel cursed by my name. Now I feel blessed."

The 49-year-old physiotherapist, a descendant (sic) of Hermann Goering, Adolf Hitler's right-hand man, is wearing a Jewish skullcap, with a Star of David pendant round his neck. After being brought up to despise Jews, he has embraced their faith. And although he has yet to formally convert to Judaism, he keeps kosher dietary rules, celebrates shabbat and is learning Hebrew.

In a Jewish restaurant in Basle, Mr Goering enthuses about Israel. "It feels like home," he says. "The Israelis are so friendly." Even when they hear his name? "Yes, they say they're so thankful I've made contact."

With the same name as the former Luftwaffe chief, who committed suicide at Nuremberg hours before he was to be executed, Mr Goering says he did not have a happy childhood. His great-grandfather and Hermann's grandfather were brothers, and that was enough to ensure problems after the fall of the Third Reich. "My siblings and I were bullied mercilessly," Matthias says. His father, a military doctor, was a Soviet prisoner of war, but returned with his anti-Semitic views intact. When times were hard, Matthias says: "Our parents would say to us, 'You can't have that, because all our money's gone to the Jews.'"

But that's not the only Goering news. Val this week tipped me off to this fascinating Wikipedia article:

Albert Göring (1900 - 1966) was a German businessman, notable for helping Jews and dissidents survive in Germany during World War II. His older brother Hermann Göring was a high ranking Nazi war criminal.

Göring was born near Mauterndorf to Heinrich Ernst Göring and his wife Franziska.

The Göring family lived with their children’s aristocratic godfather, Ritter Hermann von Epenstein, in his Veldenstein and Mauterndorf castles. Von Epenstein was a prominent physician and acted as a surrogate father to the children as Heinrich Göring was often absent from the family home. According to the author Leonard Mosley, who had interviewed Göring family members, von Epenstein began a long-term affair with Franziska Göring about a year before Albert's birth. Mosley also states that the strong physical resemblance between von Epenstein and Albert Göring led many people to believe that they were father and son. If this belief was correct then Albert Göring had a Jewish paternal grandfather.

Göring also seemed to have acquired his godfather's love of the bon vivant and looked set to lead an unremarkable life as a filmmaker, until the Nazis came to power in 1933. Unlike his older brother Hermann, who was a leading party member, Albert Göring despised Nazism and the brutality that it involved. On one occasion he is reported to have got down on his hands and knees and joined a group of Jews who were being forced to scrub the street. The SS officer in charge, unwilling to see Hermann Göring's brother also publicly humiliated, ordered the street scrubbing to stop.

Albert Göring also used his influence to get his Jewish boss Oskar Pilzer freed after the Nazis arrested him. Göring then helped Pilzer and his family escape from Germany. He is reported to have done the same for many other dissidents.

Göring intensified his anti-Nazi activity when he was made export director at the Skoda Works in Czechoslovakia. Here, he encouraged minor acts of sabotage and had contact with the Czech resistance. On many occasions Göring forged his brother's signature on transit documents to enable dissidents to escape. When he was caught he used his brother's influence to get himself released. Göring would also send trucks to concentration camps with requests for labour. These trucks would then stop in an isolated area and their passengers would be allowed to escape.

After the war Albert Göring was questioned during the Nuremberg Tribunal. However many of the people who he'd helped testified on his behalf and he was released. Soon afterwards Göring was arrested by the Czechs but was once again freed when the full extent of his activities became known.

Göring then returned to Germany but found himself shunned because of his family name. He found occasional work as a writer and translator, living in a modest flat far from the baronial splendour of his childhood. He died in 1966 without having his wartime activities publicly acknowledged.

As Maven Yavin wrote, ונהפוך הוא. Purim is a time that things go topsy-turvy.

The accidental Muslim martyr for free speech

The Yemen Observer made a dire mistake last month. As its now-jailed editor says:

When we ran our article on the Danish cartoons, it was all about how the Prophet should be honored, with quotations from famous people about what an important figure he was, and a news story on Yemeni protests. We reprinted the cartoons but blacked them out. Unfortunately by an innocent mistake in the production process, a thumbnail of the cartoons appeared on the front page—only 1.5cm [0.6 of an inch] by 2cm [0.8 of an inch], you could hardly read it.

Uh-oh.

Insane Islamists complained (he claims that is was a rival government newspaper) and the Yemeni government, our close friends and allies, arrested the editor on the serious charge of insulting the prophet and put him in a special jail for journalists.(!) They also suspended the license of the newspaper to publish.

