In Russia they have a saying:

Scratch a Russian find a Tartar.

I'm afraid that if you scratch a moderate Muslim you find that just underneath the surface is an antisemite, a paranoid conspiracy theorist, and a supporter of international terrorism. I wish this wasn't so, but all the evidence seems to point that way.

In fact, the word moderate is a meaningless political term. When was the last time you met some one who believed they were an extremist? Not likely to happen.

Muslims who call themselves moderate can hold a variety of political positions ranging from those who support the goals of al Qada only disclaim the methods used to those who wish to see fundamental reform in Islam to bring that religion into the 21st century.

Karim is a case in point. His first letter to me is here. Below are excerpts from his second letter to me. I'm not going to respond to him, but read how a moderate Muslim sees the world. He is an antisemite, a conspiracy nut, and a supporter of terrorism all the while believing he is a moderate. He even invokes the name of Michael Moore to justify his pro-terrorism stance. Imagine that?

Unfortunately, I'm afraid he is right. He is a moderate. And that is telling. more...

Posted by: Rusty at 05:00 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Phase I of the blogroll update is complete. That took way longer than expected. I've deleted dead links and those that haven't posted in several months. I've also updated those of you who have new urls.

UPDATE: Added plenty of new links. If I missed you, sorry.

UPDATE II: I'm thinking Mad Dog Vinnie needs to be delinked for this. Those pics were for private use........

On a related note, Digger's Realm celebrates 1 million visitors.

Posted by: Rusty at 04:37 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Caption this picture of Rusty at last year's American Political Science Association meeting

Winner will be announced on Monday.

We have a winner!

phin, for:

"After going years without a fatwa Dr. Rusty Shackleford finally suffered a mental breakdown. Dr. Shackleford now resides in the Tattooine Pastures Mental Facility, he can be seen wearing only depends and reenacting his favorite scenes from Star Wars during visitor's hours."

Honorable Mention:

Mr. Venom, for:

"I see your Schwartz is as big as mine..."

Make sure to check next weekend, I may have a picture of Rusty from THIS year's meeting for you to caption.

Muahahahahahaha!

Posted by: Vinnie at 04:30 PM | Comments (27) | Add Comment
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Originally posted at Sacred Cow Burgeres

Via David and Laura

Posted by: Drew at 03:26 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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Al Jazeera has enough chutzpah to call the men who executed 15 civilians 'fighters'. Unfortunately I don't have enough chutzpah to call al Jazeera a news organization. Instead, I'll settle for propaganda arm of murdering terrorists.

Cindy Sheehan's freedom fighters at it again.......

Al Jazeera:

Fighters have executed 15 Iraqis after ambushing their vehicle on a road north of the city of Falluja, police said.

The armed men ordered the passengers out of the vehicle and lined them up before shooting them in daylight on Sunday afternoon, police on Monday quoted witnesses as saying.

They did not specify whether the victims were civilians or off-duty security personnel but said they were believed to be from the neighbouring town of Saqlawiyah, in the Sunni Triangle.

Pools of blood covered the scene of the attack on the desert road, next to empty cases of pistol and AK-47 machine gun bullets, suggesting that the victims were shot from close range, an AFP correspondent reported.

The road was blocked for nearly 10 hours until tribesmen from the neighbouring Sunni town of Ramadi removed the bodies, police added.

Linked at OTB

Posted by: Rusty at 03:07 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Amid all the pessimism over the Iraqi Constitution, it looks like one of the largest Sunni parties may support it in the end. Let's hope they do.

I have been arguing to my students lately that the forces lined up for and against the Iraqi Constitution are engaged in a struggle over symbolic politics. Sunnis object to the Constitution not on its merits, but because it symbolizes Iraq's defeat. The Constitution legitmizes the U.S. occupation and thus must be opposed, in their eyes. The details of federalism really don't matter.

Thankfully, symbolic politics only have subjective meanings. The same Sunnis who choose today to see the Constitution as a symbol of defeat and Arab subjegation to some Neocon-Zionst plot, may be able to view that same document in the future as a triumph of democracy over the Arab socialist fascism of the Saddam Hussein regime.

Al Jazeera:

One of Iraq's biggest Sunni parties has said it might back the country's constitution, despite calling for changes to a text agreed by the Shia-dominated parliament.

The Iraqi Islamic Party, a multi-ethnic group seen as moderate Islamist and opposed to violence, said on Monday that there was still room for negotiation on the constitution.

"We have not signed the constitution and we still have the time starting from now until the referendum comes.

"[But]we might say yes to the constitution if the disputed points are resolved," party general-secretary Tariq al-Hashmi told a news conference....

Earlier, hundreds of people marched in the city of Tikrit to protest against the constitution, witnesses said.

They carried photographs of the former president Hussein and held up banners saying "No to the Zionist-American-Iranian constitution". Some Iraqis say the Shia-led government is too close to Iran.

Posted by: Rusty at 02:58 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Ian at the Political Teen has a great Cindy Sheehan video. Is it just me, or do you also find it hard to believe that this chick is really fed up with bush? more...

Posted by: Rusty at 01:48 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Mister Snitch:

Lincoln did censor the press during the Civil War. His administration took control of telegraph lines, temporarily shut down disloyal newspapers and denied them access to the mails (the primary means of communication in a world before phones, radio, TV, etc.), and arbitrarily arrested editors.

