1. [ 1st war] Republicans vs Democrats
This is a very crucial and dangerous war for several reasons;
A. It affects all Americans
B. The outcome will determine what decisions are made for our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
C. What decisions are made concerning our economy.
D. What decisions are made regarding the evil threats of terrorism.
E. This war has broken down traditional parties ... to a point where no parties can agree on anything, very dangerous considering these parties make up our present form of government.
F. Decisions that may affect the soveirenty of America altogether.
G. During this Presidential campaign .. the present candidates for Presidency are questionable.
[2nd War] Terrorism abroad .. worldwide
[3rd War] Terrorism and the evil within our own country by foreigners and Americans who seek to destroy our country's religion and practices, American traditions, morals, family structures, education system, freedoms and rights of good Americans here by whatever means.
As Americans, we are living during dangerous times . Our world and country today is vulnerable to attacks from within and abroad ... until our leaders begin to make good decisions, our parties join together instead of fighting each other ... we might be able to produce some actions to prevent future devastation for all.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Potential Biological Weapons Threats
Mark G. Kortepeter and Gerald W. Parker
U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, Maryland, USA
The list of agents that could pose the greatest public health risk in the event of a bioterrorist attack is short. However, although short, the list includes agents that, if acquired and properly disseminated, could cause a difficult public health challenge in terms of our ability to limit the numbers of casualties and control the damage to our cities and nation.
The use of biological weapons has occurred sporadically for centuries, culminating in sophisticated research and testing programs run by several countries. Biological weapons proliferation is a serious problem that is increasing the probability of a serious bioterrorism incident. The accidental release of anthrax from a military testing facility in the former Soviet Union in 1979 and Iraq's admission in 1995 to having quantities of anthrax, botulinum toxin, and aflatoxin ready to use as weapons have clearly shown that research in the offensive use of biological agents continued, despite the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (1,2). Of the seven countries listed by the U.S. Department of State as sponsoring international terrorism (3), at least five are suspected to have biological warfare programs. There is no evidence at this time, however, that any state has provided biological weapons expertise to a terrorist organization (4).
A wide range of groups or individuals might use biological agents as instruments of terror. At the most dangerous end of the spectrum are large organizations that are well-funded and possibly state-supported. They would be expected to cause the greatest harm, because of their access to scientific expertise, biological agents, and most importantly, dissemination technology, including the capability to produce refined dry agent, deliverable in milled particles of the proper size for aerosol dissemination. The Aum Shinrikyo in Japan is an example of a well-financed organization that was attempting to develop biological weapons capability. However, they were not successful in their multiple attempts to release anthrax and botulinum toxin (4). On this end of the spectrum, the list of biological agents available to cause mass casualties is small and would probably include one of the classic biological agents. The probability of occurrence is low; however, the consequences of a possible successful attack are serious.
Smaller, less sophisticated organizations may or may not have the intent to kill but may use biological pathogens to further their specific goals. The Rajhneeshees, who attempted to influence local elections in The Dalles, Oregon, by contaminating salad bars with Salmonella Typhimurium, are an example (5). Rather than having a sophisticated research program, these organizations could use biological pathogens that are readily available.
The third type are smaller groups or individuals who may have very limited targets (e.g., individuals or buildings) and are using biological pathogens in murder plots or to threaten havoc. The recent anthrax hoaxes are examples of this. Many biological agents could be used in such instances and the likelihood of their occurrence is high, but the public health consequences are low.
There are many potential human biological pathogens. A North Atlantic Treaty Organization handbook dealing with biological warfare defense lists 39 agents, including bacteria, viruses, rickettsiae, and toxins, that could be used as biological weapons (6). Examining the relationship between aerosol infectivity and toxicity versus quantity of agent illustrates the requirements for producing equivalent effects and narrows the spectrum of possible agents that could be used to cause large numbers of casualities. For example, the amount of agent needed to cover a 100-km2 area and cause 50% lethality is 8 metric tons for even a "highly toxic" toxin such as ricin versus only kilogram quantities of anthrax needed to achieve the same coverage. Thus, deploying an agent such as ricin over a wide area, although possible, becomes impractical from a logistics standpoint, even for a well-funded organization (7). The potential impact on a city can be estimated by looking at the effectiveness of an aerosol in producing downwind casualties. The World Health Organization in 1970 modeled the results of a hypothetical dissemination of 50 kg of agent along a 2-km line upwind of a large population center. Anthrax and tularemia are predicted to cause the highest number of dead and incapacitated, as well as the greatest downwind spread (8).
For further indication of which pathogens make effective biological weapons, one could look at the agents studied by the United States when it had an offensive biological weapons research program. Under that program, which was discontinued in 1969, the United States produced the following to fill munitions: Bacillus anthracis, botulinum toxin, Francisella tularensis, Brucella suis, Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, staphylococcal enterotoxin B, and Coxiella burnetti (9). As a further indication of which pathogens have the requisite physical characteristics to make good biological weapons, one need only look next at the agents that former Soviet Union biological weapons experts considered likely candidates. The agents included smallpox, plague, anthrax, botulinum toxin, equine encephalitis viruses, tularemia, Q fever, Marburg, melioidosis, and typhus (10,11). Criteria such as infectivity and toxicity, environmental stability, ease of large-scale production, and disease severity were used in determining which agents had a high probability of use. Both the United States before 1969 and the former Soviet Union spent years determining which pathogens had strategic and tactical capability.
The National Defense University recently compiled a study of more than 100 confirmed incidents of illicit use of biological agents during this century (W.S. Carus, pers. comm. [4]). Of the 100 incidents, 29 involved agent acquisition, and of the 29, 19 involved the actual nongovernmental use of an agent, and most were used for biocrimes, rather than for bioterrorism. In the context of this study, the distinguishing feature of bioterrorism is that it involves the use of "violence on behalf of a political, religious, ecologic, or other ideologic cause without reference to the moral or political justice of the cause." The balance of incidents involved an expressed interest, threat of use, or an attempt to acquire an agent. In the 1990s, incidents increased markedly, but most have been hoaxes. The pathogens involved present a wide spectrum, from those with little ability to cause disease or disability, such as Ascaris suum, to some of the familiar agents deemed most deadly, such as B. anthracis, ricin, plague, and botulinum toxins (Table). During this period, the number of known deaths is only 10, while the total number of casualties is 990. However, the numbers should not give a false sense of security that mass lethality is not achievable by a determined terrorist group. The sharp increase in biological threats, hoaxes, information, and Internet sources on this subject seen in recent years indicates a growing interest in the possible use of biological pathogens for nefarious means (4).
In general, the existing public health systems should be able to handle most attempts to release biological pathogens. A working group organized by the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies recently looked at potential biological agents to decide which present the greatest risk for a maximum credible event from a public health perspective. A maximum credible event would be one that could cause large loss of life, in addition to disruption, panic, and overwhelming of the civilian health-care resources (12).
To be used for a maximum credible event, an agent must have some of the following properties: the agent should be highly lethal and easily produced in large quantities. Given that the aerosol route is the most likely for a large-scale attack, stability in aerosol and capability to be dispersed (17µm to 5 µm particle size) are necessary. Additional attributes that make an agent even more dangerous include being communicable from person to person and having no treatment or vaccine.
When the potential agents are reviewed for these characteristics, anthrax and smallpox are the two with greatest potential for mass casualties and civil disruption. 1) Both are highly lethal: the death rate for anthrax if untreated before onset of serious symptoms exceeds 80%; 30% of unvaccinated patients infected with variola major could die. 2) Both are stable for transmission in aerosol and capable of large-scale production. Anthrax spores have been known to survive for decades under the right conditions (13). WHO was concerned that smallpox might be freeze-dried to retain virulence for prolonged periods (8). 3) Both have been developed as agents in state programs. Iraq has produced anthrax for use in Scud missiles and conducted research on camelpox virus, which is closely related to smallpox (2). A Soviet defector has reported that the former Soviet Union produced smallpox virus by the ton (11). 4) Use of either agent would have a devastating psychological effect on the target population, potentially causing widespread panic. This is in part due to the agents' well-demonstrated historical potential to cause large disease outbreaks (14). 5) Initial recognition of both diseases is likely to be delayed. For anthrax, this is secondary to the rare occurrence of inhalation anthrax. Only 11 cases of inhalation anthrax have been reported in the United States from 1945 to 1994 (15), and recognition may be delayed until after antibiotic use would be beneficial. For smallpox, given that few U.S. physicians have any clinical experience with the disease, many could confuse it for more common diseases (e.g., varicella and bullous erythema multiforme) early on, allowing for second-generation spread (12,16). 6) Availability of vaccines for either disease is limited. Anthrax vaccine, licensed in 1970, has been used for persons at high risk for contact with this disease. The U.S. military has recently begun vaccinating the entire force; however, there is limited availability of the vaccine for use in the civilian population. Routine smallpox vaccination was discontinued in the United States in 1971. Recent estimates of the current number of doses in storage at CDC range from 5 to 7 million (12), but the viability of stored vaccine is no longer guaranteed.
Overview: Toronto SARS Outbreak
Publication: Medical Laboratory Observer
Publication Date: 01-FEB-07
Delivery: Immediate Online Access
Author: Poutanen, Susan M.
Article Excerpt
Whether it be a lab accident, release of a biologic weapon into the community, the next flu pandemic, or the next SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak, clinical laboratories must be prepared for possible biohazard and bioterror emergencies.
Clinical laboratories in Toronto faced such an emergency during the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak that affected 26 countries and was associated with 8,096 cases and 774 deaths worldwide. In Canada, 251 cases and 43 deaths were reported--the majority of which were hospital-acquired in various Toronto hospitals. Hospital-based labs were mostly affected; and while some had emergency plans, many only had drafts or no plans. All were faced with real-time decision making, adapting daily to the outbreak as it unfolded throughout the city. In the end, the outbreak was controlled and the majority of clinical laboratories have since reviewed their practices and implemented changes based on the many lessons learned from this experience. The impact that the SARS outbreak had on our laboratory and how we responded are presented here with a summary of what we did well and what we could have done better, and recommendations for laboratory biohazard or bioterror emergency planning and preparedness.
Overview: Toronto SARS Outbreak
In Canada, all hospitals and hospital-affiliated laboratories are government-funded. Our laboratory is an academic containment level-2 microbiology service shared between two large academic hospitals. At the time of the SARS outbreak, we had two sites--one housed within an academic hospital and one in an offsite building. We serve a total of nine Ontario hospitals with approximately 5,000 beds and five non-hospital clients. Approximately 40,000 specimens are processed per month.
On March 13, 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) released an e-mail alert regarding a severe respiratory syndrome in Hong Kong and Vietnam. The following day, we became aware of patients with possible SARS in two of our client hospitals including the base hospital in which one of our sites was located. A local press release...
SOURCE
Publication Date: 01-FEB-07
Delivery: Immediate Online Access
Author: Poutanen, Susan M.
Article Excerpt
Whether it be a lab accident, release of a biologic weapon into the community, the next flu pandemic, or the next SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak, clinical laboratories must be prepared for possible biohazard and bioterror emergencies.
Clinical laboratories in Toronto faced such an emergency during the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak that affected 26 countries and was associated with 8,096 cases and 774 deaths worldwide. In Canada, 251 cases and 43 deaths were reported--the majority of which were hospital-acquired in various Toronto hospitals. Hospital-based labs were mostly affected; and while some had emergency plans, many only had drafts or no plans. All were faced with real-time decision making, adapting daily to the outbreak as it unfolded throughout the city. In the end, the outbreak was controlled and the majority of clinical laboratories have since reviewed their practices and implemented changes based on the many lessons learned from this experience. The impact that the SARS outbreak had on our laboratory and how we responded are presented here with a summary of what we did well and what we could have done better, and recommendations for laboratory biohazard or bioterror emergency planning and preparedness.
