|
THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN
By Avi Davis
In 1971 ex- Beatle John Lennon produced a single which soon became something of an anthem embraced by the world’s utopians. The song Imagine, with its lilting melody, romanticized imagery and wistful ideals seemed to capture the mood of a post-World War 2 generation, sickened by military conflict and certain that the application of appropriate amounts of love, peace and compassion would cure the world of its ailments. True to form, the other ex-Beatles, all at one time or another expressed similar points of view, pumping out the same plea for the elimination of possessions, religion and politics in order to ensure a community of peace and an ultimate “brotherhood of man.
But what kind of brotherhood would it be without actual “brothers” – those who share enough commonalities to give meaning to the appellation - to fill it? That is the central question asked by Natan Sharansky in his new book Defending Identity. A necessary companion to his 2004 work The Case for Democracy, Sharansky reveals, in clear unfettered prose, that the true ailment of Western civilization today, is not the rampant march of materialism, greed, hunger or militarism, but the collapse of identity among the denizens of Western democracy and the genuine catastrophe this bodes for the West’s survival.
Sharansky’s earlier books were framed by his transformative experiences as a prisoner of conscience in the Soviet Gulag during the 70s and 80s and he brings those experiences to bear with full force in his new work. Much like Viktor Frankl in Man’s Search for Meaning, ( whose experiences took place in a Nazi concentration camp), Sharansky discovers that under the strains of interrogation and mind control exercised by the KGB in the Gulag, it was usually only those who retained a strong sense of identity who were ultimately able to resist the relentless psychological pressure parlayed by their gaolers and survive with their spirits unbroken.
“ Invariably, the ones you could count on to be your allies in resisting the KGB were those who possessed strong identities , who shared this fear of not being worthy of the values of their communities, the histories they were born to…..They could become your partners in resistance, the people you could depend on in your own battle, who would not give in to the KGB, who would be the lat to collaborate. In fact the stronger a prisoner’s identity, the greater the likelihood that the KGB would not succeed in breaking him”
The object of Sharansky’s gaolers, he concludes, was not to permanently destroy their prisoner’s physical freedom ( many were released after some time), but to destroy their inner freedom - a far more difficult place to penetrate.
In discovering his own Jewish identity, Sharansky finds that strength can be drawn from recognizing the value of belonging and the role any individual can play within a unique community which possesses its own distinctive history. It is a lesson he urges the West to absorb as it confronts the remorseless mind control of post-identity thinking, with its emphasis on post-nationalism, multiculturalism and moral relativism.
Sharansky correctly identifies post-identity theory as the single greatest threat to European survival. With its emphasis on the elimination of a majority identity
(rendering Western values merely one set of choices that can be elected among a buffet of others), post-nationalism ( which envisions the development of a global society) and post modernism – which sees each identity as unstable and all cultural forms as morally equivalent - it has served to strip Europeans of the belief in their own Christian origins, trashed Western exceptionalism and internalized the legacy of war and colonialism as if they were inherent guilt complexes. This, in turn, has weakened the European resolve to confront ( and often to even identify) the threat posed by the huge influx of Muslim immigrants who contrastingly possess strong national, ethnic and religious identities.
The issue of direction came to a head with the banning of the veil in schools in France. The French government, seeking to protect non-Muslim female students in predominantly Muslim areas who were being intimidated because they did not wear a head covering to school, banned not just head covering for Muslims but any outward display of religion for any student – which included the wearing of a cross for Christians or a kippah for Jews. The argument for the ban was that the veil was a mark of distinctiveness and French authorities did not wish to see such differences intrude into neutral public space.
At first sight, this might seem like an admirable solution to a vexing problem. Permitting the veil, it was thought, could lead to coercion which would place individual choice and liberty at risk. Underpinning the law, however, is the notion that dramatic expressions of identity weaken and threaten societal cohesion, spurring communal conflict and inequality.
Yet the effect, says Sharansky , is just the opposite. For those who possess a strong sense of identity, the law only exacerbates growing intra-communal resentments, frustration and alienation.
Instead of passing such laws, what the government should have addressed is the reality of the rejection of democracy itself. Pressure, harassment and violence, like other undemocratic acts or restrictions, need to be forcefully opposed - by legislation, education and other forms of intervention. A society must make a clear statement that an absolute principle of democratic life is the norm of non-aggression, wherein one cannot forcibly impose one’s views on others. However, when there are irreconcilable conflicts between customs and democratic norms, customs must give way, whether that means vigorously prosecuting honor killings and genital mutilations or banning underage marriage.
Unfortunately that is not the way things work in Europe today. Instead of defending democratic norms, post-identity Europe undermines them. Citizenship is granted without requiring language skills, civic education or even conformity to laws against polygamy. Mosques and schools receive state funding despite anti-Western agitation and indoctrination. Rioters and thieves are not prosecuted but submitted to social therapy. While European countries have pursued many different strategies, from multiculturalism to assimilation to address growing societal fragmentation, none seem to be working. The record only reveals disintegration, not integration and the continuing collapse of social cohesion.