Now he is on trial and the prosecution is seeking the death penalty:

SANA’A – Up to 21 prosecution lawyers called for the death penalty against Mohammed Al-Asadi, the Editor-in-Chief of the Yemen Observer, and the permanent closure of the newspaper, during Al-Asadi’s trial on Wednesday. The lawyers, commissioned by Sheik Abdul-Majid Zindani, the Chairman of Islah Shura Council and led by Mohammed Al-Shawish, also called for the confiscation of all the newspaper’s property and assets, and for financial compensation to be paid to be the Muslim’s ‘Finance House’, which last existed during the time of the Caliphs, 1200 years ago. They recounted a story in which a lady was killed during the Prophet’s lifetime after she insulted him, and that the Prophet then praised the killer.

I think that poor Mr. Al-Asadi is in some serious trouble. What self-respecting Yemeni court can ignore such an ironclad legal precedent?

The cartoon bloodlust continues unabated, and if they can't kill any Westerners over the issue, by Allah, they'll kill some Muslims!

"Even worse" - anti-semitic Jews, exhibit A

For those who don't think it is possible for a Jew to be an anti-Semite, check out this piece from Gilad Atzmon (evidently written a while back but reprinted recently):

Let's review some current typical Zionist arguments:

The 'Elders of Zion' syndrome: Zionists complain that Jews continue to be associated with a conspiracy to rule the world via political lobbies, media and money.

Is the suggestion of conspiracy really an empty accusation? The following list is presented with pride in several Jewish American websites.

Jews in Bush's Administration:
Ari Fleischer White House Press Secretary
Josh Bolten Deputy Chief of Staff
Ken Melman White House Political Director
David Frum Speechwriter
Brad Blakeman White House Director of Scheduling
Dov Zakheim Undersecretary of Defense (Controller)
Paul Wolfowitz Deputy Secretary of Defense
I. Lewis Libby Chief of Staff to the Vice President
Adam Goldman White House Liaison to the Jewish Community
Chris Gersten Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Administration for Children and Families at HHS
Elliott Abrams Director of the National Security Council's Office for Democracy, Human Rights and International Operations
Mark D. Weinberg Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for Public Affairs
Douglas Feith Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
Michael Chertoff Head of the Justice Department's criminal division
Daniel Kurtzer Ambassador to Israel
Cliff Sobel Ambassador to the Netherlands
Stuart Bernstein Ambassador to Denmark
Nancy Briner Ambassador to Hungary
Frank Lavin Ambassador to Singapore
Ron Weiser Ambassador to Slovakia
Mel Sembler Ambassador to Italy
Martin Silverstein Ambassador to Uruguay
Jay Lefkowitz Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council

Let me assure you, in Clinton's administration the situation was even worse. Even though the Jews only make up 2.9 per cent of the country's population, an astounding 56 per cent of Clinton's appointees were Jews. A coincidence? I don't think so.

We have to ask ourselves what motivates American Jews to gain such political power. Is it a genuine care for American interests? Soon, following the growing number of American casualties in Iraq, American people will start to ask themselves this very question.

Since America currently enjoys the status of the world's only super power and since all the Jews listed above declare themselves as devoted Zionists, we must begin to take the accusation that the Jewish people are trying to control the world very seriously. It is beyond doubt that Zionists, the most radical, racist and nationalistic Jews around, have already managed to turn America into an Israeli mission force. The world's number one super power is there to support the Jewish state's wealth and security matters. The one-sided pro-Zionist take on the Israeli*Palestinian conflict, the American veto against every 'anti-Israeli' UN resolution, the war against Iraq and now the militant intentions against Syria, all prove beyond doubt that it is Zionist interests that America is serving. American Jewry makes any debate on whether the 'Protocols of the elder of Zion' are an authentic document or rather a forgery irrelevant. American Jews do try to control the world, by proxy. So far they are doing pretty well for themselves at least. Whether the Americans enjoy the deterioration of their state's affairs will no doubt be revealed soon.

Here is his nonsensical argument that he is not an anti-semite, on his website:

I am an anti Zionist and oppose the Zionist mindset. I look at questions of Jewish identity and I do question the ties between a Jewish world view and Zionism. I refute totally that I am anti-Semite. In fact I also believe that the current concept of an Anti-Semitism is meaningless.

Once the Zionists had managed to establish their Jewish state, any form of anti Jewish sentiments should be comprehended either as a private case of xenophobia or as a political retaliation to Israeli/Zionist atrocities. In other words, the title Anti-Semite became an ‘empty signifier, i.e. a signifier with a vague, highly variable, unspecifiable or non-existent signified. It is an empty verbal utterance that exists merely to serve a political cause (very much like Blair’s WMD and Bush’s Axis of Evil). Because Anti-Semite is an empty signifier, no one actually can be an Anti-Semite and this includes me of course. In short, you are either a racist which I am not or have an ideological disagreement with Zionism, which I have.

I leave it as a exercise to the reader whether this "argument" is convincing or not.