Overview: Toronto SARS Outbreak
In Canada, all hospitals and hospital-affiliated laboratories are government-funded. Our laboratory is an academic containment level-2 microbiology service shared between two large academic hospitals. At the time of the SARS outbreak, we had two sites--one housed within an academic hospital and one in an offsite building. We serve a total of nine Ontario hospitals with approximately 5,000 beds and five non-hospital clients. Approximately 40,000 specimens are processed per month.
On March 13, 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) released an e-mail alert regarding a severe respiratory syndrome in Hong Kong and Vietnam. The following day, we became aware of patients with possible SARS in two of our client hospitals including the base hospital in which one of our sites was located. A local press release...
SOURCE
The Human Biohazard
A Definition of Biohazardous Materials:
Biohazardous materials are those materials of biological origin that could potentially cause harm to humans, domestic or wild animals, or plants. Examples include recombinant DNA; transgenic animals or plants, human, animal or plant pathogens; biological toxins (such as tetanus toxin); human blood and certain human body fluids; and human or monkey cell cultures.
Why not also include that tool wielding beast with the large brain and opposable thumbs: Homo sapiens? Consider the following:
The humans have created enough nuclear explosives that, if distributed in an egalitarian fashion, each and every one of them would have the equivalent of 3000 kg of TNT - enough to bring about a nuclear winter and leave the Earth with a pleasant incandescent glow for some undetermined length of time.
Why, shortly, these scrawny hairless bipeds will be completely capable of raining down upon their homeworld another kind of death from above: asteroids purposefully deflected ever so slightly from their distant orbits so as to impact the Earth. This might sound outlandish now... but someday a system to shield the Earth from naturally occuring wanderers will be put in place, and any system capable of preventing that catastrophe is also capable of creating it, in the hands of the wrong overly agressive monkey.
Consider also that there are those among the humans who would unhesitatingly engage in the creation of biological weapons - orgainsms which by design are as biohazardous as possible, and which by the nature of life itself, once created require virtually no infrastructure to manufacture.
Not all of humanity's threats come from agression: perhaps just as dangerous is negligence. H. sapiens is a crisis driven species, persisting in dangerous and destructive behavior until the consequences have become so grave and undeniable as to demand attention. Deforestation and intensive agriculture practices, due in large part to unchecked growth of the human population, have led to mass wasting and loss of productive topsoils in many of the most heavily populated areas, and the destruction of habitat for many other Earth species.
The protective layer of ozone which came into being 2.2 billion years ago, with the advent of oxygenic photosynthesis in cyanobacteria, has slowly been eroded over the last century by emissions from the ever expanding human industry. Their machines. Their factories. Their surrogate thumbs. Other changes in the atmosphere coming at their behest seem to be warming the planet as well. Things are changing, and fast. The fastest biogenic change this world has ever seen.
Homo sapiens is a walking extinction event. They may extinguish themselves, and in the process take much of the painstakingly accumulated complexity of Earth with them. Ironic that such a species should have christened itself with words which mean "wise man".
And if we did extinguish ourselves, how would it look to a long t o a long term observer - someone staring at us unrelentingly over the aeons from the face of the moon perhaps. An eye watching the frozen earth thaw six hundred million years ago, followed by the explosion of Cambrian diversity. They would patiently watch as this newfound complexity multiplied and spread across the globe in new and ever changing patterns, becoming all the ancient creatures of the sea, and creeping out onto the land to begin the age of mighty reptiles, the swarms of insects arriving with the first flowering plants. And every now and then, a cataclysm would change the stage, as did the meteor impact 65 million years ago that ended the Cretaceous, and allowed us our time in the limelight.
Then what would they see, these time-lapsed moon eyes? They would see us climb down from the trees of eastern Africa. They'd see us pick up a rock one day, and heft it in our primitive hands. And they would see those hands change form over the millennia, to heft the rock with more precision, they would see the hand become a tool, the tool. They would witness our entry into the trans-human experience. We are extensible beings; we extend our senses and our bodies with our tools. We are an animal in symbiosis with technology, and our hands were our first tools, the rest are simply extensions of those opposable thumbs - meta tools. Someday we will be unable to live without it. When we disperse throughout the Universe, through the cold, dark, radiation soaked depths of space, it will only be possible because we have extended our senses and bodies. Oxygen, water, food, shelter, and to obtain them, the ever-present glow and hum of our technology.
In contrast, look at the dolphins. They seem to be very intelligent, and capable of complex communication and social behavior. Despite the fact that we do not understand what they say, what they think, I believe that their intellects are at least on par with our own, but they lack the thumb. Their bodies are exquisitely adapted to the environment in which they live, but they cannot willfully adapt to new environments, they have no tools. In some ways, I envy their existence; it seems simpler than ours. But at the same time, it is less free. We are free to the point of potential fault. We are free to destroy ourselves and all that we survey. Is that what we will choose to do?
You can think of life like a differential equation. There are expressions of a certain form which satisfy the equation - these solutions are living organisms. It's much more complex than any differential equation I've ever seen though, as each solution is dependent on which other solutions are currently extant. Dinosaurs were a wonderful solution for millions of years, but they could not have survived in an icy pre-Cambrian world filled only with unicellular life, nor could we. There are some solutions which are doomed. The first oxygenic bacteria apparently poisoned their atmosphere with the byproduct of their own existence: Oxygen, without which virtually none of the life on Earth today would exist. Are we to be one of these solutions? Is an intelligent, tool wielding beast with an evolutionary predisposition to agressive behavior simply non-viable in the long run?
Or will we choose a different path? Today we are on the verge of being able to tinker with the equation of life through genetic engineering. This is the tool to end all tools. Thousands of years ago we moved from gene based evolution to meme based evolution, and now that long litany of ideas has led us back to the genes which gave us the ability to pursue ideas in the first place. Might we, realizing the danger of the evolutionary baggage we carry, decide to drop it?
I don't consider myself pessimistic, I just think we need to realize that we are dangerous, powerful beings, and the choices we make as a society, as a species, have long ranging consequences. The very things that make us so dangerous also give us the potential for transcendence, the power to deeply know the Universe of which we are such a special part.
It is with the desire for this realization in mind that I have created the Human Biohazard Van. Hopefully it will serve as a reminder to a few, and perhaps those few will tell others. If you have seen the van, send me an e-mail and let me know what you thought.
SOURCEInternational Information Sharing Needed To Prevent Nuclear Threats
Information about the characteristics of nuclear and other radioactive materials stored and used by countries needs to be shared globally to combat the illicit trafficking of nuclear materials and nuclear terrorism, says a report published by the Royal Society.
The report which looks at the issues surrounding the detection of nuclear threats such as the smuggling of nuclear warheads and radioactive materials to make dirty bombs concludes that shared international databases would aid the growing field of nuclear forensics by speeding up and improving the identification of the origins of nuclear materials. It is hoped that this may deter future terrorism attempts.
Professor Roger Cashmore, Chair of the advisory group that produced the report, said: "To reduce the risk of nuclear terrorism we need to increase our ability to detect and respond to the misuse of nuclear materials. This can help the international collection and sharing of information about nuclear materials."
The report which represents the views of over 70 of the world's leading scientific and policy experts from the UK, USA, Russia, Israel and Europe highlights the need for countries that have a nuclear power industry or nuclear weaponry to share technical data for instance on the types of nuclear fuel used by their commercial power stations, or nuclear material used for defence.
"For example, nuclear reactors may use a specific type of fuel, such as uranium pellets. This fuel is then processed to produce nuclear waste products with particular characteristics. Indicators such as these make nuclear materials inherently traceable."
Databases of this type of information are crucial to trace the source of the material after smuggling or, in a worst case scenario, a nuclear incident.
Professor Cashmore continued: "If a bomb made from a certain type of uranium or plutonium was detonated, knowing where that material was processed would enable authorities to trace it back to a specific country's industrial or defence facility. Currently this process could take months but if international information was shared, it could take weeks or even days. Such efficiency would act as a strong deterrent to potential smugglers.
"Information on the type of nuclear materials held by countries is valuable only if it is globally available. At present there is no requirement for countries to collect or share information on their nuclear industry or weaponry."
The report notes that in the UK, as in many countries, there is considerable sensitivity in the commercial and military communities over sharing information on the types and quantities of nuclear material.
"It is of course critical to ensure homeland security is protected. But nuclear and other radioactive materials of concern are spread throughout the world - along with people willing to smuggle them. It is crucial to take account of the potential global threat of trafficking when considering whether it is appropriate to share such sensitive information.
"Consistent international materials databases, used alongside existing surveillance and intelligence, will undoubtedly improve the prevention of nuclear threats and will build international confidence in nuclear security."
SOURCE
Health Problems In Persian Gulf War Veterans Higher Due To Chemical Exposure
Health Problems In Persian Gulf War Veterans Higher Due To Chemical Exposure
A study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine shows there is increasing evidence that high rates of illness in Persian Gulf War Veterans can be explained, in part, by exposure to certain chemicals, including pesticides and nerve agents. Veterans from the 1990-91 conflict have a higher rate of chronic, multi-symptom health problems than either non-deployed personnel or those deployed elsewhere. Symptoms routinely reported by these veterans include fatigue, muscle or joint pain, memory problems, trouble sleeping, rash and breathing problems.
"This evidence suggests that exposure to this certain class of chemical may be linked to elevated risk of health problems," said Beatrice Golomb, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of medicine at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, whose study will be published in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) the week of March 10.
"Health issues among Gulf War veterans have been a concern for nearly two decades. Now, enough studies have been conducted, and results shared, to be able to say with considerable confidence that there is a link between chemical exposure and chronic, multi-symptom health problems," said Golomb. "Furthermore, the same chemicals affecting Gulf War veterans may be involved in similar cases of unexplained, multi-symptom health problems in the general population."
The study synthesized evidence regarding a class of chemicals known as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEis) and organophosphates (OP), which includes nerve gas chemicals. Some military personnel were exposed to nerve gas (sarin) when demolishing Iraqi munitions. Also, the pesticides used aggressively in Gulf regions to control sand flies and other insects fall in the same category of chemicals. This includes the carbamate pyridostigmine bromide (PB) pills originally given to service members to protect against potential nerve-agent exposure. (Note: As a result of an earlier RAND corporation report by Golomb outlining the risks of using such pills, military policy has been changed.)
The study linked exposure to each of these chemicals with the chronic, multi symptom health problems in 25 to 33 percent of returning Gulf War veterans.
"There is evidence that genetics have something to do with how a body handles exposure to these chemicals," said Golomb. "Some people are genetically less able to withstand these toxins and evidence shows that these individuals have higher chance of suffering the effects of exposure." Specifically, illness is linked to lower activity of enzymes that detoxify AChEis, due to genetic variants The enzymes known to be involved are paraoxonase (PON) for OPs, including sarin, and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) for PB.
Among those service members given PB pills as a preventive measure, those with the mutations that reduced their ability to detoxify the pills were at significantly higher risk of illness, according to Golomb.
Previous studies have shown genetic variants of these enzymes are also associated with increased rates of some neurological diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig's disease. Golomb says this may explain the elevated levels of ALS seen in Gulf War veterans.
Some of the chemicals linked to these multi-symptom illnesses continue to be used in agriculture, and at homes and offices for pest control in the United States and around the globe. Studies not related to the Gulf War showed that agricultural workers exposed to organophosphate pesticides had 10 times the number of health symptoms as those not exposed.
"Again, genetic variants that hamper defense against these chemicals were linked to higher risk of health problems. These findings carry important implications for current members of the armed forces as well as the general public, suggesting that exposure to these pesticides in any setting may increase risk for impaired neuropsychological function and poor health" said Golomb.