Ultimately the panacea for Europe’s ills is not to deny the distinctiveness of cultural identity but to encourage and propagate a reverence for democratic values. Herein all identities subscribe to an overarching framework of generally agreed upon laws and moral standards but. which ensure individual rights and communal freedom. Democracy and identity are not in conflict, as many post-identity Europeans intellectuals and leaders would have us believe. They actually work in perfect synchronicity and are necessary for one another’s survival.
It is an alarming sign of our times that this central building block of Western civilization should need to be restated and defended as if it is a new idea. But that is exactly what Sharansky feels compelled to do as he see the magnificent accomplishments of Western civilization under greater threat than ever before. John Lennon’s brotherhood ideal was also not new – having been explored by the Romantics in the late 18th Century and the Fabians in the early 20th. But what is new is the attempt of an entire society to co-opt it. Hapless, naive and perverse, we should should no longer look upon the political leaders, bureaucrats, and intellectuals leading this charge as only charming “dreamers” bound by the best intentions. Instead, we should view them as reckless acolytes of an empty philosophy which threatens freedomand is aimed at destroying the very social compact upon which our democracies are built.
Avi Davis is the Executive Director and Senior Fellow of the American Freedom Alliance and is the coordinator of the upcoming European Freedom Alliance conference The Politicization of Human Rights and International Law, to be held in London in March, 2009.
NEWS: EUROPE AND AMERICA
Danish Paper Under Heavy Security Amidst Threats By Jihadists To Bomb Its Offices
Jihad Against Danish Newspaper-Paul Belien
Islam is no laughing matter. The Danish newspaperJyllands-Posten is being protected by security guards and several cartoonists have gone into hiding after the newspaper published a series of twelve cartoons (see them all here, halfway the article) about the prophet Muhammad. According to the Islam it is blasphemous to make images of the prophet. Muslim fundamentalists have threatened to bomb the paper’s offices and kill the cartoonists.
The newspaper published the cartoons when a Danish author complained that he could find no-one to illustrate his book about Muhammad. Jyllands-Posten wondered whether there were more cases of self-censorship regarding Islam in Denmark and asked twelve illustrators to draw the prophet for them. Carsten Juste, the paper’s editor, said the cartoons were a test of whether the threat of Islamic terrorism had limited the freedom of expression in Denmark.
The publication led to outrage among the Muslim immigrants living in Denmark. 5,000 of them took to the streets to protest. Muslim organisations have demanded an apology, but Juste rejects this idea: “We live in a democracy. That’s why we can use all the journalistic methods we want to. Satire is accepted in this country, and you can make caricatures,” he said. The Danish imam Raed Hlayhel reacted with the statement: “This type of democracy is worthless for Muslims. Muslims will never accept this kind of humiliation. The article has insulted every Muslim in the world.”
Flemming Rose, the cultural editor at the newspaper, denied that the purpose had been to provoke Muslims. It was simply a reaction to the rising number of situations where artists and writers censored themselves out of fear of radical Islamists, he said. “Religious feelings cannot demand special treatment in a secular society,” he added. “In a democracy one must from time to time accept criticism or becoming a laughingstock.”
Update: Tyson Workers Say No to Eid al-Fitr Holiday
Tyson workers revote; Labor Day brought back-Brian Mosely
Members of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) and Tyson Foods workers at the poultry processing plant in Shelbyville overwhelmingly voted to overturn a union contract provision that replaced Labor Day as a paid holiday with the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, it was announced this morning.
The new agreement will increase the number of paid days off for workers in the current calendar year to include both Labor Day and the Muslim observance as paid holidays for workers in the Shelbyville plant.
The agreement amends the existing contract negotiated last year, according to a press release from the RWDSU. In a statement by Tyson spokesperson Libby Lawson, the food processing giant made this request on behalf of its Shelbyville plant employees, "some of whom had expressed concern about the new contract provisions relative to paid holidays." "In an effort to be responsive, Tyson asked the union to reopen the contract to address the holiday issue, and the union agreed to do so." Lawson said. The RWDSU membership voted overwhelmingly Thursday to reinstate Labor Day as one of the plant's paid holidays, while keeping Eid al-Fitr as an additional paid holiday for this year only.
"This means that in 2008 only, Shelbyville employees will have nine paid holidays," Lawson said.