It seems clear that his Jewish roots allow him to publish things even more bigoted than the genteel European anti-semites or the Arab anti-semites publishing in English, as he uses his religion as a shield against the accusation. As it is, I am hard pressed to see a difference between his opinions and those of the classic Jew-haters throughout history.

(Despite the utter repugnance of his views, I have to admit to being amused at his "even worse" comment, taking it as a given that Jews are evil, as well as his implication that Clinton and Bush are mere puppets who are forced by an invisible, evil Jewish hand to appoint so many Jews to positions of power. Must be that those Joo-rays can also control gentile minds.)

Hooray for Holly War!

A late but worthy entry in the Insane Muslim Protestor of the Day awards:

It may be a war against Christmas, it may be a war on Jews in Film, or it may be a war against Holly Hunter. Hard to know these days when everything on the planet offends these clowns.

They do seem happier during their most recent flag-burning rampages, though.

Insane Muslim Protesters of the Day 3/7

The newswires seem to have tired of the months of protests over freakin' cartoons, but rest assured they are still going on. Unfortunately, it has been harder finding rioters with English-language signs to make fun of.

But people like this are still yelling their heads off (from Sunday):

(Did John Belushi get reincarnated as a crazy Islamist?)

And people are still burning flags, like these gentlemen decided to do earlier today:

So the Muslim world is stil seething, and they won't stop rioting over cartoons until....they find some other idiotic reason to riot.

The most moral army in history

The world is not shy about complaining about Israel's supposed barbarity as it fights against those who want to destroy every Jewish man, woman and child in the Middle East. Israel should not be shy about letting the world know that no army in history had ever cared more about protecting enemy civilians during wartime than Israel.

A Palestinian child and two teens, ages 10, 15 and 16, were killed in Monday’s Israel Air Force attack in Gaza, along with two Islamic Jihad members. Children were also among those wounded in the strike.

Security sources said that while the attack will be investigated, the targeted killings will continue, and IDF officials said there is a significant drop in the number of innocent civilians hurt during the army’s anti-terror operations.

Commander in Chief of the Israel Air Force, Maj. Gen. Eliezer Shakedi, said Tuesday that the Air Force has been successful in reducing the number of civilian deaths in targeted killing operations, stating that in 2005 one civilian was killed in every 28 attacks, as opposed to 2003, when a civilian was killed once in every 12 IAF targeted killing operation.

Speaking at a Tel Aviv University conference titled “Aerial Strength,” Shakedi said, “We are making every effort so innocent civilians will not be harmed, but nothing can be guaranteed here. This is a war with weapons involved.”

During his speech Shakedi presented a number of videos displaying accurate Air Force strikes in Gaza, during which no innocent civilians were harmed. He added that Air Force attacks are accountable for the deaths of 54 percent of all terrorists killed in 2006, a significant rise from years past.

Only one in every 28 aerial attacks end up with a civilian killed? That is not just interesting, it is astonishing. Even the one in 12 in 2003 is unprecedented in history.

The modern rules of war were written only in the last century. Until then, civilians were not protected at all. But Israel goes way beyond Geneva, in fighting a war against an enemy that ignores Geneva altogether. (By the way, reading the Conventions is a worthwhile exercise - the Israel-bashers deliberately use the language of Geneva when blaming Israel for imagined war crimes.)

Some wars are moral. Israel's war against Arab terrorists is one of them. But what is extraordinary is not the justice of the fight, but the lengths that Israel goes to protect the general population of the enemy, even while the enemy uses that very same Jewish morality against Israel by deliberately hiding among the civilians they pretend to defend.

And it is clear that Israel is still innovating methods of reducing collateral damage even beyond the accomplishments made so far.

Israel's friends should not be defensive when the IDF and IAF are accused of atrocities. They should be pro-active in showing the hypocrisy of a world that demands perfection from Jews when no one - not Americans, not Canadians, not the French or British - have ever fought a war with as much care about the enemy's civilian population. Ever.

While on the Hollywood topic....

A very good article on the same theme from National Review Online:

Prior to and during Sunday night’s Academy Awards, Hollywood luminaries were busy patting themselves on the back for their courage in honoring films depicting two gay cowboys as star-crossed lovers, a gay writer as a soulful artist, a transsexual as a responsible parent, a Palestinian suicide bomber as a thoughtful, conscience-driven activist, greedy oil company executives as, well, greedy oil company executives, and Senator Joe McCarthy as (gasp) a threat to American civil liberties. As George Clooney, who had a hand in both the oil-industry-bashing Syriana and the McCarthy-bashing Good Night, and Good Luck, recently noted, “People in Hollywood do seem to be getting more comfortable with making these sorts of movies now. People are becoming braver."

No doubt about it. Hollywood is now ready to tackle any subject. With that in mind, I’d like to propose a handful of titles for next year.