University of California, San Diego Health Sciences
200 West Arbor Dr.
San Diego, CA 92103
United States
http://www.ucsd.edu
SOURCE
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
TERRORISM ... just gets worse
TERRORISM has been in the world for years now. It has proven to be the most effective tool in fighting tactics and warfare in general. Terrorism acts and the people responsible are harder to detect, and harder to prosecute for their crimes. Most countries, to include most of the world are known to have terrorist groups or networks. The difference is how terrorism is applied. To use terrorism for destroying innocent people, to force fear on people who have no intentions of harming others, for control measures and purposes against a peoples' will, in changing a government into a dictatorship is wrong.
Terrorism in some cases is used for the good of a society by ridding evil forces or leaders where a conventional army cannot succeed. In the past and present day tactics, assassinations of evil insurgents or leaders has proven to help some people who were once prisoners of their own country or government. In any scenario, terrorism generally means death and destruction of the enemy and too often ... the innocent people who fall victim of such encounters. This can be expected in any police action, war or special mission assignments.
Acts of terrorism can be the most horrific experience for anyone, it includes torture, rape, IED or car bomb explosions, booby-trapped toys, dead bodies, beheadings or dismemberment of body parts of a loved one or friends that one can ever imagine. Terrorism is bloody and beyond words of description. Terrorism has no face .. it can be a child carrying a body bomb, a woman or girl, senior citizen, or just about anybody.
Terrorism is used for evil and good purposes. It is never a good thing for killing anybody, unless it benefits the cause for all good people, a peaceful society, and the action was necessary in stopping an evil, hell-bent people who seek harm upon others who do not deserve such atrossities.
Terrorism has no boundaries and no rein. It will remain in the world for as long as the world is here. Terrorism only becomes worse, more modified as time goes on as it raises the death tally to astronomical numbers. The answer to stop terrorism ... there isn't one ... but terrorism can be prevented in most cases by early detection and good OPS. One thing to remember about the present day terrorism by Islam people ... negotiations, peace talks, promises, or deals are not going to work with them. These people will never change their mind in carrying out their Jhad dream .. the death and destruction of all Jews, Infidels and anyone who is not Islamic.
As time passes by ... more acts of terrorism will occur because more Governments are giving way to these monsters, allowing these people refuge in their countries to live, populate and operate. This evil called Islam, will use any weapon or device to destroy the world.
Don't ever say that I didn't tell you so. Get ready folks.
Umm al-Fahm braces for possible retribution for Jerusalem attack
Northern Israeli city contracts private security firm to guard against possible vendetta radical elements may seek for terror attack on Jewish seminary
Sharon Roffe-Ofir Published: 03.12.08, 16:32 / Israel News
The Umm al-Fahm Municipality has decided to contract a private security firm, fearing acts of retribution by Jewish radicals might plague the northern Israeli city following the deadly attack on Mercaz Harav yeshiva, last Thursday.
Umm al-Fahm Mayor Sheikh Hashem Abd al-Rahman announced his intention in a joint press conference held Wednesday by the mayors of Jewish and Arab communities in the Wadi Ara area, in protest of the several stoning incidents in the area.
Al-Rahman's reasoning was Tuesday Channel 1's report, according to which a group of Jewish men were given rabbinical sanction to carry out a vendetta for the attack.
"I think each and everyone of us should take extra care these days," he said. "We have to remain vigilant… one madman can set off the entire world."
Commenting on the Channel 1 report, al-Rahman said that "hearing people like (Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor) Lieberman and (National Union Chair Effie) Eitam say things like 'we're going to take care of you' makes us feel endangered."
Legitimizing murder unacceptance
"Talking about harming Arabs is a very risky thing. It's a nightmare I don't want anyone to have. Legitimizing murder is unacceptance to me as a Muslim, as an Arab, as a Palestinian and as a citizen of the State of Israel.
"Whoever said those things must be found and arrested immediately. We already had one Eden Natan Zada in Shfaram. There are other crazy people out there," he added.
The Wadi Ara Jewish-Arab Municipal Forum has held several meeting to discuss the coming crisis: "If we learned anything form (the October riots of) 2000 is that we have to pay attention to these things when they first emerge," said Hanan Erez, Head of the Megiddo Regional Council.
TEHRAN POLICE CHIEF CAUGHT WITH SIX PROSTITUTES
Here is a police chief appointed by Iran to enforce the women's dress code there .. only to find out later and possibly as long as six years now that this chief was undressing the code, ha.
read this ... it cracks me up. Even terrorist sponsoring countries can't even get it right.
Story
read this ... it cracks me up. Even terrorist sponsoring countries can't even get it right.
Story
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
HISTORY OF TERRORISM
History of Terrorism by Jim Heitmeyer
Posted November 22nd, 2007 by jimspolice
Terrorism : Systematic use of violence, terror, and intimidation to achieve an end.
The entire reason for terrorism and war in the Middle East is not because of political reasons, not because of the land, or because of cultural indifferences, it's because some people of the Arab world and most Palestinians want the Jews dead and their country pushed into the sea. The Jews have been the most persecuted people in history. A summary of why is because the Jews were chosen as God's people by God himself .. so this war is all about the evil trying to destroy God's work, and the world itself.
History of Terrorism
The events of 9/11 and daily news from the Middle East might make terrorism seem like a modern problem. Unfortunately, it has a long and bloody history. Terror as a weapon began almost with the history of man. The word terrorism was first used in France in the late 1700s and early eighteenth century.
Leaders of the French Revolution used terror to force people to submit to their authority. In what was called the "Reign of Terror," citizens were locked up, tortured, and guillotined. French scholars of the time defined terrorism as "the system or rule of terror."
The old French definition may seem simple and obvious. But what exactly is terrorism? Its basic element, of course, is terror, or extreme fear. Violence is its primary tool. Perhaps the most scary, baffling thing about terrorism is its lawlessness. Terrorists simply ignore the accepted rules against murder, injury, and destruction. Our systems of law and order strive to protect us from terrible things. Terrorists deliberately inflict them.
Terrorism began as a weapon of war. Early Greek writings tell of the use of fear to defeat an enemy. Rulers also used terrorism as a way of controlling or "cleansing" their populations. The Spanish Inquisition was a so-called religious cleansing, directed by Spain's Queen Isabella. Spanish Jews were the main victims of this 300-year stretch of torture and butchery.
The phrase "War on Terrorism" was first widely used by the Western press to refer to the attempts by Russian and European governments, and eventually the U.S. government, to stop attacks by anarchists against international political leaders. Many of the anarchists described themselves as "Terrorists," and the term had a positive valence for them at the time. When Russian Marxist Vera Zasulich shot and wounded a Russian police commander who was known to torture suspects on 24 January 1878, for example, she threw down his weapon without killing him, announcing that she was a terrorist, not a killer.
What do we refuse to recognize about terrorism?
There are two kinds of terrorism. Rational terrorism such as Palestinian terrorism and apocalyptic terrorism like Sept. 11. You have to distinguish between the two.
The first thing that we fail to recognize is that neither is caused by frustration, disenfranchisement or poverty. That is the big lie of terrorism. That may help explain how terrorist leaders can recruit people to blow themselves up, but it doesn't explain why the terrorist leaders who are wealthy, well-educated and calculating opt for the tactic of terrorism. And the reason they opt for the tactic of terrorism is because it has a proven track record of success, particularly certain kinds of terrorism, and particularly [because of the reaction of"> the European community, the United Nations, the Vatican and some liberal churches.
Anti-Cuba terrorism began with the triumph of the Revolution
Cubans repeated their condemnation of the United States for its terrorist attack on a merchant ship in Havana’s port 45 years ago and accused Washington of having double standards when it comes to acts of terrorism.
In an event commemorating the March 4, 1960 terrorist attack against the French boat La Coubre which occurred while weapons were being unloaded, several speakers commented how Washington’s covert aggression against Cuba began almost immediately after the triumph of the Revolution.
Pedro Sáez, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in Havana, referred to the criminal event as one of hundreds of subversive and terrorist acts perpetrated by the United States against Cuba.
The Empire persists in its efforts to frustrate our social plan, he denounced, but today like then, it will be met by our people’s determination to preserve our homeland forever or to die in our efforts to do so.
Sáez referred to the saying used by President Fidel Castro, who at the funeral of the victims from the attack on La Coubre concluded his speech for the first time with the slogan "Patria o Muerte!"
Nobody can understand how the United States can accuse Cuba of sponsoring terrorism while it sows the seeds of death and practices torture in various places throughout the world, said a junior high student.
Even today, he added, the US government’s hypocrisy is highlighted in its decision to keep five of our compatriots imprisoned, their only crime being to combat terrorism within the United States itself.
The young man referred to Gerardo Hernández, René González, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guerrero and Fernando González, sentenced by a Miami court to prison terms ranging from 15 years to two life terms. The Five, as they are internationally known, were gathering information on groups of Cuban origin, located in the south of Florida, which were carrying out terrorist activities against Cuba with Washington’s knowledge and support.
Alberto Sotolongo, son of one of victims from the attack on La Coubre, gave a horrifying description of the events that he witnessed when he was just 14 years of age. "After helping to rescue victims, I looked for my father everywhere and I could not find him, until finally I went to the morgue," he said. "The first thing I saw was a bundle of clothes and burnt flesh and they told me that it was four people, including a French sailor. That time I was not able to locate my father, so I kept coming to the morgue until on the fourth day I found him," he said.
The explosion on the French boat took place shortly after 3.00pm, while an important consignment of weapons and explosives, purchased from Belgium, and intended for the defense of the new revolution, were being unloaded.
According to research into the event, all guilty fingers point to the CIA that had repeatedly tried to impede this and other Cuban weapon purchases.
Experts explained how the saboteurs operated: they placed an explosive device between boxes of anti-tank grenades which would be activated as the cargo located above it was removed.
Main example of "success" is Palestinian terrorism?
Well, that's the one that worked. You can't think about terrorism without thinking about Palestinian terrorism. Palestinians began international terrorism. It started with them in 1968. They used it as the first resort, not the last resort. They invented it, they perfected it, they benefited from it and they taught the world how to use it and that it would be successful.
Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran has been one of the world's most active sponsors of terrorism. Tehran has armed, trained, financed, inspired, organized, and otherwise supported dozens of violent groups over the years. Iran has backed not only groups in its Persian Gulf neighborhood, but also terrorists and radicals in Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Bosnia, the Philippines, and elsewhere.1 This support remains strong even today. It comes as no surprise then, twenty five years after the revolution, the U.S. State Department still considers Iran "the most active state sponsor of terrorism.
On November 4, 1979, Iranian militants stormed the United States Embassy in Tehran and took approximately seventy Americans captive. This terrorist act triggered the most profound crisis of the Carter presidency and began a personal ordeal for Jimmy Carter and the American people that lasted 444 days.
Some authorities today use this event as the beginning of terrorism, even though terrorism began in the world several years prior. April 18, 1983, A suicide bomber in a pickup truck loaded with explosives rammed into the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. Sixty-three people were killed, including 17 Americans, eight of whom were employees of the Central Intelligence Agency, including chief Middle East analyst Robert C. Ames and station chief Kenneth Haas.
Reagan administration officials said that the attack was carried out by Hezbollah operatives, a Lebanese militant Islamic group whose anti-U.S. sentiments were sparked in part by the revolution in Iran. The Hezbollah operatives who carried out the attack on the embassy reportedly were receiving financial and logistical support from both Iran and Syria. The U.S. government took no military action in response to the embassy bombing, although, according to retired Marine Lt. Col. Bill Cowan, a covert military team entered Beirut in order to gather intelligence in preparation for retaliatory strikes.