The union says that beginning in calendar year 2009, a worker who does not observe Eid al-Fitr "will have the option of selecting another day as a paid Personal Day at their discretion." (Times-Gazette)
Netherlands Caves Into Sharia Law and Allows Polygamous Marriages
Netherlands Recognizes Polygamous Muslim Marriages-NIS Bulletin
Although polygamy is banned in the Netherlands, the marriages of Muslims who have several wives are recognised by Dutch authorities
ROTTERDAM. Registrars in the major cities, in particular, record dozens of bigamous or polygamous marriages per year. These marriages are prohibited and an offence in the Netherlands. However, polygamous marriages that take place in countries where more than one wife is permitted, such as Morocco, are accepted, newspaper NRC Handelsblad reports. If immigrants with several wives settle in the Netherlands, the local authorities register all the marriages. However, the Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS), where all marriages are registered nationally, removes these bigamous or polygamous marriages from its files, on the assumption that administrative errors have occurred. As a result, it is not known how common the phenomenon is in the Netherlands. Amsterdam city council has informed the CBS that the marriages are not a mistake. "We will now investigate whether this can be regarded as a trend that was previously not recognised. If this is the case, it is out task to report this," CBS researcher Jan Latten explained in NRC Handelsblad. "At present, it is not included in our statistics," Latten pointed out. "In the same way, we delete marriages involving fourteen-year-olds. A man with two wives just cannot exist by law." Spokesman T. Verhoeven of the Rotterdam city council disclosed that polygamous marriages are registered almost every week. "They are simply acknowledged. It is important for us to check that the documents are authentic and that the husband does not have Dutch nationality." Otherwise the construction is illegal, Verhoeven explained. (NISBulletin)
Guardian’s Website Lists The Terrorist Group Hamas As A ‘Useful Link’
The Guardian's website includes the Hamas "military wing" on its "Useful links".
 HonestReporting has highlighted how some mainstream media, including The New York Times, Washington Post and LA Times, have published op-eds by Hamas leaders. We asked the question as to whether these newspapers could be guilty of providing material support for a terrorist organization. We also stated that American newspapers would not give Osama bin Laden op-ed space. So why would they give the oxygen of publicity to a Hamas terrorist whose organization is responsible for the murder of US citizens in Israel and whose chartercalls for Israel's destruction and is filled with unadulterated anti-Semitism? One counter-argument raised by those seeking to excuse this behavior is to attempt to separate Hamas's "political wing" from its "military wing", portraying Hamas as the "legitimate and democratically elected Palestinian government". Irrespective of this, Hamas in its entirety is a proscribed terrorist group under UK terror legislation as well as a designatedForeign Terrorist Organization according to the US State Department. The Guardian's online "Israel and the Palestinians" section, however, includes the "Hamas military wing" (circled) as one of a list of "Useful links". There is no grey area here - this website links directly to an English language site of "Ezedeen Al-Qassam Brigades", which describes itself as "the armed branch of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas)." While some Hamas leaders may dubiously claim to be mere politicians (directing and inciting terror from above), the members of the Brigades are actively involved in terrorist acts and some have the blood of innocent Israeli civilians on their hands. We have not linked to this site (pictured below) as we do not wish to generate traffic to a terrorist organization. The site memorializes "martyrs" including many Hamas members directly involved in terror. Putting legal issues to one side, how can The Guardian justify including a link to a terrorist website that has no equivalence amongst the other featured links? (HonestReporting)
ACADEMIC FREEDOM
Christian And Conservative Students Are Discriminated At Temple University
Temple U.'s Past Policy Violated Free-Speech Rights, Appeals Court Says-Josh Kellar
A federal appeals court ruled on Monday that a sexual-harassment policy that Temple University abandoned early last year was unconstitutionally broad and violated students' freedom of expression. The Philadelphia-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit—upholding a district court's March 2007 decision—said the university's policy could have stopped its students from making legally protected speech. The case was brought two and a half years ago by a former Temple graduate student, Christian M. DeJohn, who said his conservative views were unwelcome at the university. The policy's definition of sexual harassment, the appeals court wrote, was "sufficiently broad and subjective" that it "could include 'core' political and religious speech, such as gender politics and sexual morality." The court said the policy had no test to differentiate between speech that was merely "offensive" or "hostile" and speech that actually resulted in a hostile work environment. The decision has no immediate effect because Temple had revised its sexual-harassment policy shortly before the case went to trial. But the conservative legal-advocacy group that filed the suit on behalf of Mr. DeJohn, the Alliance Defense Fund, called the decision a victory against university-sponsored discrimination. "Christian and conservative students shouldn't fear discrimination or censorship by university officials simply for expressing their beliefs," said Nate Kellum, a lawyer for the Alliance Defense Fund, in a written statement. "The university is a 'marketplace of ideas' where all viewpoints are welcomed, and this significant ruling makes that clear." The ruling deals with only a small portion of Mr. DeJohn's original case. Mr. DeJohn, who had failed to receive a master's degree in military history at Temple, initially sued the university and two of his professors, asserting that they had prevented him from obtaining a degree in retaliation for his conservative political views. That part of the case was dismissed last year (The Chronicle, May 11, 2007). A Temple spokesman, Raymond Betzner, said in a statement that the university was "disappointed" with the ruling. But he said that the ruling leaves the university's current sexual harassment policy in effect and that Mr. DeJohn's original claims of political discrimination remain unfounded. Mr. Betzner said it was doubtful that the university would appeal the decision. (TheChronicleOfHigherEducation)
NEA’s Anti-Amercanism
Are Teachers’ Unions Un-American?-Lawrence Sand
Thomas Jefferson once said, "To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical." In 2008 his words are more than an apt description of the relationship that many of our nation’s educators have with the teachers’ unions. The fact that public school teachers in most states have no choice but to pay tribute in the form of dues to the unions is certainly tyrannical and therefore un-American. The California Teachers Association (CTA), the state affiliate of the nation’s largest teachers’ union, the National Education Association (NEA), frequently backs controversial measures which many of their members, as well as mainstream America, do not support. The CTA has recently been active in such areas as the promotion of same sex marriage and advocating that Communists be allowed back in the classroom to teach our children. At the same time, the union is fighting the passage of SB 1105, which would get rid of teachers who have committed a misdemeanor sexual offense. The unions never bother to ask their membership for input on whether or not they back such controversial measures, but agree or not, teachers must fork over their money to the union.