Che, the Later Years: Following on the success of The Motorcycle Diaries, this sequel would pick up with Che Guevara’s life after he joined forces with Fidel Castro in Cuba. It would include scenes of Che presiding over firing squads after the overthrow of the Batista government and setting up Cuba’s labor-camp system, which was used to imprison not only enemies of the revolution and political dissidents but homosexuals and (later) AIDS victims. The film would also highlight Che’s literary growth from a casual diarist to a political theorist: “Hatred as an element of struggle, unbending hatred for the enemy, which pushes a human being beyond his natural limitations, making him into an effective, violent, selective, and cold-blooded killing machine — this is what our soldiers must become . . .”

The Jihad Momani Gesture: The film would cover one week in the life of the unfortunately named Jordanian newspaper editor, who, during the Islamic cartoon riots earlier this year, was fired for reprinting the offending images of Mohammad: “I was trying to calm [the rioters] down,” he explained, “to tell them these cartoons are not the end of the world, that insults have happened before and will happen again. The cartoons are silly. They don’t deserve such an intense reaction.” Two days after his firing he was arrested. He currently faces three years in prison for violating Jordan’s press law, which outlaws insults to Islam.

Brokeback Sharia: This would be a tearjerker about true love in the face of social conformity and family pressure in the grand Hollywood tradition of Titanic and, well, Brokeback Mountain. It would recount the doomed affair of two gay Iranian teenagers who fell in love in the summer of 2005, were arrested by the religious police, then publicly hanged to death for the crime of homosexuality.

The Uneasy Rest of Jesse Dirkhising: A graphic horror film, along the lines of Silence of the Lambs and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, it would tell the story of the last hours of young Jesse’s life — a life that ended in September 1999 when he was abducted by two gay men, Joshua Brown, 22, and David Don Carpenter, 38, who drugged the 13-year-old, bound him with duct tape and gagged him with his own underwear, sodomized him with foreign objects, and repeatedly raped him. They administered an enema of Brown’s urine, then took a break and went to the kitchen for sandwiches. The seventh grader stopped breathing while they snacked. He died of suffocation.

Ambush at Gush Katif: This film would dramatize the 2004 roadside attack in Gaza on a car driven by Israeli social worker and expectant mother Tali Hatuel. Two Palestinian gunmen rushed the vehicle and discovered that the driver was a pregnant woman — whereupon they pumped bullets into her stomach and face . . . and then pumped bullets into the face of her 11-year-old daughter . . . and into the face of her nine-year-old daughter . . . and into the face of her seven-year-old daughter . . . and into the face of her two-year-old daughter. The attackers were eventually shot and killed by Israeli soldiers. The next day, two Palestinian organizations, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committee, both claimed credit for the attack, and the official Voice of Palestine Radio called it a “heroic operation.” As an epilogue, the film would segue to the funeral for Hatuel and her daughters — which was interrupted when two more Palestinian gunmen, disguised as women, made it to the perimeter of the cemetery and opened fire on the mourners, including women and young children, who were sent scrambling behind parked cars and concrete barriers. Both gunmen were again shot dead by Israeli soldiers on hand to protect the crowd . . . and Islamic Jihad again claimed credit for the incident.

True, none of these films would likely be a runway box-office hit. But that shouldn’t matter to a courageous artist like George Clooney. They’d be truthful. And that’s what really counts, isn’t it?
So how about it George? Ready to break out the checkbook for any of these babies?

Fighting for the honor of a female camel

This is one of the more novel defenses of insane Muslim cartoon rioting I've seen so far: (from MEMRI, of course!)

Following are excerpts from an interview with Saudi cleric Sheik Muhsen Al-'Awaji, aired on Ein TV on February 26, 2006.

Sheik Muhsen Al-'Awaji: Before Islam, the Arabs fought for 40 years to defend the honor of a female camel. This was in the Busous War. A female camel was humiliated, and a 40-year war ensued to defend its honor. So what about the honor of the Prophet?

Interviewer: Are you proud of this?!

Sheik Muhsen Al-'Awaji: I am proud that honor and nobility always characterized the Arabs, and then came Islam to reinforce these traits. I'm not saying I'm proud of a war over a female camel's honor, or that I would call to wage a war to defend the honor of a female camel... But since this was done for the honor of a female camel, do not rebuke someone who would do anything to defend our beloved Prophet Muhammad.

But then again, who wouldn't defend a noble beast with such incredible medicinal properties?

The NYT and Hollywood: ya gotta laugh

The New York Times really supports free speech, except when it is certain kinds of speech.

The polemics and outrage in the theatrical community last week after the New York Theater Workshop postponed its production of "My Name Is Rachel Corrie" might have been as intense as the uproar the company feared had it actually presented the play.[...]But what made it a more volatile act was that by declining for now to offend with the play, the theater violated the most sacred principles of our artistic temples.