After the bombing of the US embassy in Beirut, terrorism spread throughout the world at an alarming rate. October 23, 1983, A suicide bomber detonated a truck full of explosives at a U.S. Marine barracks located at Beirut International Airport; 241 U.S. Marines were killed and more than 100 others wounded. They were part of a contingent of 1,800 Marines that had been sent to Lebanon as part of a multinational force to help separate the warring Lebanese factions. (Twice during the early 1980s the U.S. had deployed troops to Lebanon to deal with the fall-out from the 1982 Israeli invasion. In the first deployment, Marines helped oversee the peaceful withdrawal of the PLO from Beirut. In mid-September 1982
-- after the U.S. troops had left -- Israel's Lebanese allies massacred an estimated 800 unarmed Palestinian civilians remaining in refugee camps. Following this, 1,800 Marines had been ordered back into Lebanon.)
December, 12, 1983, another bombing occurred at the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait. The American embassy in Kuwait was bombed in a series of attacks whose targets also included the French embassy, the control tower at the airport, the country's main oil refinery, and a residential area for employees of the American corporation Raytheon. Six people were killed, including a suicide truck bomber, and more than 80 others were injured. The suspects were thought to be members of Al Dawa, or "The Call," an Iranian-backed group and one of the principal Shiite groups operating against Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
The U.S. military took no action in retaliation. In Kuwait, 17 people were arrested and convicted for participating in the attacks. One of those convicted was Mustafa Youssef Badreddin, a cousin and brother-in-law of one of Hezbollah's senior officers, Imad Mughniyah. After a six-week trial in Kuwait, Badreddin was sentenced to death for his role in the bombings.
It was from this point on in history that the terrorist began kidnapping bombing and spreading their threat worldwide. Since the beginning, numerous terrorist groups merged. Here is a list of some of them.
Islamist
· Abu Sayyaf (1991-present; Islamist separatists; the Philippines
· Based in the southern islands of Jolo, Basilan, and Mindanao.
*Branched off of the Moro National Liberation Front.
*Allegedly partnered with Jemaah Islamiyah and Al-Qaeda.
· n-Abyan Islamic Army (Yemen)
· Adolat - Uzbekistan
· Akromiya – Uzbekistan
· Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya (Late 1970s-present; Islamists; Egypt)
* Seeks to establish Islamist state in Egypt. Usually targets secular establishments, government buildings, police, the military, minorities, tourists, and “morally offensive” buildings.
· Armed Islamic Group (1992-present; Islamists; Algeria)
* Seeks to establish Islamist state in Algeria. Began operations in 1992 after the Algerian government ignored election results that gave victory to Islamist political parties.
· Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
· Ansar al-Islam (December 2001-present; Islamists; Iraq)
* In Arabic, "Supporters of Islam."
* Also known as "Partisans of Islam or Helpers of Islam."
· Al-Qaeda (1988-present; Islamists; Afghanistan, Pakistan, and worldwide)
* In Arabic, "the foundation", "the base", or "the database" kept by intelligence services of anti-Soviet Afghani fighters.
* Also known as Qa‘idat al-Jihad, Islamic Army for the Liberation of the Holy Places, World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders, Islamic Salvation Foundation, and the Osama bin Laden Network.
* Related: Alneda (former web site), As-Sahab (affiliated public relations organization),
* Cells: Buffalo six, Hamburg cell,
· Asbat al-Ansar (early 1990s-present; Lebanese Sunni Islamists; southern Lebanon)
* In Arabic, "the League of the Followers."
* Acronym for "Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya," or Islamic Resistance Movement.
· Jama'at al-Tawhid wa'al-Jihad/Al-Qaeda in Iraq - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Sunni network, operating in Iraq
* on U.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations
· Bunch of Guys (BOGs) or Group of Guys (GOGs), a counter-terrorism term to describe small, anonymous, self-organizing terrorist cells that have little to no contact with national or global leaders or organizations
· Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement - al-Qaeda linked separatist group in China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region aiming to establish an Islamic state. Banned by China, along with related groups East Turkestan Liberation Organization, World Uighur Youth Congress and East Turkistan Information Center
· Egyptian Islamic Jihad - Egypt (active since the late 1970s)
· Fatah al-Islam - Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp, Lebanon; splittered from Fatah Uprising in 2006.
· Hamas - West Bank, Gaza Strip. Listed as a terrorist organization by Australia, Canada, the European Union, Israel, and the United States
· Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM) - Pakistan and Kashmir
· Hizb-an-nusra - Uzbekistan
· Hizb ut-Tahrir - international (legal in Britain and Australia)
· Hezbollah - Lebanon; Listed as a terrorist organization by Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Israel, and the United States.
· Hizbul Mujahideen - Pakistan and Kashmir
· Hofstad Network - Netherlands
· Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain - Defunct
· Islamic Movement of Central Asia - Central Asia (affiliated with Al Qaeda)
· Islamic Movement of Tajikistan – Tajikistan
* Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan - Uzbekistan
· Jaish-e-Mohammed - Pakistan
· Jaish Ansar al-Sunna - Iraq
· Jama'at al-Jihad al-Islami
· Jemaah Islamiyah - Southeast Asia
· Jihad Rite - Australia (linked with Al Qaeda. Founded in 2001)
· Jundallah - Iran and Pakistan (affiliated with the USA and Al-Qaeda)
· Lashkar-e-Jhangvi - Pakistan
· Lashkar-e-Toiba - Pakistan
· Maktab al-Khadamat - Afghanistan - Defunct
· Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group - Morocco and Spain
· Moro Islamic Liberation Front - (Islamic separatists; the Philippines)
· Palestinian Islamic Jihad - Israel, West Bank, Gaza Strip
· People Against Gangsterism and Drugs - South Africa
· RSM or Rajah Solaiman Movement - Philippines
· Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat - Algeria
· Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan - Pakistan
· Students Islamic Movement of India - India
· Takfir wal-Hijra - Egypt/Sudan/Algeria
· Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi - Pakistan
· Turkish Hezbollah - Kurdish organization operating in Turkey
· Turkish Islamic Jihad – Turkey
At this time as known, Al Qaeda is the biggest terrorist threat in the world we have today, even though other groups have similar capabilities. Their goal is complete domination over the world and the death of all people who are not Islamic. Terrorism will always be a threat in our world for all time.
The only solution in fighting or preventing terrorism is to detect terrorist plots in their early planning stages. This thinking and our new tactics in fighting terrorist groups seems to have been the most affective means in reducing their success.
Terrorism will never be defeated but most of their actions can be prevented.
Monday, March 10, 2008
EXTREMISM IN AMERICA
For over 90 years, the Anti-Defamation League has fought against bigotry and anti-Semitism by exposing and reporting on hate groups and other extremists who seek to harm perceived enemies and to undermine our democracy. Today, ADL’s Center on Extremism continues our mission to expose and document the groups and individuals whose ideologies and activities perpetuate hatred and extremism. To this end, the Center on Extremism has created an online resource, Extremism in America, whichserves as a guide to prominent extreme movements, groups, and leaders in the United States.
The entries in Extremism in America provide the context needed to understand the history of such extremists, what their beliefs are, how those beliefs motivate them to action, and what forms their actions take. This resource is divided into several categories--Individuals, Groups, Movements, and Media—and paints a comprehensive picture of the current state of extremism in the United States. The Anti-Semitic neo-Nazi skinheads, camouflage-wearing militia members, arson-prone environmental extremists—all these and more are described and explained, with the latest and up-to-date analysis and information.
At the root of extremism are radical ideologies, radical religious beliefs and pent-up anger and frustration, all of which can lead to violent acts ranging from hate crimes to terrorism. In the United States, the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and the 9-11 terrorist attacks six years later, have made it painfully clear that Americans cannot ignore the dangers of extremism.
Some of those dangers originate beyond America’s shores. But within the United States’ own borders, multitudes of homegrown haters and extremists exist whose beliefs are equally radical and who can be equally dangerous. The population of the United States passed 300 million early in this century, which means that even the fringe of the fringe is still a large number. Moreover, because extremists are so willing to use violence to upset the status quo, they can cause harm in amounts far disproportionate to their number. Hate crimes can affect entire communities; acts of terrorism can affect an entire nation.
America unfortunately has no shortage of extremists. Some come from the far right, primarily in the form of racist and anti-Semitic hate groups or anti-government extremists. Others come from the far left, including environmental and animal rights extremists. Some extreme movements may focus around a single, narrow issue, such as abortion and involve anti-abortion extremists who bomb health clinics. Other movements may stem from ideologies that stress racial superiority, fanatic religious beliefs or radical political views. Whatever their origin or nature, many extremist movements have adherents who are so committed to their vision that they are willing to break the law and to use violence to achieve their goals. The democratic processes for change available to all Americans are of little use to them. We have created Extremism in America because the problems caused by extremists cannot be combated without knowledge and understanding of how and why they operate. This guide is designed to arm you with that knowledge.
This is one big reason why it is so easy to recruit Americans as members of a terrorist group ... for America is still a country with diversity and prejudism.
http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/
The entries in Extremism in America provide the context needed to understand the history of such extremists, what their beliefs are, how those beliefs motivate them to action, and what forms their actions take. This resource is divided into several categories--Individuals, Groups, Movements, and Media—and paints a comprehensive picture of the current state of extremism in the United States. The Anti-Semitic neo-Nazi skinheads, camouflage-wearing militia members, arson-prone environmental extremists—all these and more are described and explained, with the latest and up-to-date analysis and information.
At the root of extremism are radical ideologies, radical religious beliefs and pent-up anger and frustration, all of which can lead to violent acts ranging from hate crimes to terrorism. In the United States, the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and the 9-11 terrorist attacks six years later, have made it painfully clear that Americans cannot ignore the dangers of extremism.
Some of those dangers originate beyond America’s shores. But within the United States’ own borders, multitudes of homegrown haters and extremists exist whose beliefs are equally radical and who can be equally dangerous. The population of the United States passed 300 million early in this century, which means that even the fringe of the fringe is still a large number. Moreover, because extremists are so willing to use violence to upset the status quo, they can cause harm in amounts far disproportionate to their number. Hate crimes can affect entire communities; acts of terrorism can affect an entire nation.
America unfortunately has no shortage of extremists. Some come from the far right, primarily in the form of racist and anti-Semitic hate groups or anti-government extremists. Others come from the far left, including environmental and animal rights extremists. Some extreme movements may focus around a single, narrow issue, such as abortion and involve anti-abortion extremists who bomb health clinics. Other movements may stem from ideologies that stress racial superiority, fanatic religious beliefs or radical political views. Whatever their origin or nature, many extremist movements have adherents who are so committed to their vision that they are willing to break the law and to use violence to achieve their goals. The democratic processes for change available to all Americans are of little use to them. We have created Extremism in America because the problems caused by extremists cannot be combated without knowledge and understanding of how and why they operate. This guide is designed to arm you with that knowledge.
This is one big reason why it is so easy to recruit Americans as members of a terrorist group ... for America is still a country with diversity and prejudism.
http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/
U.S. Blogger Distributes Jihadist Propaganda RULE
Posted: February 6, 2008
Introduction Revival Islamic Network Tanzeem-e-Islami
A North Carolina-based blogger has become a significant distributor of Jihadist propaganda in the United States. Samir Khan, known online as inashaAllhashaheed (Arabic for "God willing a martyr"), uses his blog, Revival, to distribute English translations of Al Qaeda materials, links to videos produced by terrorist groups and original commentary in support of jihad.
Revival, launched in December 2007, is the latest in a series of blogs created by Khan. One of the earlier incarnations of Revival, called inshaAllahshaheed, was shut down by Islamic Network, a blog hosting company, after Khan was the subject of an October 2007 newspaper account about terrorist sympathizers distributing Al Qaeda propaganda to U.S. audiences. Islamic Network currently hosts Revival.
Khan, 22, was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and moved to Queens, New York, with his family when he was seven. As a teenager, Khan become involved with Tanzeem-e-Islami, a radical anti-Semitic group based in Pakistan. The group currently operates in the U.S. under the name Islamic Organization of North America (IONA).