Held in Washington this July, the yearly NEA convention saw the usual dazzling display of nonsense, silly at best, un-American at worst. While in loopy mode, the organization’s “representative” assembly (whose members are elected in a rather arcane way and as such, essentially represent themselves) found themselves debating whether or not to recognize Norwegian Constitution Day. Never mind that our fourth graders’ math scores are lower than those in Lithuania, high school dropout rates are soaring and so many of those who do make it to college need remediation. And they call themselves the National Education Association! Tiring of the inane, the NEA gets down to serious business - attacking our foreign policy and slurring the brave men and women in our armed forces. There is a movement within the NEA to establish a peace academy, while other unionistas are trying to drive popular Junior ROTC programs from our nation’s campuses. Also, Congress will be receiving a nastygram from the NEA, imploring them to rein in our war effort in Iraq. The subtext here is clear – that if only the U.S. weren’t so belligerent, the world would exist in eternal bliss. And of course the NEA couldn’t promote such blatant anti-American blather without the money that it takes from hard working teachers. (FrontpageMag)
FREEDOM OF SPEECH
UNAS Seeks To Ban Organisations Criticising Islam
No ban on racist organisations-Tomme Ullman
The United Nations Association of Sweden (UNAS) has demanded a ban on racist organisations. They also want higher prioritisation to the fight against ethnic discrimination. The UNAS also claims that Sweden fails to meet other demands in the convention against discrimination. For example are very few employees of foreign background in the police force or in the judiciary. “Extreme right organisations starts parties, arranges concerts with white power music and uses the fact that internet, flyers and graffiti are all free for racist propaganda” writes the chairman of UNAS Alexander Gabelic in a debate article in Aftonbladet. He also claims that Swedish schoolbooks often focus on militant Muslims when they write about Islam. (StockholmNews)
“It is becoming increasingly common for Americans to bow to pressure from Muslims to accommodate Islamic practices and mores.”
Muslims Learn Again That Violent Intimidation Works-Robert Spencer
 Random House paid $100,000 for The Jewel of Medina, Sherry Jones’ racy historical novel about Muhammad and his nine-year-old wife, Aisha, only to withdraw the book just days before its scheduled August 12 publication date. Random House deputy publisher Thomas Perry explained that they decided to drop the book after receiving, “from credible and unrelated sources, cautionary advice not only that the publication of this book might be offensive to some in the Muslim community, but also that it could incite acts of violence by a small, radical segment.” They decided “to postpone publication for the safety of the author, employees of Random House, booksellers and anyone else who would be involved in distribution and sale of the novel.” This craven capitulation to violent intimidation came without any actual violent intimidation at all. Random House was smart enough to figure out, in these post-Salman Rushdie, post-Muhammad cartoons, post-Pope Rage days that publishing a book that Muslims find offensive could be hazardous to the health of a good many people. It is curious that they let Jones work on The Jewel of Medina for six years only to remember Rushdie when her book was about to be published. That may be due to pressure from Denise A. Spellberg, an Associate Professor of History and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. When Spellberg received an advance copy of the book, she became “frantic” and contacted Shahed Amanullah, editor of the popular website altmuslim.com. “She was upset,” said Amanullah, because the book “made fun of Muslims and their history.” She later declared that The Jewel of Medina was a “very ugly, stupid piece of work…. You can’t play with a sacred history and turn it into soft core pornography.” Spellberg denies charges that she was the “instigator” of Random House’s decision to deep-six Jones’ book. She says, “I felt it my duty to warn the press of the novel’s potential to provoke anger among some Muslims.” Yet Spellberg also maintains: “I do not espouse censorship of any kind, but I do value my right to critique those who abuse the past without regard for its richness or resonance in the present.” (HumanEvents)
Complaint Against Ezra Levant Dropped By Alberta AHRC’
Ezra Levant 1, Canadian Thought Police 0- Kathy Shaidle
Ezra Levant is off the hook and he isn’t happy about it.
Two years ago, his now-defunct Western Standard magazine — a rare conservative voice in liberal Canada — became one of the few publications to dare [1] reprint the notorious Danish cartoons of Mohammed.