Those principles are: Thou shalt offend, thou shalt test limits, thou shalt cause controversy. If there is an artistic orthodoxy in the West, it is that good art is iconoclastic and provocative, and that any pull back from this orthodoxy is cowardly and craven. In this distended context, the New York Theater Workshop's act was heretical.

Isn't it wonderful to know that the New York Times is courageous enough to defend a play that promotes someone who supported terrorists and insulted America publicly?

Somehow, the "newspaper of record" cannot find the newsworthiness of some cartoons that spawned months-long deadly riots to actually show what the Muslims are rioting against - but that's not heretical, that's being "sensitive."

Sort of like the Oscars last night congratulated themselves incessantly on taking on important social issues, being brave enough to stand up to a Republican administration that they accuse of censorship but not once mentioning Theo Van Gogh, a real filmmaker who was really killed for actually making a film that was really important - and even feminist. You see, bravery against fictional censorship is to be celebrated, but actually sacrificing your life for an ideal that Hollywood does not currently support is not worth mentioning.

It's easy to be brave and to defend free speech when there is no real threat to you for speaking your mind. Stay in your circle of same-thinking pals, trade stories about how you each faced down the leashed barking poodles and congratulate yourselves on your fearlessness. Maybe in a few decades they'll show a film montage about you in front of a room of people in tuxedos and evening gowns who consider themselves brave.

Insane Muslim protestors of the day (3/5)

Hate Denmark!
Love Prophet!
Crush America!
Save Islam!

All catchy slogans. "Crush America" is my favorite because it fortuitously allows the entire expression to be stressed on every other syllable, making it easier to chant mindlessly when joining thousands of other drones in pretending to defend the honor of a man who died 1400 years ago.

I particularly like the woman whose glasses appear to be on top of her burqa. The woman next to her, showing her face in merely a chador, is of course doomed to eternal hellfire.

Reuters loved this rally so much, it decided to go for a Pulitzer by doing some photo manipulation to make a mass of morons look cool:

And yes, all of these idiots are still protesting some cartoons published in an obscure Danish newspaper last September.

HH LX

Life-of-Rubin hosts this weeks Haveil Havalim #60, featuring the week's best JBlogosphere postings.

My post on Muslim riots in the 1930s is on the list. Soccer Dad asked me to also nominate my link to the video of the Japanese version of "Tradition" from Fiddler on the Roof. I didn't see it there but it is fun to watch, anyway. (Also, I need to give a hat tip to Junior Elder who found that for me.)

The Haveil Havalim is very good, and is worth it just for the single link Chaim threw in to this video. I had frankly never made the connection between MBD and Genghis Khan before, and Daughter of Ziyon is anxious to learn an entirely new set of dance steps to a classic "Jewish" song.

Check it out!

Iranian cleric: "We intend to conquer the world"

Tehran, Iran, Mar. 04 – A representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran University declared on Friday that Islam must “conquer the world” by defeating the West.

Hojjatol-Islam Alireza Panahyan, who was delivering the pre-sermon speech at this week’s Friday prayers in the Iranian capital, said that the West was trying to put fear into the hearts of Muslims through “torture and nuclear weapons”.

“We intend to conquer the world without [nuclear] weapons. Such weapons are not needed to set the stage for the return of the [Shiite messiah] Mahdi”, Panahyan said.

He called on Muslims to overcome their fear of the West’s might.

“If you do not fear and take a stance, they will not be able to say anything and will try not to get into a fight with you, because they know that they will lose”, he said.

It is not always fun being right.

When Islam goes out of the religious sphere and into geo-political Islamo-fascism, it is a threat to the entire world and should be treated as such by the entire world.

Hat tip: Val

Iranian missiles now can reach all of Europe

LONDON [MENL] -- Iran has launched a missile designed to have a range of 4,000 kilometers.

Western intelligence sources said the Defense Ministry presided over the launch of an intermediate-range missile in January 2006. The sources said the launch was the first of what they termed a Shihab-4 ballistic missile based on a Soviet-origin platform.

The missile was fired and reached a distance of nearly 3,000 kilometers. The sources said the missile was destroyed in mid-flight, but the trajectory indicated that the projectile could have reached a distance of 4,000 kilometers.

'It looks like the test was meant to see if the separation and guidance systems were working,' an intelligence source said."

According to on-line distance databases as well as eyeballing a map, this means that almost all of Europe is in range of Iranian missiles, and in a short time, of Iranian nuclear bombs. Even if the estimate is off by a few hundred kilometers, if you assume that Syria would gladly host Iranian missiles then all of Europe is still in range. (Parts of Spain and Ireland may be out of range.)

But I'm sure the UN will take serious measures against Iran real soon now. Maybe even a non-binding resolution. That'll show them!