In 2004, Khan moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, with his parents, where he currently lives. At that time, Khan used a mainstream blog hosting service to create his inshaAllahshaheed blog, which mainly included materials about Tanzeem-e-Islami. He later created a new blog with the same name on Islamic Network, where he began posting materials related to Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups.
While Revival describes itself as a venture of "a handful" of Sunni Muslim bloggers who "follow the Salafi Jihadi" creed, there are several indications that it is the latest version of Samir Khan's previous inshaAllahshaheed blog. In addition to both blogs being hosted by Islamic Network and sharing similar themes, Revival explicitly describes itself as "the bloggers of inshallahshaheed (a.k.a., revival)." Some of the content on Revival can also be found on an online photo album maintained by Khan.
The blog claims to provide information about "the lands of Jihad," describing itself as "a channel against the Western media since they only bring lies and deception." The "about" section of Revival features a list of Muslim extremists and terrorists, who are described as "scholars of Islam in this age whom we follow and support." It includes former Al Qaeda in Iraq commander, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed in June 2006, and Abu Layth al-Libi, a top Al Qaeda commander killed in January 2008 during an American aerial attack in Pakistan.
One section of the blog provides original essays calling on Muslims to take up arms against Western democracies. One of the essays - part of a series called "The Love for Jihad" - encourages Muslims to become mujahideen, or holy warriors. "O Believing Mujahid! Don't let Shaytan [Satan] fool you into other Islamic careers when the Lord of Mercy has given you the ability to obtain His Mercy through warfare and martyrdom." Another essay in the series declares, "We hate America and her allies for the sake of Allah and we supplicate to Allah that He destroys them completely."
Revival has also produced its own terrorist propaganda video, available on YouTube and elsewhere. A link to the video, which celebrates jihad, was posted on Revival on January 21, 2008. The video, titled "We are the Mountains," features footage of attacks against American forces from both mainstream and terrorist sources. It includes graphic images and is accompanied by an English language song encouraging Muslims to "come to the jihad." The song also says, "The men you will be facing are of a certain kind who love to taste their deaths as you love to taste your wines…We’re soldiers of religion…The best raised in this nation who establishes the truth and fights against the evils their people and their troops. We’ll never compromise and never negotiate. The only thing between us and you is the AK."
Revival, which has been operating in its current form since December 2, 2007, is hosted by Islamic Network (IN), a Houston, Texas-based internet company.
Islamic Network (IN), an internet company that maintains various online forums and blogs, was launched in 2004 by Sarfaraz Jamal and his wife Fatima Hye, who lived in Houston, Texas, where IN is incorporated. They have since moved to Jordan, from where they continue to run IN.
While Samir Khan's Revival is one of the more extreme blogs hosted by IN, there are other forums maintained by IN that include support for terrorism and anti-Semitism. For example, an essay entitled Inciting Religious Hatred, which was posted to one of the forums in December 2007, says: "the ones who are cursed by Allah...They are the Jews, Christians, Hindus…Atheists." It also argues that "hating all false religions and gods other than Islam and Allah is the very first condition of becoming a Muslim."
IN forums, which encourage "open dialogue" and are open to registered members, are moderated by IN staff. One former IN moderator, Daniel Joseph Maldonado, was sentenced in Houston to 10 years in prison in July 2007, for training with a Somali Al Qaeda affiliated organization. Maldonado (a.k.a. Daniel Aljughaifi) started working with IN in August 2005.
Sarfaraz Jamal ran a similar internet enterprise, ClearGuidance, while living in Ohio prior to launching IN. Like IN, users of ClearGuidance forums and its moderators have posted extremist materials, including posts praising terrorism and attacks against Jews. For example, one forum discussion from 2002 about a video documenting a beheading, including a post saying: "I'm gonna try this on some jew right now…"
In addition, the forums were reportedly used by members of a suspected terrorist cell based in Canada with international links. Two members of the alleged cell, Zakaria Amara and Fahim Ahmad, reportedly made hundreds of posts to ClearGuidance forums between 2002 and 2004 when they were still in high school in Mississauga, Ontario. Ahmed's use of ClearGuidance to search for Jihadist materials reportedly alerted the police to the existence of the cell.
Shortly after users of ClearGuidance became aware of the investigation (Canadian law enforcement questioned one of the moderates of ClearGuidance), Jamal shut down the site, although he told a reporter his decision to shut it down was not related to these events or to threats he claims to have received.
Samir Khan's first inshaAllahshaheed blog, launched in 2004, mainly included materials about Tanzeem-e-Islami, a radical anti-Semitic group based in Pakistan that has a presence in the U.S. Khan, who became involved with Tanzeem as a teenager through a summer program in Queens run by local members of the group, has identified himself as a member, specifically with the New York Chapter, on various posts to online forums over the years.
Tanzeem-e-Islami, which describes itself as part of a movement to establish a global Islamic state, or the "khilafah," has a long record of anti-Semitism. For example, in August 2004, Tanzeem's Pakistan-based leader, Israr Ahmed, warned during an appearance at the Peshawar Press Club that "the evil genius of the Jews and the world's only superpower, America, had joined hands" to "eliminate [Islam] from the face of the earth."
In October 2001, Ahmed reportedly sent faxes to mosques in the U.S. in which he claimed that "Jews are undertaking to fulfill their dream of world domination," and that the September 11 terrorist attacks were part of "this Zionist plan." Ahmed also expressed his support for the regime in Afghanistan, saying that the "Taliban government is based on upholding the supremacy of Islamic shariah."
Shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks, Tanzeem posted to its Web site in Pakistan an article by David Duke, in which he argued that the attack was the result of Jewish influence over the U.S.
Such anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have been spread by Tanzeem in the U.S. as well. For example, the former Tanzeem director of Da'wah (propagation of the faith) in the U.S., Imran N. Hosein, wrote a book, The Prohibition of Riba, which blames Jews for spreading usury in order to advance various conspiracies against humanity. In the book Hosein wrote, "Allah revealed the wickedness of those Jews." Hosein returned to his native Trinidad in August 2003, after ten years in New York.
In recent years, the North American members of Tanzeem have attempted to reestablish the group as a mainstream American community organization. In 2004, Tanzeem adopted a new name - the Islamic Organization of North America (IONA) - establishing a mosque in Warren, Michigan, and at least once participated in an interfaith event with a Jewish organization.
Despite its effort to "mainstream" itself, IONA maintains its official ties to the Pakistan and remains committed to its goals and extremist ideology. The press release from July 2004 announcing the formation of IONA, stated: "the Islamic activist movement in North America founded by Dr. Israr Ahmad has reorganized under the newly registered…IONA...This restructuring does not affect our core objectives or methodology."
This photo, from Khan's online photo album, pictures Khan (front left) at a Tanzeem gathering.
Introduction Revival Islamic Network Tanzeem-e-Islami
A North Carolina-based blogger has become a significant distributor of Jihadist propaganda in the United States. Samir Khan, known online as inashaAllhashaheed (Arabic for "God willing a martyr"), uses his blog, Revival, to distribute English translations of Al Qaeda materials, links to videos produced by terrorist groups and original commentary in support of jihad.
Revival, launched in December 2007, is the latest in a series of blogs created by Khan. One of the earlier incarnations of Revival, called inshaAllahshaheed, was shut down by Islamic Network, a blog hosting company, after Khan was the subject of an October 2007 newspaper account about terrorist sympathizers distributing Al Qaeda propaganda to U.S. audiences. Islamic Network currently hosts Revival.
Khan, 22, was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and moved to Queens, New York, with his family when he was seven. As a teenager, Khan become involved with Tanzeem-e-Islami, a radical anti-Semitic group based in Pakistan. The group currently operates in the U.S. under the name Islamic Organization of North America (IONA).
In 2004, Khan moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, with his parents, where he currently lives. At that time, Khan used a mainstream blog hosting service to create his inshaAllahshaheed blog, which mainly included materials about Tanzeem-e-Islami. He later created a new blog with the same name on Islamic Network, where he began posting materials related to Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups.
While Revival describes itself as a venture of "a handful" of Sunni Muslim bloggers who "follow the Salafi Jihadi" creed, there are several indications that it is the latest version of Samir Khan's previous inshaAllahshaheed blog. In addition to both blogs being hosted by Islamic Network and sharing similar themes, Revival explicitly describes itself as "the bloggers of inshallahshaheed (a.k.a., revival)." Some of the content on Revival can also be found on an online photo album maintained by Khan.
The blog claims to provide information about "the lands of Jihad," describing itself as "a channel against the Western media since they only bring lies and deception." The "about" section of Revival features a list of Muslim extremists and terrorists, who are described as "scholars of Islam in this age whom we follow and support." It includes former Al Qaeda in Iraq commander, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed in June 2006, and Abu Layth al-Libi, a top Al Qaeda commander killed in January 2008 during an American aerial attack in Pakistan.
One section of the blog provides original essays calling on Muslims to take up arms against Western democracies. One of the essays - part of a series called "The Love for Jihad" - encourages Muslims to become mujahideen, or holy warriors. "O Believing Mujahid! Don't let Shaytan [Satan] fool you into other Islamic careers when the Lord of Mercy has given you the ability to obtain His Mercy through warfare and martyrdom." Another essay in the series declares, "We hate America and her allies for the sake of Allah and we supplicate to Allah that He destroys them completely."
Revival has also produced its own terrorist propaganda video, available on YouTube and elsewhere. A link to the video, which celebrates jihad, was posted on Revival on January 21, 2008. The video, titled "We are the Mountains," features footage of attacks against American forces from both mainstream and terrorist sources. It includes graphic images and is accompanied by an English language song encouraging Muslims to "come to the jihad." The song also says, "The men you will be facing are of a certain kind who love to taste their deaths as you love to taste your wines…We’re soldiers of religion…The best raised in this nation who establishes the truth and fights against the evils their people and their troops. We’ll never compromise and never negotiate. The only thing between us and you is the AK."
Revival, which has been operating in its current form since December 2, 2007, is hosted by Islamic Network (IN), a Houston, Texas-based internet company.
Islamic Network (IN), an internet company that maintains various online forums and blogs, was launched in 2004 by Sarfaraz Jamal and his wife Fatima Hye, who lived in Houston, Texas, where IN is incorporated. They have since moved to Jordan, from where they continue to run IN.
While Samir Khan's Revival is one of the more extreme blogs hosted by IN, there are other forums maintained by IN that include support for terrorism and anti-Semitism. For example, an essay entitled Inciting Religious Hatred, which was posted to one of the forums in December 2007, says: "the ones who are cursed by Allah...They are the Jews, Christians, Hindus…Atheists." It also argues that "hating all false religions and gods other than Islam and Allah is the very first condition of becoming a Muslim."
IN forums, which encourage "open dialogue" and are open to registered members, are moderated by IN staff. One former IN moderator, Daniel Joseph Maldonado, was sentenced in Houston to 10 years in prison in July 2007, for training with a Somali Al Qaeda affiliated organization. Maldonado (a.k.a. Daniel Aljughaifi) started working with IN in August 2005.
Sarfaraz Jamal ran a similar internet enterprise, ClearGuidance, while living in Ohio prior to launching IN. Like IN, users of ClearGuidance forums and its moderators have posted extremist materials, including posts praising terrorism and attacks against Jews. For example, one forum discussion from 2002 about a video documenting a beheading, including a post saying: "I'm gonna try this on some jew right now…"
In addition, the forums were reportedly used by members of a suspected terrorist cell based in Canada with international links. Two members of the alleged cell, Zakaria Amara and Fahim Ahmad, reportedly made hundreds of posts to ClearGuidance forums between 2002 and 2004 when they were still in high school in Mississauga, Ontario. Ahmed's use of ClearGuidance to search for Jihadist materials reportedly alerted the police to the existence of the cell.
Shortly after users of ClearGuidance became aware of the investigation (Canadian law enforcement questioned one of the moderates of ClearGuidance), Jamal shut down the site, although he told a reporter his decision to shut it down was not related to these events or to threats he claims to have received.