The magazine was headquartered in the province of Alberta, leading two different local Muslim groups to file complaints against Levant with the Alberta Human Rights Commission (AHRC). Established in the 1970s to hear discrimination complaints in the areas of housing and employment, [2] Canada’s HRCs slowly morphed into a combination censor board/secret police, [3] “investigating” so-called “hate sites” on the web, fining [4] Christian organizations and [5] individuals found guilty of “offending” gay activists, and charging [6] Canada’s oldest magazine, and its columnist Mark Steyn, with “flagrant Islamophobia.”
Levant was interrogated by a government bureaucrat this past January — an interrogation [7] he videotaped and posted on YouTube. Levant’s mocking, impassioned performance, which challenged the HRC’s very legitimacy, was viewed hundreds of thousands of times, made Levant an overnight free speech hero, and ignited a national debate about Canada’s beloved policy of multiculturalism.
[8] Levant blogged earlier this week, “Using government lawyers and taxpayers’ money, they have been pursuing me, infringing on my natural rights of free speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion. According to Access to Information documents, there are 15 bureaucrats working on my file. I’m a major crime scene.”
His legal bills topped $100,000, and he estimates the cases have cost Alberta taxpayers $500,000.
Then, [9] for reasons that [10] remain unclear, one Muslim group — the Supreme Islamic Council run by Imam Syed Soharwardy — [11] suddenly dropped its complaint against Ezra Levant in February.
Finally, on August 6, the Edmonton Council of Muslim Communities complaint was [12] dismissed by the Alberta HRC. Levant had “won” what he’d taken to calling “the first blasphemy case in Canada in 80 years.”
The accused’s response wasn’t one of jubilation.
Anyone who finds this surprising hasn’t been following the case on the [13] blogosphere and certainly doesn’t know Ezra Levant the way many Canadians do. The brash, outspoken Levant is a principled provocateur whose values — liberty, small government, individuality, the free market — are considered “too American” by the nation’s liberal elite. (His friend of ten years, leftist comedian Rick Mercer, has called him — not unaffectionately — “[14] without a doubt, one of the most aggravating men on this earth.”)
Sure enough, [15] Levant quickly condemned the AHRC’s decision and the entire Kafkaesque process in his trademark style:
The 11-page government report into my activities is a breathtakingly arrogant document. In it, Pardeep Gundara, a low-level bureaucrat, assumes the role of editor-in-chief for the entire province of Alberta. He went through our magazine article and gave his own thoughts on the cartoons, and pronounced on our magazine’s decision to publish them. The government’s wannabe journalist makes a spelling error, he gets facts wrong, and he’s obviously not good with deadlines. We’d never have hired him at our magazine. But the laugh is on us — he’s apparently our boss, and the boss of all journalists in Alberta.
[…]
That is not acceptable to me. I am not interested in Gundara’s views about the cartoons. I’m not interested in learning his personal rules of thumb for when I can or can’t express myself. This is Canada, not Saudi Arabia.
ANTISEMITISM
Antisemitic Grey, Sleeveless Woolen Tops With The German Phrase ‘Juden Eintritt In Die Parkanlagen Verboten’ (No Entry For Jews In The Park) Was On Sale In A Paris Shop
Anti-Semitic t-shirt on sale in Paris shop
 PARIS (EJP)---A sleeveless t-shirt with anti-Semitic inscriptions was found on sale in a northern Paris shop last weekend.
The inscriptions on the t-shirt read in German "Juden Eintritt in die parkanlagen verboten" (No Entry for Jews in the Park) and in Polish "Zydome wstep do parku wzbroniony," reproducing a ban to Jews in the Lodz ghetto in 1940. It was found and bought for 18 euros last weekend in Belleville, in Paris's 19th district, by the French National Bureau of Vigilance against anti-Semitism (BNVCA), a group monitoring anti-Semitic incidents in France. The inscriptions -- "Juden eintritt in die parkanlagen verboten" in German, and "Zydom wstep do parku wzbronionyio" in Polish -- are reproduced from 1940 banners targeting the Jews of Lodz, in central Poland.Ninety-five percent of the 200,000 Jews who were held in the ghetto later died in concentration camps. An AFP reporter found five of the grey, sleeveless woollen tops -- labelled with the brand "Introfancy IF" -- on sale early Tuesday, but when he returned shortly afterwards they had been withdrawn. The sales assistant said they had just been bought by a single customer. She added that she did not know the meaning of the inscriptions. Sammy Ghozlan, head of the National Bureau of BNVCA said he had filed a formal complaint with the Paris police. (EJP)
Recently Released Terrorist Child Murderer Samir Kuntar Receives Heroes Welcome In Tehran
Hizbullah lauded in Tehran; Kuntar gives speech via satellite
 Hundreds of Iranians celebrate two-year anniversary to Second Lebanon War; 33 balloons released to mark 33 days of war-Dudi Cohen