I'm sure glad that they told me that they are holding a "peace rally" because I might have thought otherwise, based on things like this at the same rally:

Or maybe "peace" has a different meaning in Arabic.

More fun photos from cartoon protests/rallies around the world:

Doesn't it look like she's saying she loves "alll Jews"?
She loves us! How sweet! Just make sure that she stays away from the mullahs who don't like seeing red hearts on Valentine's Day.

Finally, here are some fans of George Bush in Pakistan:

Go Bush!

A Moderate Muslim manifesto

Unrelated to the manifesto against Islamic totalitarianism, this one is more religious-oriented and quite sensible. How many Muslims hold by the beliefs written therein is the $64,000 question.

Either way, it is good to see some Muslims taking the problem of extremism seriously.

A Muslim Manifesto
By Mustafa Akyol & Zeyno Baran
"Who are the moderate Muslims, and why do they not speak up?" After being asked this question over and over again since 9/11, particularly after the Danish cartoon crisis, we decided to propose the following Muslim Manifesto:

Recently, the disrespectful cartoons about Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) published in Jyllands-Posten resulted in an extreme reaction among many Muslims worldwide. While we understand the feelings of our co-religionists, we strongly urge them to refrain from rage and violence.
A zeal for Allah is rightful only when it is expressed in an enlightened manner, since Allah himself has ordained a restrained response. When the early Muslims were mocked by their pagan contemporaries, the Koran ordered not a violent backlash, but rather a civilized disapproval: "When you hear Allah's verses being rejected and mocked at by people, you must not sit with them till they start talking of other things." (Koran 4:140) The Koran also describes Muslims as "those who control their rage and pardon other people, [because] Allah loves the good-doers." (3:134) Therefore all demonstrations against the mockery of Islam should be peaceful. All critiques of Islam should be countered not by threats and violence, but by rational counter-argument.

We also believe that terrorist acts can never be justified or excused. None of the challenges Muslims face, such as oppression or military occupation, can justify attacks against non-combatants. In the Holy Koran, Allah orders Muslims to "never let hatred of anyone lead you into the sin of deviating from justice." (5:8) The true Islamic sense of justice is well-established in the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh); even in time of war — let alone peace — Muslim soldiers should never "kill the old, the infant, the child, or the woman." Those who do so are not martyrs, but cold-blooded murderers.

Supported by the Koran's affirmation that "there is no compulsion in religion" (2:256), we cherish religious liberty. Every human has the right to believe or not to believe in Islam or in any other religion All Muslims furthermore have the right to reject and change their religion if desired. No state, community or individual has a right to impose Islam on others. People should accept and practice Islam not because they are forced to do so, but because they believe in its teachings.

We support and cherish democracy — not because we reject the sovereignty of the Almighty over people, but because we believe that this sovereignty is manifested in the general will of people in a democratic and pluralistic society. We do not accept theocratic rule-not because we do not wish to obey Allah, but because theocratic rule inevitably becomes rule by fallible (and sometimes corrupt and misguided) humans in the name of the infallible God.

We accept the legitimacy of the secular state and the secular law. Islamic law, or sharia, was developed at a time when Muslims were living in homogenous communities. In the modern world, virtually all societies are pluralistic, consisting of different faiths and of different perceptions of each faith, including Islam. In this pluralistic setting, a legal system based on a particular version of a single religion cannot be imposed on all citizens. Thus, a single secular law, open to all religions but based on none, is strongly needed.

We believe that women have the same inalienable rights as men. We strongly denounce laws and attitudes in some Islamic societies that exclude women from society by denying them the rights of education, political participation and the individual pursuit of happiness. Like men, women should have the right to decide how they will live, dress, travel, marry and divorce; if they do not enjoy these rights, they are clearly second-class citizens.

We believe that there is no contradiction between religious and national identities. Any Muslim should be able to embrace the citizenship of any modern secular state while maintaining feelings of spiritual solidarity with the umma, the global Muslim community.

We regard Christianity and Judaism as sister faiths in the common family of Abrahamic monotheism. We strongly denounce anti-Semitism, which has been alien to Islam for many centuries but which unfortunately has gained popularity among some Muslims in recent decades. We accept Israel's right to exist, as well as the justified aspiration of the Palestinian people for a sovereign state and hope that a just two-state solution in Israel/Palestine will bring peace to the Holy Land.

In short, we strongly disagree with and condemn those who promote or practice tyranny and violence in the name of Islam. We hope that their misguided deeds will not blacken our noble religion — which is indeed a path to God and a call for peace.

We encourage Muslim political, social, community and business leaders to contact us at info@muslimmanifesto.org to sign onto the Manifesto so that the authentic peaceful and civilized message of Islam will be heard.

— Mustafa Akyol is a writer and journalist based in Turkey; Zeyno Baran is director of International Security and Energy Programs at The Nixon Center.