Samir Khan's first inshaAllahshaheed blog, launched in 2004, mainly included materials about Tanzeem-e-Islami, a radical anti-Semitic group based in Pakistan that has a presence in the U.S. Khan, who became involved with Tanzeem as a teenager through a summer program in Queens run by local members of the group, has identified himself as a member, specifically with the New York Chapter, on various posts to online forums over the years.
Tanzeem-e-Islami, which describes itself as part of a movement to establish a global Islamic state, or the "khilafah," has a long record of anti-Semitism. For example, in August 2004, Tanzeem's Pakistan-based leader, Israr Ahmed, warned during an appearance at the Peshawar Press Club that "the evil genius of the Jews and the world's only superpower, America, had joined hands" to "eliminate [Islam] from the face of the earth."
In October 2001, Ahmed reportedly sent faxes to mosques in the U.S. in which he claimed that "Jews are undertaking to fulfill their dream of world domination," and that the September 11 terrorist attacks were part of "this Zionist plan." Ahmed also expressed his support for the regime in Afghanistan, saying that the "Taliban government is based on upholding the supremacy of Islamic shariah."
Shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks, Tanzeem posted to its Web site in Pakistan an article by David Duke, in which he argued that the attack was the result of Jewish influence over the U.S.
Such anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have been spread by Tanzeem in the U.S. as well. For example, the former Tanzeem director of Da'wah (propagation of the faith) in the U.S., Imran N. Hosein, wrote a book, The Prohibition of Riba, which blames Jews for spreading usury in order to advance various conspiracies against humanity. In the book Hosein wrote, "Allah revealed the wickedness of those Jews." Hosein returned to his native Trinidad in August 2003, after ten years in New York.
In recent years, the North American members of Tanzeem have attempted to reestablish the group as a mainstream American community organization. In 2004, Tanzeem adopted a new name - the Islamic Organization of North America (IONA) - establishing a mosque in Warren, Michigan, and at least once participated in an interfaith event with a Jewish organization.
Despite its effort to "mainstream" itself, IONA maintains its official ties to the Pakistan and remains committed to its goals and extremist ideology. The press release from July 2004 announcing the formation of IONA, stated: "the Islamic activist movement in North America founded by Dr. Israr Ahmad has reorganized under the newly registered…IONA...This restructuring does not affect our core objectives or methodology."
This photo, from Khan's online photo album, pictures Khan (front left) at a Tanzeem gathering.
Adam Gadahn: Al Qaeda's American Voice
Adam Yahiye Gadahn, an American Muslim convert who joined Al Qaeda in the late 1990s, has been featured in several videos produced by the terrorist group’s media wing, Al Sahab, since 2004. His video appearances, which are mostly in English and geared toward Western audiences, demonstrate his anti-Semitic and anti-Christian views and are marked by threats against America and its allies.
The most recent video produced by Al Sahab featuring Gadahn (a.k.a. “Azzam the American”) was released on January 6, 2008, a few days before President George Bush traveled to Israel. In the video, titled “An Invitation to Reflection and Repentance,” Gadahn urged “mujahideen brothers in the Muslim Palestine” to greet President Bush with “bombs and booby-trapped vehicles.” Gadahn also said, “Muslim Palestine will remain Muslim in spite of Bush and his puppets, in spite of the racist tendencies of the Jewish occupiers, and in spite of conspiracies like the Mecca Accord and the Annapolis Cconference.”
Gadahn also urged Christian Americans to convert to Islam because their religion is “baseless and doubt-filled.” Later in the video, Gadahn tore his American passport into several pieces, claiming, “I don’t need it to travel anyway.” He ended his message with prayers “for the victory of Muslims over the Jews, the Americans and their allies.”
Gadahn, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Santa Ana, California, in 2006, on charges of treason and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization “for making a series of propaganda videotapes for Al Qaeda,” according to Department of Justice. The first American in over fifty years to be charged with treason, Gadahn is believed to be hiding in Pakistan. He is on the FBI’s most wanted list.
The most recent video produced by Al Sahab featuring Gadahn (a.k.a. “Azzam the American”) was released on January 6, 2008, a few days before President George Bush traveled to Israel. In the video, titled “An Invitation to Reflection and Repentance,” Gadahn urged “mujahideen brothers in the Muslim Palestine” to greet President Bush with “bombs and booby-trapped vehicles.” Gadahn also said, “Muslim Palestine will remain Muslim in spite of Bush and his puppets, in spite of the racist tendencies of the Jewish occupiers, and in spite of conspiracies like the Mecca Accord and the Annapolis Cconference.”
Gadahn also urged Christian Americans to convert to Islam because their religion is “baseless and doubt-filled.” Later in the video, Gadahn tore his American passport into several pieces, claiming, “I don’t need it to travel anyway.” He ended his message with prayers “for the victory of Muslims over the Jews, the Americans and their allies.”
Gadahn, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Santa Ana, California, in 2006, on charges of treason and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization “for making a series of propaganda videotapes for Al Qaeda,” according to Department of Justice. The first American in over fifty years to be charged with treason, Gadahn is believed to be hiding in Pakistan. He is on the FBI’s most wanted list.
Americans ... get ready
ALGIERS (Reuters) - Oil prices will stay at current high levels for the rest of this year due to speculation and geopolitical tensions, Algerian state media on Monday reported OPEC President Chakib Khelil as saying.
Prices could retreat in 2009 with a recovery of the U.S. Dollar in foreign exchange markets following the election of a new U.S. President, and as fundamentals reassert themselves as major market forces, he was reported as saying by government newspaper El Moudjahid and state news agency APS.
HERE IT COMES AMERICA. TENSION IS ANOTHER WORD FOR 'WE WILL BE PUNISHING YOU' WITH HIGH OIL PRICES. FOLLOWING THE 'ELECTION OF A NEW PRESIDENT' MEANS THE ELECTION OF OBAMA TO THESE PEOPLE. HE HAS ALREADY SET FOREIGN POLICY BY SAYING HE WOULD SIT DOWN WITH THE TERRORISTS. THIS IS SOMETHING TO WATCH THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS. OIL PRICES WILL BE USED TO ELECT OUR NEXT PRESIDENT. DONE DEAL
Look at the choices we have for President of the Free World!!!!!!!. God help us all. Even if you are an atheist, you should say a prayer. (Just in case---.)
Prices could retreat in 2009 with a recovery of the U.S. Dollar in foreign exchange markets following the election of a new U.S. President, and as fundamentals reassert themselves as major market forces, he was reported as saying by government newspaper El Moudjahid and state news agency APS.
HERE IT COMES AMERICA. TENSION IS ANOTHER WORD FOR 'WE WILL BE PUNISHING YOU' WITH HIGH OIL PRICES. FOLLOWING THE 'ELECTION OF A NEW PRESIDENT' MEANS THE ELECTION OF OBAMA TO THESE PEOPLE. HE HAS ALREADY SET FOREIGN POLICY BY SAYING HE WOULD SIT DOWN WITH THE TERRORISTS. THIS IS SOMETHING TO WATCH THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS. OIL PRICES WILL BE USED TO ELECT OUR NEXT PRESIDENT. DONE DEAL
Look at the choices we have for President of the Free World!!!!!!!. God help us all. Even if you are an atheist, you should say a prayer. (Just in case---.)
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Who is running our countries?
I for one cannot believe our Governments are doing everything they can in preventing terrorism, genocide or ethnic cleansing, butchery or the damnation of our world. It seems these Governments are more concerned about lining their own pockets with wealth, greed, a good living for themselves or family, possessing the rights to oil reserves, Uranium deposits, Copper, diamonds, gold or other valuable resources than for the good of any people. Is our world rapidly moving toward evil than good, or to the day our world is destroyed? It seems our world's way of thinking has flip flopped or reversed itself, what was good is no longer acceptable, and what is bad is cool now, or what the majority of good people once thought mattered, is now decided by a minority of idiots?
Until people take a stand together ... key word [together], we are headed for some ungodly times, pain, suffering, and misfortune folks. It seems the leaders of all countries are standing by allowing terrorists groups to grow, populate their countries, while shrugging their shoulders. Do they think the problem will stop if they choose to do nothing in stopping these evil slayers of all that is good? Do they believe greed and money will buy off disasters? Are you ready for that? I don't believe anyone will be......... the end is neigh if something doesn't change for the better.
Jim
Until people take a stand together ... key word [together], we are headed for some ungodly times, pain, suffering, and misfortune folks. It seems the leaders of all countries are standing by allowing terrorists groups to grow, populate their countries, while shrugging their shoulders. Do they think the problem will stop if they choose to do nothing in stopping these evil slayers of all that is good? Do they believe greed and money will buy off disasters? Are you ready for that? I don't believe anyone will be......... the end is neigh if something doesn't change for the better.
Jim
ETHNIC CLEANSING OR GENOCIDE? IS THERE A DIFFERENCE?
A senior U.S. diplomat says "ethnic cleansing" is underway in Kenya's Rift Valley in the aftermath of last month's disputed presidential election, but she says the violence does not rise to the level of genocide. [Hello, what is wrong with that insane statement of hers?]
What exactly is the difference between 'ethnic cleansing' and 'genocide'? And, if there is a difference, what is the purpose of a 'senior U.S. diplomat' pointing out the difference in this particular case? Will it determine the appropriate response from the U.S.? [Not likely.]
One is entitled to demand, that the origins of the violence be properly addressed, as well as the responsibilities of the democratically elected(?) government of Kenya, those of the political opposition and of the international community. But what am I complaining about? As we can see above, serious talks are taking place while, to quote a phrase, the people suffer. They really look concerned don't they? Not. No, it's not their butts or their family who is starving to death or dying by the thousands daily by butchery ....so why not kick back, laugh at a few jokes and have a nice cup of java.
Oh yea, a while back it was discovered that the millions of dollars sent over by the UN and the US for buying food and living supplies was instead used to buy high tech weaponry for the rebel Rogue chieftains. I'm beginning to think that world Governments are afraid of the big bad Islam wolf. Somebody better wake up real soon while they are still able too.
Jim
Russia’s oil and gas giant Gazprom may fund 2012 Olympics
Gazprom, the Russian state-controlled energy group, could become a sponsor of the London Olympics.
The company has held talks with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) with a view to becoming one of 12 potential “global” sponsors after the Beijing Games this summer.
Gerhard Heiberg, chairman of the IOC’s marketing commission, flew to Moscow last November and is expected to meet Gazprom executives again later this month.
If a deal is struck it will come at a time when diplomatic ties between Britain and Russia hang in the balance. Gordon Brown is hoping that relations will improve following the election of Dmitry Medvedev as Russia’s new president.
My personal comment here; Has anyone noticed how the Soviet Union is coming out of poverty, building its military defense and weaponry up, and doing quite well these days, where are they getting the money, oil, wheat, and luxeries they didn't have before? I think Iran and China have been making deals with them in exchange for their scientific data, expertise, supplies, nuclear material and related data. So what do we do now?
Times of London
Jim
The company has held talks with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) with a view to becoming one of 12 potential “global” sponsors after the Beijing Games this summer.
Gerhard Heiberg, chairman of the IOC’s marketing commission, flew to Moscow last November and is expected to meet Gazprom executives again later this month.
If a deal is struck it will come at a time when diplomatic ties between Britain and Russia hang in the balance. Gordon Brown is hoping that relations will improve following the election of Dmitry Medvedev as Russia’s new president.
My personal comment here; Has anyone noticed how the Soviet Union is coming out of poverty, building its military defense and weaponry up, and doing quite well these days, where are they getting the money, oil, wheat, and luxeries they didn't have before? I think Iran and China have been making deals with them in exchange for their scientific data, expertise, supplies, nuclear material and related data. So what do we do now?