Hundreds of Iranians arrived on Tuesday night at Palestine Square in central Tehran in order to celebrate the two-year anniversary of “Hizbullah’s victory” in the Second Lebanon War, the Iranian Fars news agency reported. Women waved signs with pictures of Hizbullah Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah and men carried Hizbullah and Palestinian Authority flags at another part of the square. One of Nasrallah’s pictures was attached to balloons and set free. Mohammad Hassan Rahmanian a representative of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said at the demonstration, “the only way for the nations in Palestine and Lebanon is opposing the arrogance,” a nickname for the United States and Israel. He added that “if we go in God’s path, we will definitely be victorious.” Iran’s cultural attaches in Beirut also conducted a ceremony commemorating the occasion on Monday. The event included Lebanon’s foreign minister. An official of the Iranian embassy in Lebanon said at the ceremony that “Hassan Nasrallah, the Hizbullah’s secretary-general is a source of pride in Lebanon, Palestine and all the free people worldwide.” A live satellite screening of Hizbullah's Deputy Secretary-General, Sheikh Naim Kassem speech was shown. According to him, the Second Lebanon War, “was the beginning of a new strategy in the Middle East.” Recently freed terrorist Samir Kuntar also gave a live satellite speech in front of those present on the Iranian network al-Alam. Thirty-three balloons were released to mark the 33 days of war. According to the Fars news agency, the demonstration included 500-600 participants. According to the report, the gathering was organized by the Shahid (martyr) Foundation in cooperation with the Iranian broadcasting network, the Tehran municipality and the Revolutionary Guards. (YnetNews)
Al-Qaeda’s Ayman Al-Zawahiri Blames Musharraf For Israel’s Creation
Al-Qaeda Deputy Head Ayman Al-Zawahiri in Audio Recording: Musharraf Accepted Israel's Existence-MEMRI
On August 10, 2008, Al-Qaeda second-in-command Ayman Al-Zawahiri released an audio recording consisting of accusations against Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. In the recording, which was distributed by the Al-Qaeda media company Al-Sahab and aired by Pakistan's independent television network ARY One World, Al-Zawahiri spoke in English, exclusively addressing a Pakistani audience.
Al-Zawahiri told his audience of his early years as a doctor in Pakistan, noting that he had gone there for the first time in 1980 to provide medical treatment to the mujahideen fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan. He said that he had spent six years in Pakistan but that later, due to U.S. pressure, the government had forced him to leave. Discussing his earliest connections with Pakistan, Al-Zawahiri said that he had read the poetry of Allama Muhammad Iqbal, the Islamist poet considered to be one of Pakistan's ideological founders. He added that his grandfather, Abd Al-Wahab Azzam, had translated a collection of Iqbal's poems, Diwan-e-Iqbal, into Arabic. Following is a summary of the main points of Al-Zawahiri's recording, as published by the Urdu-language daily Roznama Express:(1)
Musharraf Stabbed the Mujahideen in Kashmir with a Dagger
In the tape, Al-Zawahiri accused President Musharraf of endangering Pakistan's national security by taking power. He said that it was because of Musharraf's wrong policies that drug dealers and pro-India and pro-Russia people were in power in Afghanistan today. Also as a result of those policies, he said, India today had access to Tajikistan's air bases, and its influence in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region had grown.
Musharraf Accepted Israel's Existence on Palestinian Territory
Al-Zawahiri said that Musharraf's proposed solution to the Kashmir issue was akin to giving up Kashmir to the Indians, that Musharraf had stabbed the mujahideen in Kashmir with a dagger, and that the "jihad in Kashmir" should be freed from the control of Pakistan's intelligence agencies. He said that for all practical purposes, Musharraf had accepted Israel's existence on Palestinian territory, as well as allowing U.S. intelligence agencies to operate freely within Pakistan and to establish secret detention centers in the country. He also said that Pakistani politics were dictated by the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan. (MEMRI)
TERRORISM, INTERNET, JIHAD
Muslim Man Who Wanted To Avenge The Death Of Muslims Overseas, Pleads Guilty To NC University Campus Attack
Man pleads guilty in NC university car attack-Marlon A. Walker
HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (AP) — A former student accused of plowing his sport utility vehicle into a campus crowd, hitting nine people, in a self-professed bid to avenge Muslim deaths overseas pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree attempted murder. Mohammed Taheri-Azar, 25, was charged with nine counts of attempted murder and nine counts of felonious assault in connection with the March 3, 2006, attack at a popular outdoor gathering spot at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "He has repeatedly stated that he intended to kill people, made statements on camera that it was his intention," Orange County District Attorney James Woodall said during a court hearing. As part of the plea deal, the assault charges were dismissed. The remaining charges will be consolidated into two counts of attempted first-degree murder for sentencing purposes. Seven of the victims were scheduled to attend Taheri-Azar's sentencing hearing Aug. 26. Taheri-Azar faces up to 40 years in prison for each count. (AP)
Muslim Infiltrators A Serious Security Threat
The West's Islamist Infiltrators-Daniel Pipes
Aafia Siddiqui, 36, is a Pakistani mother of three, an alumna of MIT, and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Brandeis University. She is also accused of working for Al-Qaeda and was charged last week in New York City with attempting to kill American soldiers. Her arrest serves to remind how invisibly most Islamist infiltration proceeds. In particular, an estimated forty Al-Qaeda sympathizers or operatives have sought to penetrate U.S. intelligence agencies.Such a well-placed infiltrator can wreck great damage explains a former CIA chief of counterintelligence, Michael Sulick: "In the war on terrorism, intelligence has replaced the Cold War's tanks and fighter planes as the primary weapon against an unseen enemy." Islamist moles, he argues, "could inflict far more damage to national security than Soviet spies," for the U.S. and Soviet Union never actually fought each other, whereas now, "our nation is at war." Here are some American cases of attempted infiltration since 2001 that have been made public: (FrontpageMag)