Unfortunately, there is no web site at the muslimmanifesto.org address yet.

I guess I'm going to hell

From Jerry Falwell's website:

Earlier today, reports began circulating across the globe that I have recently stated that Jews can go to heaven without being converted to Jesus Christ. This is categorically untrue.
[...]
While I am a strong supporter of the State of Israel and dearly love the Jewish people and believe them to be the chosen people of God, I continue to stand on the foundational biblical principle that all people — Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals, Jews, Muslims, etc. — must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ in order to enter heaven.

Damn it!

Insane Muslim protestors of the day 3/2

The cartoon protests seem to be slowly dying down, but people have to protest against something, right?

Here are some interesting veiled women who call Bush a terrorist but think Osama is just dandy!

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in remarks published on Thursday there were signs of an al Qaeda presence in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

'We have indications about a presence of al Qaeda in Gaza and the (West) Bank. This is intelligence information. We have not yet reached the point of arrests,' Abbas said.

'The last security report I received was three days ago,' he told the London-based al-Hayat newspaper. 'This is the first time that I've spoken about this subject. This is a very serious matter.'"

On the same day:

Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas intends to transfer broad security powers to the future Hamas government, including the national defense branch, preventive security, the civilian police and civil defense, he said on Tuesday.

The national defense branch, which consists of 25,000 policemen, is the largest branch and is defined as the Palestinian army. The other three are subject to the Palestinian Interior Ministry.

Chris Rock could learn from his sense of timing. At the risk of ruining the joke by too much analysis (it is Adar, after all):

In the first article, he broadly implies, with a broad wink, that the PA would consider arresting Al Qaeda terrorists found in the territories.

Only some in the audience get that joke, because some of them think that Fatah with all its "policemen" actually enforces law and order and is against terrorism.

So he waits a beat, and then tells the audience that Hamas is going to be in charge of the group that would (pretend to) consider arresting Al Qaeda members!

Ba-da-bum!

Even the most dense audience member can see that there is no difference between Hamas and Al Qaeda! Both spring from Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, both advocate a worldwide Islamic state under Islamic law, both advocate the genocide of Jews and the murder of millions of Americans. The idea that Hamas would do anything against Al Qaeda terror is hilarious! Hell, Hamas invited Al Qaeda to Gaza!

I am not so sure that the world audience gets the joke, though. Since the unrepentant Hamas is quickly gaining legitimacy and tacit backing from the free world (as well as the thugocracies of Islamism) it looks like the West is bending over backwards to explain exactly what the difference is between Hamas and Al Qaeda that the former gets millions of dollars (without a single concession) and the latter remains beyond the pale.

And the only difference is one that is squarely George Bush's fault: his years of pressing for democracy (without pressing for freedom) has made Hamas legit. (A more cynical explanation may be that Hamas primarily targets Jews and Israeli targets, not other Westerners.)

As long as the West is willing to pretend that there are significant differences between Fatah, Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, PIJ, the Iranian regime and the Muslim Brotherhood, the terrorists can manipulate us at will, all the while meeting with each other openly and planning our demise.

A good joke cuts through the bull and shows the truth in an unexpected way. Mahmoud Abbas just made a very good joke. But only those who know the truth can appreciate it.

Cartoons printed in 143 newspapers so far

This is better than I thought, but considering how many of these are college newspapers and the like, it is not all that impressive.

COPENHAGEN: Cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad first published in Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten last year, have been reprinted in 143 newspapers in 56 countries, a study showed on Wednesday.

One or several of the 12 controversial cartoons have appeared either in print editions or online, according to the study done by eJour, the online magazine of the Danish School of Journalism.

Most of the reproductions have appeared in Western countries, including 70 newspapers in Europe, 14 in the United States, three in Canada and New Zealand, two in Australia and one in Japan.

But the drawings have also been printed in eight Muslim countries: Algeria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Morocco and Saudi Arabia.

In the United States, no national newspaper has published the cartoons, but 14 regional and local publications have, according to the study conducted in February.

Hat tip: Val

Lying headline watch

A top Islamic Jihad leader was killed last night when his car exploded in an apparent "work accident." Israel, which is not shy about admitting when it kills terrorists, denied that they were behind this attack.

So why do so many "news" organizations say that Israel did it (or credit the Palestinian Arab "Police" with telling the truth)?

Israel Kills Top Jihad Leader, Arrests Hamas MPs (Islam Online)
Israel kills Islamic Jihad leader in airstrike (KHON-TV, Hawaii)
Israeli air strike kills top military commander of Islamic Jihad: police (News 1130, Canada)
Israeli air strike kills top military commander of Islamic Jihad: police (CBC News, Canada)
Jihad leader killed in Israeli missile attack in Gaza City (People's Daily Online, China)
Palestinian militant chief killed in Gaza strike (Zee News, India)
Israeli air strike kills top military commander of Islamic Jihad: police (MacLeans, Canada)
Israel kills Jihad leader (The Sun, UK)

Another British terror supporter. Ho-hum.