Times of London
Jim
Liberals and lip-service
Some of the key problems is the fact that the left wing liberals do not know much about the war that US troops are fighting or have known since the last three years against the Islamic fascists in Iraq, including al Qaida, who crossed the border from Saudi Arabia, and the a Sadr Mehdi army of terrorists that is proxy of Iran. The liberals therefore do not have any intention of doing anything about fighting these Islamic terrorists who torture, kidnap, murder and slaughter the innocent, the same evil Islam bunch that keeps sending threats and declaring their intentions in taking over the Middle East by means of nuclear WMDs, dirty bombs, chemical or anything else that will destroy Israel and convert the Jews to Islam at gunpoint, attack the oil-rich countries in the Gulf regions and control the oil fields in the Middle East.
Some politicians believe they know the answer in stopping terrorism, which all know is balogna. November elections will kick off with promises and more lies. Liberals do not have a clue about fighting the Islamic terrorists of al-Qaida. Nancy Jihad Pelosi is not sure what is the problem with Iran with all the argument about Ahmadinajad and his peaceful nuclear power facilities...John Kerri believes that he can go the cave of Bin Laden in Pakistani mountains and persuade him to stop his terror threats and attacks against US...The left wing liberals in the Senate recently discovered that y Saddam did'nt actually like al Zarqawi so much before the start of the war in Iraq…and therefore the war in Iraq could have been avoided... not likely, but a few liberals think so, and the liberals do not have any real plan on winning the war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan. The question is who will give the left wing liberals their vote if they (the liberals), do not know anything about this Islamic fascism 'thing'... or wars? scary folks.
Jim
Some politicians believe they know the answer in stopping terrorism, which all know is balogna. November elections will kick off with promises and more lies. Liberals do not have a clue about fighting the Islamic terrorists of al-Qaida. Nancy Jihad Pelosi is not sure what is the problem with Iran with all the argument about Ahmadinajad and his peaceful nuclear power facilities...John Kerri believes that he can go the cave of Bin Laden in Pakistani mountains and persuade him to stop his terror threats and attacks against US...The left wing liberals in the Senate recently discovered that y Saddam did'nt actually like al Zarqawi so much before the start of the war in Iraq…and therefore the war in Iraq could have been avoided... not likely, but a few liberals think so, and the liberals do not have any real plan on winning the war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan. The question is who will give the left wing liberals their vote if they (the liberals), do not know anything about this Islamic fascism 'thing'... or wars? scary folks.
Jim
Friday, March 7, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
TERRORISM .. the clock is ticking
Our future and world today is in danger of total inialation .... do we want to live like these pictures below reflect? If we don't act soon and do something major toward these people and their threats than lip service .. we as a world of people chance losing millions of people by nuclear devastation. Islam and those people who believe in Islam, are totally committed in destroying everyone who is not an Islamic follower and believer by any means; nuclear, chemical, dirty bombs of evil, or by pure geneocide. Islam is not a religion .. it is an evil cult.
Jim
Jim
Remember our Fallen Ones
WE MUST NEVER FORGET OUR SOLDIERS FROM ALL COUNTRIES WHO HAVE FOUGHT AND DIED, SO OTHERS COULD LIVE, LIVE FREELY, AND POSSIBLY REBUILD A PEACEFUL COUNTRY FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.
Jim
Jim
7 Die in Shooting at Jerusalem Seminary
7 Die in Shooting at Jerusalem Seminary
By ARON HELLER,
AP
Posted: 2008-03-06 17:18:56
Filed Under: World News
JERUSALEM (March 6) - A gunman entered the library of a rabbinical seminary and opened fire on a crowded nighttime study session Thursday, killing seven people and wounding dozens before he was slain, police and rescue workers said. It was the first militant attack in Jerusalem in more than four years.
Bloodshed in Israeli School
Medics evacuate a wounded student from the site of a shooting attack in Jerusalem Thursday that left seven people dead inside a Jewish seminary. An Israeli army officer killed the Palestinian gunman who opened fire in the religious school's library, police said.
Also See: Bombings Kill 53 in Baghdad
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip praised the operation, and thousands of Palestinians took to the streets of Gaza to celebrate.
The day's violence, which also included a deadly ambush of an army patrol near Israel's border with Gaza, was likely to complicate attempts by Egypt to force a truce between Israel and Palestinian militants. The U.S. is backing the Egyptian effort.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice condemned the attack as an "act of terror and depravity."
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the attacker walked through the seminary's main gate and entered the library, where witnesses said some 80 people were gathered. He carried an assault rifle and pistol, and used both weapons in the attack. Rosenfeld said police were also searching for an explosives belt.
David Simchon, head of the seminary, said the students had been preparing a celebration for the new month on the Jewish calendar, which includes the holiday of Purim. "We were planning to have a Purim party here tonight and instead and instead we had a massacre," he told Channel 2 TV.
Yehuda Meshi Zahav, head of the Zaka rescue service, entered the library after the attack. "The whole building looked like a slaughterhouse. The floor was covered in blood. The students were in class at the time of the attack," he said. "The floors are littered with holy books covered in blood."
Witnesses described a terrifying scene during the shooting, with students jumping out windows of the building to escape.
One of the students, Yitzhak Dadon, said he shot the attacker twice in the head. "I laid on the roof of the study hall, cocked my gun and waited for him. He came out of the library spraying automatic fire," he said.
Police said an Israeli soldier in the area then shot the man dead. After the shooting, hundreds of seminary students demonstrated outside the building, screaming for revenge and chanting, "Death to Arabs."
The seminary is the Mercaz Harav yeshiva in the Kiryat Moshe quarter at the entrance to Jerusalem, a prestigious center of Jewish studies identified with the leadership of the Jewish settlement movement in the West Bank.
It was founded by the late Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Hacohen Kook, the movement's spiritual founder, and serves high school students and young Israeli soldiers, and many of them carry arms.
"It's very sad tonight in Jerusalem," Mayor Uri Lupolianski told Channel 2 TV. "Many people were killed in the heart of Jerusalem."
Israeli media said the gunman may have been a Palestinian from east Jerusalem, saying an ID card had been found on his body.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah's Al-Manar satellite TV station said a previously unknown group called the Martyrs of Imad Mughniyeh and Gaza was responsible for the attack. The claim could not immediately be verified. Mughniyeh, a Hezbollah commander, was killed in a car bomb in Syria last month. Hezbollah has blamed Israel for the assassination.
Hamas stopped just short of claiming responsibility for the Jerusalem shootings. "We bless the operation. It will not be the last," Hamas said in a statement sent to reporters by text message.
At mosques in Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip, many residents performed prayers of thanksgiving — only performed in cases of great victory to thank God.
About 7,000 Gazans marched in the streets of Jebaliya, firing in the air in celebration, and visited homes of those killed and wounded in the last Israeli incursion. In the southern town of Rafah, residents distributed sweets to moving cars, and militants fired mortars in celebration.
Rice said she spoke with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to express U.S. condolences to the people of Israel and the families of the victims of the attack in Jerusalem.
"This barbarous act has no place among civilized peoples and shocks the conscience of all peace loving nations. There is no cause that could ever justify this action," she said.
The attack came a day after Rice persuaded moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to return to peace talks with Israel. Abbas briefly suspended talks to protest an Israeli offensive in Gaza that killed more than 120 Palestinians.
At his West Bank headquarters, Abbas condemned the attack. "The president condemned all attacks that target civilians, whether they are Palestinian or Israeli," a statement said.
The attack came on the same day Egyptian officials were trying to mediate a truce between Palestinian militants and Israel. The proposal, backed by the U.S., would stop rocket fire on Israel in exchange for an end to Israeli attacks on militants and the resumption of trade and travel from Gaza.
An Israeli official confirmed that Israel is open to the idea of letting guards from Abbas' moderate Fatah movement oversee Gaza's borders — one of the main tenets of the truce idea. But the Israeli spoke before the shooting, and it was not immediately known whether his country's position would change.
The Egyptian proposal reflected a growing realization that Israel's current policy of blockade and military action has failed to weaken Hamas, which has proven its ability to disrupt a U.S.-sponsored drive to forge an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal by the end of the year.
Still, a deal between Hamas and Israel was far from certain, with Israel fearing the militants will use any lull to rearm and Hamas raising tough conditions, such as a demand for Israel to stop targeting militants in the West Bank as well as Gaza.
Other militant groups are also likely to disrupt any attempts to restore calm. Early Thursday, Palestinian militants set off a bomb on the Gaza border, blowing up an Israeli army jeep and killing a soldier. Late Thursday, Israel said it shot a group of militants trying to plant a bomb in the same area. Palestinian officials said four militants were wounded in an Israeli ground attack.
There were no attacks by Palestinian militants in Jerusalem during 2007, though police and the military claimed to have foiled many attempts.
Between 2001 and 2004, at the height of Palestinian-Israeli fighting, Jerusalem was a frequent target of Palestinian attacks, including suicide bombings on buses.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2008-03-06 14:39:27
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/7-die-in-shooting-at-jerusalem-seminary/20080306143909990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001
By ARON HELLER,
AP
Posted: 2008-03-06 17:18:56
Filed Under: World News
JERUSALEM (March 6) - A gunman entered the library of a rabbinical seminary and opened fire on a crowded nighttime study session Thursday, killing seven people and wounding dozens before he was slain, police and rescue workers said. It was the first militant attack in Jerusalem in more than four years.
Bloodshed in Israeli School
Medics evacuate a wounded student from the site of a shooting attack in Jerusalem Thursday that left seven people dead inside a Jewish seminary. An Israeli army officer killed the Palestinian gunman who opened fire in the religious school's library, police said.
Also See: Bombings Kill 53 in Baghdad
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip praised the operation, and thousands of Palestinians took to the streets of Gaza to celebrate.
The day's violence, which also included a deadly ambush of an army patrol near Israel's border with Gaza, was likely to complicate attempts by Egypt to force a truce between Israel and Palestinian militants. The U.S. is backing the Egyptian effort.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice condemned the attack as an "act of terror and depravity."
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the attacker walked through the seminary's main gate and entered the library, where witnesses said some 80 people were gathered. He carried an assault rifle and pistol, and used both weapons in the attack. Rosenfeld said police were also searching for an explosives belt.
David Simchon, head of the seminary, said the students had been preparing a celebration for the new month on the Jewish calendar, which includes the holiday of Purim. "We were planning to have a Purim party here tonight and instead and instead we had a massacre," he told Channel 2 TV.
Yehuda Meshi Zahav, head of the Zaka rescue service, entered the library after the attack. "The whole building looked like a slaughterhouse. The floor was covered in blood. The students were in class at the time of the attack," he said. "The floors are littered with holy books covered in blood."
Witnesses described a terrifying scene during the shooting, with students jumping out windows of the building to escape.
One of the students, Yitzhak Dadon, said he shot the attacker twice in the head. "I laid on the roof of the study hall, cocked my gun and waited for him. He came out of the library spraying automatic fire," he said.
Police said an Israeli soldier in the area then shot the man dead. After the shooting, hundreds of seminary students demonstrated outside the building, screaming for revenge and chanting, "Death to Arabs."
The seminary is the Mercaz Harav yeshiva in the Kiryat Moshe quarter at the entrance to Jerusalem, a prestigious center of Jewish studies identified with the leadership of the Jewish settlement movement in the West Bank.
It was founded by the late Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Hacohen Kook, the movement's spiritual founder, and serves high school students and young Israeli soldiers, and many of them carry arms.
"It's very sad tonight in Jerusalem," Mayor Uri Lupolianski told Channel 2 TV. "Many people were killed in the heart of Jerusalem."