"O People Of Mauritania, You Need To Get Back To Islam And And Don't Hesitate To Wage Holy War (Jihad) To Fight The Jews And The Christians Together With The Apostate Governments,"
Mauritania: Al-Qaeda warns Muslims over 'unbeliever democracies'-AKI
Nouakchott, 12 August(AKI) - Mauritania's military junta consulted the United States, France and Israel before toppling elected president Sidi Cheikh Ould Abdallahi in last week's coup, Al-Qaeda's North African arm has claimed. "The latest coup in Mauritania could never have succeeded without the agreement of America, France and Israel," said a statement posted on Tuesday to Islamist websites. The message is signed by Abdel Malik Droukedel, leader of the Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb and dated 10 August. Several Al-Qaeda cells are believed to be present in Mauritania. The country's security forces in April recaptured five suspected Al-Qaeda militants including a fugitive accused of killing four French tourists last December, officials said. The 24 December killing of the French tourists and a shooting attack against the Israeli embassy in Mauritania's capital Nouakchott in February raised fears of a rise in Islamist militant violence in the Saharan state "For this reason, we warn Muslims to be wary of all forms of unbeliever democracy, because they are just a ploy by the Zionist-Crusader alliance to trick you," read the statement.
"O people of Mauritania, you need to get back to Islam and and don't hesitate to wage holy war (Jihad) to fight the Jews and the Christians together with the apostate governments," the message continues. The military junta set up a 'State Council' which has promised to hold free and fair elections in Mauritania "as soon as possible." The 'State Council' is led by the head of Abdallahi's presidential guard, Mohamed Abdel Aziz. Mauritania has had a long history of military coups since it gained independence from France in 1960.
In 2005, a military junta overthrew authoritarian President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya, who had ruled the country since 1980. But the junta only ruled until the country's first presidential election in 2007 and did not stand in those polls. (AKI)
Gaza Kids Learning To Hate And Learning To Kill
How Gaza Kids Are Spending Their Vacation-Mike McNally
 It’s that time of year again: school’s out, the kids are under your feet, and, much as you love the little brats, you find your patience being tested. Eventually, after clearing yet another dirty plate, or tripping over a discarded sneaker, you give them a well-deserved piece of your mind: “Why don’t you get out of the house and do something useful, like memorize the Koran or learn how to fire a shoulder-launched rocket?” In Gaza, parents have no such frustrations. Hamas and Islamic Jihad, ever mindful of their responsibilities as pillars of the Palestinian community, are running their annual summer camps for thousands of youngsters. And these children won’t be wasting their time going on nature walks or visiting the [1] Smuggled Animals Zoo. In addition to receiving healthy doses of religious and political indoctrination, they’ll be learning how to handle weapons and navigate assault courses. Hamas, the terrorist organization that rules Gaza, is running camps for as many as 150,000 children. [2] Ynet News reports that “the focus is on familiarizing kids with the Palestinian towns and cities destroyed in 1948, as well as instilling religious fervor in them. The camps also feature sports and military-type training such as crawling under barbed-wire.” (I wish I’d been taught how to crawl under barbed wire properly as a youngster — it would’ve made escaping from irate farmers after another botched fruit raid with my cousins a lot easier.) The curriculum is similar at the Islamic Jihad camps, where “the kids study passages from the Koran and participate in quizzes on religious matters, with emphasis on the required commitment to political prisoners and Palestinian land. They also learn how to hold a Qassam rocket-launcher.” An Islamic Jihad operative was at pains to point out to Ynet that children would only be handling dummy rockets, not real ones. Allah forbid that they should play with real Qassams or Katyushas — someone could lose an eye. It’s reassuring to know the camp staff are so mindful of their charges’ welfare. They don’t want anyone getting hurt — at least not before they’ve been wired with explosives, wrapped in ball bearings, and dispatched to some bar, bus station, or shopping mall in Israel.(PajamsMedia)
“If God is willing, the Communist China will not celebrate the Olympics peacefully as they desired.”
JIHAD AND THE OLYMPICS
 Recently, the media has reported that the Jihaad of the Mujaahideen of Turkestan have just intensified against the Chinese Regime. There were even blasts in Xinjiang, home to 60 Million Muslims. It is a Jihaad that has been recently developed and just by the look of the situation, the time for the confrontation seems to have been chosen on purpose. In our opinion, it is a message that is being sent out to the world. Since the Olympics are taking place in China, the Mujaahideen carefully chose to make China appear as an irony to the world; holding an international sport in their City whilst oppressing its own people in the North-West. That is the message that is intended to leak through the media and to an extent, it is working.