While surfing through the flotsam and jetsam of rabid Israel-bashing and Jew-hatred on the web, I came across this paragraph from a British writer on a Jordanian news site:

No alien polity has so successfully penetrated the British government and British institutions during the past ninety years as the Zionist movement and its manifestation as the state of Israel. From the Balfour Declaration of November 2, 1917, in which the British Foreign Secretary said his government “view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people,” (before Britain had taken possession of Palestine from the Ottomans), through the twenty-six year history of Zionist exploitation of the British Mandate at Arab (and British) expense, to Britain's scuttle from Palestine in 1948 and the creation of Israel and the catastrophe for the Palestinians, and up to present-day connivance by the United Kingdom government with America's unremitting political and media support for Israel and its daily violation of international laws and conventions on Palestinian lands, the Zionists have manipulated British systems as expertly as maestros, here a massive major chord, there a minor refrain, the audience, for the most part, spellbound.

The writer, Tim Llewellyn, is normally quoted on the Web as a "former BBC reporter." He also writes for the Guardian.

What is not normally mentioned is that he is an executive member of the Council for the Advancement of Arab British Understanding (CAABU).

This type of idiocy is normal for the far-left genteel Jew-haters, with their description of the secretive Zionist cabal manipulating world governments that is indistinguishable from the way Hitler described Jews. Others have documented Llewellyn's hatred for the very existence of Israel. (Notice how he regards British Zionism as an "alien polity." Sound familiar?)

My only question is: if the Zionists were such brilliant puppet-masters of the British govenment during the British Mandate, why did Britain deny tens of thousands (maybe hundreds of thousands) of Jews the right to save their lives by fleeing to Palestine in the 1930s? The entire world knew what Hitler planned to do during that decade, and the persecutions of Jews began way before the Holocaust. The British could have saved untold numbers of lives.

I wonder how Mr. Llewellyn justifies the British complicity as an accessory to genocide while believing his theory of the Elders of Zion manipulating the British government?

Insane Muslim Sign of the Day

UC Irvine:

A Manifesto Against Islamic Totalitarianism

Jyllands-Posten has published a beautiful manifesto against Islamic totalitarianism. Here is the English translation by Agora:

Together facing the new totalitarianism

After having overcome fascism, Nazism, and Stalinism, the world now faces a new totalitarian global threat: Islamism.

We, writers, journalists, intellectuals, call for resistance to religious totalitarianism and for the promotion of freedom, equal opportunity and secular values for all.

The recent events, which occurred after the publication of drawings of Muhammed in European newspapers, have revealed the necessity of the struggle for these universal values. This struggle will not be won by arms, but in the ideological field. It is not a clash of civilisations nor an antagonism of West and East that we are witnessing, but a global struggle that confronts democrats and theocrats.

Like all totalitarianisms, Islamism is nurtured by fears and frustrations. The hate preachers bet on these feelings in order to form battalions destined to impose a liberticidal and unegalitarian world. But we clearly and firmly state: nothing, not even despair, justifies the choice of obscurantism, totalitarianism and hatred. Islamism is a reactionary ideology which kills equality, freedom and secularism wherever it is present. Its success can only lead to a world of domination: man’s domination of woman, the Islamists’ domination of all the others. To counter this, we must assure universal rights to oppressed or discriminated people.

We reject « cultural relativism », which consists in accepting that men and women of Muslim culture should be deprived of the right to equality, freedom and secular values in the name of respect for cultures and traditions. We refuse to renounce our critical spirit out of fear of being accused of "Islamophobia", an unfortunate concept which confuses criticism of Islam as a religion with stigmatisation of its believers.

We plead for the universality of freedom of expression, so that a critical spirit may be exercised on all continents, against all abuses and all dogmas.

We appeal to democrats and free spirits of all countries that our century should be one of Enlightenment, not of obscurantism.

12 signatures

Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Chahla Chafiq
Caroline Fourest
Bernard-Henri Lévy
Irshad Manji
Mehdi Mozaffari
Maryam Namazie
Taslima Nasreen
Salman Rushdie
Antoine Sfeir
Philippe Val
Ibn Warraq

I originally wrote that Muslims will lose the cartoon war because the press will not stand for limitations on their freedom. For the following month, as I saw most US media outlets refuse to publish the cartoons (despite their obvious news value) I have feared that I was wildly optimistic. The world has been abandoning Denmark.

This manifesto is a proper response to the immature and absurd riots that have broken out, meant to show Muslims are not totally impotent. The West needs to understand the threat posed by political Islam and Islamism.

Let us hope that other newspapers have the guts to publish and support this.