Israeli media said the gunman may have been a Palestinian from east Jerusalem, saying an ID card had been found on his body.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah's Al-Manar satellite TV station said a previously unknown group called the Martyrs of Imad Mughniyeh and Gaza was responsible for the attack. The claim could not immediately be verified. Mughniyeh, a Hezbollah commander, was killed in a car bomb in Syria last month. Hezbollah has blamed Israel for the assassination.
Hamas stopped just short of claiming responsibility for the Jerusalem shootings. "We bless the operation. It will not be the last," Hamas said in a statement sent to reporters by text message.
At mosques in Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip, many residents performed prayers of thanksgiving — only performed in cases of great victory to thank God.
About 7,000 Gazans marched in the streets of Jebaliya, firing in the air in celebration, and visited homes of those killed and wounded in the last Israeli incursion. In the southern town of Rafah, residents distributed sweets to moving cars, and militants fired mortars in celebration.
Rice said she spoke with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to express U.S. condolences to the people of Israel and the families of the victims of the attack in Jerusalem.
"This barbarous act has no place among civilized peoples and shocks the conscience of all peace loving nations. There is no cause that could ever justify this action," she said.
The attack came a day after Rice persuaded moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to return to peace talks with Israel. Abbas briefly suspended talks to protest an Israeli offensive in Gaza that killed more than 120 Palestinians.
At his West Bank headquarters, Abbas condemned the attack. "The president condemned all attacks that target civilians, whether they are Palestinian or Israeli," a statement said.
The attack came on the same day Egyptian officials were trying to mediate a truce between Palestinian militants and Israel. The proposal, backed by the U.S., would stop rocket fire on Israel in exchange for an end to Israeli attacks on militants and the resumption of trade and travel from Gaza.
An Israeli official confirmed that Israel is open to the idea of letting guards from Abbas' moderate Fatah movement oversee Gaza's borders — one of the main tenets of the truce idea. But the Israeli spoke before the shooting, and it was not immediately known whether his country's position would change.
The Egyptian proposal reflected a growing realization that Israel's current policy of blockade and military action has failed to weaken Hamas, which has proven its ability to disrupt a U.S.-sponsored drive to forge an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal by the end of the year.
Still, a deal between Hamas and Israel was far from certain, with Israel fearing the militants will use any lull to rearm and Hamas raising tough conditions, such as a demand for Israel to stop targeting militants in the West Bank as well as Gaza.
Other militant groups are also likely to disrupt any attempts to restore calm. Early Thursday, Palestinian militants set off a bomb on the Gaza border, blowing up an Israeli army jeep and killing a soldier. Late Thursday, Israel said it shot a group of militants trying to plant a bomb in the same area. Palestinian officials said four militants were wounded in an Israeli ground attack.
There were no attacks by Palestinian militants in Jerusalem during 2007, though police and the military claimed to have foiled many attempts.
Between 2001 and 2004, at the height of Palestinian-Israeli fighting, Jerusalem was a frequent target of Palestinian attacks, including suicide bombings on buses.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2008-03-06 14:39:27
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/7-die-in-shooting-at-jerusalem-seminary/20080306143909990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001
Ban Islam?
From www.danielpipes.org | Original article available at: www.danielpipes.org/article/4868
Ban Islam?
by Daniel Pipes
New York Sun
August 29, 2007
[NY Sun title: "Keep the Koran Legal"]
Non-Muslims occasionally raise the idea of banning the Koran, Islam, and Muslims. Examples this month include calls by a political leader in the Netherlands, Geert Wilders, to ban the Koran — which he compares to Hitler's Mein Kampf — and two Australian politicians, Pauline Hanson and Paul Green, demanding a moratorium on Muslim immigration.
What is one to make of these initiatives? First, some history. Precedents exist from an earlier era, when intolerant Christian governments forced Muslims to convert, notably in 16th-century Spain, and others strongly encouraged conversions, especially of the elite, as in 16th- and 17th-century Russia. In modern times, however, with freedom of expression and religion established as basic human rights, efforts to protect against intolerance by banning the Koran, Islam, or Muslims have failed.
In perhaps the most serious contemporary attempt to ban the Koran, a Hindu group argued in 1984–85 that the Islamic scriptures contain "numerous sayings, repeated in the book over and over again, which on grounds of religion promote disharmony, feeling of enmity, hatred and ill-will between different religious communities and incite people to commit violence and disturb public tranquility."
The taking of this demand, known as "The Calcutta Quran Petition," to court prompted riots and deaths in Bangladesh. The case so alarmed New Delhi that the attorney general of India himself took part in the proceedings to oppose the petition, which, not surprisingly, was dismissed.
Pim Fortuyn (1948-2002) led the most consequential effort so far to end Muslim emigration, in his case, to the Netherlands.
This early petition set the standard in terms of collecting objectionable Koranic verses. Other efforts have been more rhetorical and less operational. The most consequential was by Pim Fortuyn in the Netherlands to end Muslim immigration. Had he not been assassinated in 2002, he might have ridden his issue to the prime ministry.
The coordinator of Italy's Northern League, Roberto Calderoli, wrote in 2005: "Islam has to be declared illegal until Islamists are prepared to renounce those parts of their pseudo political and religious doctrine glorifying violence and the oppression of other cultures and religions."
A British member of Parliament, Boris Johnson, pointed out in 2005 that passing a Racial and Religious Hatred Bill "must mean banning the reading — in public or private — of a great many passages of the Koran itself." His observation prompted a Muslim delegation to seek assurances, which it received, from the Home Office that no such ban would occur. Patrick Sookhdeo of the Institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity in 2006 called for prohibiting one translation of the Koran, The Noble Koran: A New Rendering of its Meaning in English, because "it sets out a strategy for killing the infidels and for warfare against them."
Other Western countries witnessed lesser efforts: Norway's Kristiansand Progress Party sought to ban Islam in 2004 and Germany's Bundesverband der Bürgerbewegungen sought to prohibit the Koran in 2006, arguing for its incompatibility with the German constitution. "Stop the Islamification of Denmark" demanded in early 2007 the prohibition of parts of the Koran and all mosques, calling them unconstitutional. Australia's Catch the Fire Ministries argued in 2004 that because "The Koran contradicts Christian doctrine in a number of places and, under the blasphemy law, [it] is therefore illegal."
Elsewhere, writers have made the same demands. Switzerland's Alain Jean-Mairet is the strategist of a two-part plan, popular and juridical, with the goal that "all the Islamic projects in Switzerland will prove impossible to fulfill." In France, an anonymous writer at the Liberty Vox Web site wishes to ban Islam, as does Warner Todd Huston in the United States.
The 2006 movie V for Vendetta portrays a future Britain in which the Koran is banned.
My take? I understand the security-based urge to exclude the Koran, Islam, and Muslims, but these efforts are too broad, sweeping up inspirational passages with objectionable ones, reformers with extremists, friends with foes. Also, they ignore the possibility of positive change.
More practical and focused would be to reduce the threats of jihad and Shariah by banning Islamist interpretations of the Koran, as well as Islamism and Islamists. Precedents exist. A Saudi-sponsored Koran was pulled from school libraries. Preachers have gone to jail for their interpretation of the Koran. Extreme versions of Islam are criminally prosecuted. Organizations are outlawed. Politicians have called for Islamists to leave their countries.
Islam is not the enemy, but Islamism is. Tolerate moderate Islam, but eradicate its radical variants.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aug. 29, 2007 update: One of the persons named above, Alain Jean-Mairet (who also happens to be my translator into French), responds to this argument at "Interdire ou ne pas interdire?"
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From www.danielpipes.org | Original article available at: www.danielpipes.org/article/4868
Ban Islam?
by Daniel Pipes
New York Sun
August 29, 2007
[NY Sun title: "Keep the Koran Legal"]
Non-Muslims occasionally raise the idea of banning the Koran, Islam, and Muslims. Examples this month include calls by a political leader in the Netherlands, Geert Wilders, to ban the Koran — which he compares to Hitler's Mein Kampf — and two Australian politicians, Pauline Hanson and Paul Green, demanding a moratorium on Muslim immigration.
What is one to make of these initiatives? First, some history. Precedents exist from an earlier era, when intolerant Christian governments forced Muslims to convert, notably in 16th-century Spain, and others strongly encouraged conversions, especially of the elite, as in 16th- and 17th-century Russia. In modern times, however, with freedom of expression and religion established as basic human rights, efforts to protect against intolerance by banning the Koran, Islam, or Muslims have failed.
In perhaps the most serious contemporary attempt to ban the Koran, a Hindu group argued in 1984–85 that the Islamic scriptures contain "numerous sayings, repeated in the book over and over again, which on grounds of religion promote disharmony, feeling of enmity, hatred and ill-will between different religious communities and incite people to commit violence and disturb public tranquility."
The taking of this demand, known as "The Calcutta Quran Petition," to court prompted riots and deaths in Bangladesh. The case so alarmed New Delhi that the attorney general of India himself took part in the proceedings to oppose the petition, which, not surprisingly, was dismissed.
Pim Fortuyn (1948-2002) led the most consequential effort so far to end Muslim emigration, in his case, to the Netherlands.
This early petition set the standard in terms of collecting objectionable Koranic verses. Other efforts have been more rhetorical and less operational. The most consequential was by Pim Fortuyn in the Netherlands to end Muslim immigration. Had he not been assassinated in 2002, he might have ridden his issue to the prime ministry.
The coordinator of Italy's Northern League, Roberto Calderoli, wrote in 2005: "Islam has to be declared illegal until Islamists are prepared to renounce those parts of their pseudo political and religious doctrine glorifying violence and the oppression of other cultures and religions."
A British member of Parliament, Boris Johnson, pointed out in 2005 that passing a Racial and Religious Hatred Bill "must mean banning the reading — in public or private — of a great many passages of the Koran itself." His observation prompted a Muslim delegation to seek assurances, which it received, from the Home Office that no such ban would occur. Patrick Sookhdeo of the Institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity in 2006 called for prohibiting one translation of the Koran, The Noble Koran: A New Rendering of its Meaning in English, because "it sets out a strategy for killing the infidels and for warfare against them."
Other Western countries witnessed lesser efforts: Norway's Kristiansand Progress Party sought to ban Islam in 2004 and Germany's Bundesverband der Bürgerbewegungen sought to prohibit the Koran in 2006, arguing for its incompatibility with the German constitution. "Stop the Islamification of Denmark" demanded in early 2007 the prohibition of parts of the Koran and all mosques, calling them unconstitutional. Australia's Catch the Fire Ministries argued in 2004 that because "The Koran contradicts Christian doctrine in a number of places and, under the blasphemy law, [it] is therefore illegal."
Elsewhere, writers have made the same demands. Switzerland's Alain Jean-Mairet is the strategist of a two-part plan, popular and juridical, with the goal that "all the Islamic projects in Switzerland will prove impossible to fulfill." In France, an anonymous writer at the Liberty Vox Web site wishes to ban Islam, as does Warner Todd Huston in the United States.
The 2006 movie V for Vendetta portrays a future Britain in which the Koran is banned.
My take? I understand the security-based urge to exclude the Koran, Islam, and Muslims, but these efforts are too broad, sweeping up inspirational passages with objectionable ones, reformers with extremists, friends with foes. Also, they ignore the possibility of positive change.
More practical and focused would be to reduce the threats of jihad and Shariah by banning Islamist interpretations of the Koran, as well as Islamism and Islamists. Precedents exist. A Saudi-sponsored Koran was pulled from school libraries. Preachers have gone to jail for their interpretation of the Koran. Extreme versions of Islam are criminally prosecuted. Organizations are outlawed. Politicians have called for Islamists to leave their countries.
Islam is not the enemy, but Islamism is. Tolerate moderate Islam, but eradicate its radical variants.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aug. 29, 2007 update: One of the persons named above, Alain Jean-Mairet (who also happens to be my translator into French), responds to this argument at "Interdire ou ne pas interdire?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From www.danielpipes.org | Original article available at: www.danielpipes.org/article/4868
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