It all started with the video from the Islaamic Party of Turkestan entitled, “Our blessed Jihaad in Yunnaan” which was released on July 23rd. In it, the Military Commander Sayfullah said,
Despite the Turkestan Islamic Party’s repeated warnings to China and international community about stopping the 29th Olympics in Beijing , the Chinese have haughtily ignored our warnings. The Turkestan Islamic Party volunteers who had gone through special preparation have started urgent actions. They bombed 2 public buses in Shanghai on 5 May 2008 and took voluntary action against police in Wenzhou on 17 May with a tractor loaded with explosives. They carried out a bombing in a plastic factory in Guangzhou on 17 July and bombed 3 public buses in Yunnan on 21 July. Through this blessed jihad in Yunnan this time, the Turkestan Islamic Party warns China one more time. Our aim is to target the most critical points related to the Olympics. We will try to attack Chinese central cities severely using the tactics that have never been employed. We warn China and the international community for the last time that those spectators, athletes, particularly the Muslims, who are planning to attend the Olympics, please change your intention from going to China . Please do not stand together with the faithless people. The Turkestan Islamic Party volunteers will conduct violent military actions against individuals, departments, venues, and activities that are related to the Olympics in China.
You must be aware that China will never be able to protect these. If you want to save your life, then please stay away from the Olympics in China . If God is willing, the Communist China will not celebrate the Olympics peacefully as they desired.
This is an indication that the warning was much before this; much before it became public to the eyes of the international world.
Then they released another video entitled, “A Universal Call to the Muslims of the World” which was released on the 1st of August. In this video release, his threats became much more serious and also gave warning to the civilians and Muslims that attend the Olympics stating that they have been warned:
“We do not want to see any Muslim brothers and sisters who believe in Allah and his Holy Prophet Muhammad, who believe in the next life and the day of judgment, get hurt by our fire targeted at China.”
Radical ENVIRONMENTALISM
“Every British Family Was Overpaying Four Hundred Pounds Per Year In Green Taxes”
All These Green Taxes And Rules Are Just Witless Nods To Fashion-Rod Liddle
The measures on ‘gas-guzzling’ cars, policing of wheelie bins and surcharges on plastic bags are based on scientific fads and, often, the government’s greed for taxpayers’ money, says Rod Liddle. The Third World won’t pay the price, and nor will big business — but we will
For one weekend each year every beach in this peaceful part of the world is taken over by gypsies, and the locals (and the handful of Western tourists) steer well clear and lock up their possessions, daughters, etc. I wandered along the shoreline of one previously idyllic cove just as the pikeys were packing up to leave on Sunday evening. And I had a brief epiphany; one toothless old hag was scurrying from caravan to caravan picking up every bit of rubbish she could find — until, in the end, she was weighed down with a ton of plastic sheeting, carrier bags, cellophane wrappers, mysterious bits of rusted metal and the like, and made her way to the wheelie skip by the side of the road which the authorities install at this time every summer.
There you are, you bigoted pig, I muttered to myself — how’s that for the explosion of one of your nasty little stereotypes? Gypsies, or some of them, are no less environmentally aware than the best of us, I thought shamefacedly — you have just swallowed gallons of racist propaganda about travellers, so let this be a lesson, etc. And then, as I watched, the hag dragged herself past the skip, crossed the road and with one fantastically athletic heave, deposited her haul of junk in the wildlife conservation area which fringes the beach. Then — and I kid you not — she went back to her caravan and appeared moments later with a large refrigerator which with laborious effort and much grunting she dragged across the road and tipped into the very same place.
Come on — credit where it’s due. This woman had gone out of her way to confirm my — and almost everybody else’s — stereotypical view of gypsies, which was incredibly thoughtful of her. It would have been far easier to shove the rubbish in the skip — but this woman was committed, she was a radical. She gave me a beaming, gold-flecked smile and went back to her filthy caravan.
Green taxes are very much au courant, but I don’t suppose there would be much of an appetite among elected politicians for an International Green Pikey Tax. (Among the public it would be a different matter, of course.) The hag I saw, with her spluttering emphysemic late 1980s van and her fundamentalist fervour to despoil what- ever environment she chose, briefly, to make her home, must have had a carbon footprint the size of Albania. In the bigger scheme of things I would hazard that gypsies, travellers and so on, as a sector, are a long way from being the worst offenders — even if individually they are transgressors on an epic level. And that, we are continually told, is the point: as individuals we are enjoined to believe that we can make a difference by altering our lifestyles (i.e. making them less convenient for us) and by paying a little, here or there, as a sort of punishment levy for being alive. But not all of us, mind; not the Third World (which I suppose, by proxy, contains the gypsies) because they can’t afford it, and should not be deprived of their chance to enjoy the benefits of rapid industrialisation. Not the big corporations, either — the supermarkets, the car manufacturers, the airline companies. Just you and me; people who have somehow accepted that we have no moral case to object to our lives being more expensive and less convenient. (TheSpectator)
|