Most US wars have been waged under censorship restrictions. World War I saw some press controls reminiscent of those enforced during the Civil War. Congress passed the Sedition Act and the Espionage Act, giving the Postmaster General the authority to censor the mails. President Wilson created the Committee on Public Information and the National Censorship Board. His Secretary of War took control of telegraph and phone lines leading out of the US. Some editors were arrested.

During World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt created the Office of Censorship and the Office of War Information. The Army and Navy likewise imposed censorship restrictions.

I believe I've been saying something like this for, er, how long now?

Censorship in a State of War
How we Lost the War in Iraq

Hat tip to, well, er, just about every body I know!

Posted by: Rusty at 01:33 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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I love news like this. more...

Posted by: Rusty at 12:44 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Security officials are warning that an al Qaeda attack is likely at the upcoming Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit meeting scheduled to meet in mid-November in Busan, Korea. President Bush is scheduled to attend the meeting.

While there will be heavy security around APEC officials, including President Bush, recent attacks in London indicate that terrorist may target soft-targets, such as transportation centers, or the capital of Seoul. Let's hope the South Koreans pull together security before the meeting takes place.

Al Qaeda has threatened South Korea in the past and a ring of Religion of Peace militants was broken up in that country last year. Members of al Qaeda's Southeast Asian sister-organization, Jemaah Islamiyah, would probably be those most likely to carry out the attacks. more...

Posted by: Rusty at 12:27 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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A ship carrying relief supplies to war-torn Somalia was captured by Islamist militants two motnths ago. Unfortunately, the mostly Kenyan crew is still being held hostage. Many Somali 'militias' have close ties to al Qaeda. It was an al Qaeda trained militia that fought American soldiers in the Mogadishu battle made famous by the movie Black Hawk Down.

more...

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Follow the link. Read the post. Be afraid.

Posted by: Rusty at 11:59 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Remember that other war we're fighting? You know, the one in that country where the U.N. is in charge of rebuilding and where NATO is in charge of security, yet, despite all that international cooperation there is still an active insurgency? Yeah, that country. It looks like we got another one. Unfortunately, just like in Iraq, kill a terrorist and another one takes his place.

CNN:

U.S. forces have killed a senior Taliban commander responsible for a spate of attacks in southern Afghanistan, the U.S. military says.

The man, identified as Payenda Mohammed, was in command of more than 150 Taliban fighters in Uruzgan province. He was killed along with three of his men in a battle last week, a U.S. military spokesman said.

"He was known for conducting rocket attacks, ambushes, guerrilla-style attacks and setting up illegal checkpoints," Colonel Jim Yonts told a briefing....

U.S. A-10 aircraft and attack helicopters were called in after the insurgents took up positions in some caves. Vehicles and weapons were later found in the caves, he said.

In a separate clash, six Taliban fighters were killed in a battle with police in Zabul province in the south on Sunday, a provincial official said.

Posted by: Rusty at 11:55 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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With the upcoming midterm elections and even the Presidental race that is still off in the future, it's beginning to look like there's no way to get someone in the office who is both a social conservative and an economic conservative. Certainly Bush is as socially conservative as possible (except on Immigration), and yet his economic policies have left something to be desired.

Since this seems to be the type of person that seems destined to run for most of the next elections, I'm curious as to what is going to be important to you and why. So please take a minute to go here to answer a quick poll and tell us what you think. If you want to expound on why you chose what you did, please feel free to respond to the comments section of the poll (or here) with more infomation.

Personally I'm fairly torn over the whole issue. Obviously our economy needs some help. Yes, unemployment is looking good, but spending is still somewhat out of control and we darn sure haven't fixed anything when it comes to Social Security. So with that in mind, we need someone to hold some really tight economic reigns on this country for a few years and get everything straightened back out.

However, I personally cannot vote for someone who is pro-abortion. My beliefs on the whole issue simply won't allow it. Of course this puts me in a fairly akward position for the next elections and I'm pretty sure that one of my hardline stances is going to get short-shrifted.

But let's see what all of you think about the issue. Don't forget to go here and vote.

Posted by: Drew at 08:30 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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BREAKING: An anonymous source tells The Jawa Report that, despite media reports, the end of the world is not yet upon us. The source indicates that we are not, in fact, doomed!....DOOMED!!....DOOMED!!! as MSM sources suggest.

"Hurricanes," say our source, "are local phenomenon. "If you live in Portland, OR, for instance, you are probably not going to be flooded out of your home."

Further, the source suggests that there may actually be news other than Hurricane Katrina. Some of this news is reported to be more important. The Jawa Report could not confirm this.

Developing......

Posted by: Rusty at 08:09 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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WAPT is reporting that the New Orleans SuperDome may be failing.

A reporter inside says he is being "rained on" and it is becoming more like a "thunderstorm." People are clearly concerned but are not panicking.

Cross-posted at OpinionBug.com

Update (8/29/2005 9:10am):

From WABT: A 3 foot piece of the SuperDome's roof has blown off and sky can be seen through it.

People on the field are being moved off because it is no longer safe.

Some debris has also fallen through the roof.

Posted by: OpinionBug at 07:28 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The media are actually underplaying the catastrophic consequences of Katrina. It will change history. The only questions are how much and in what direction? (h/t: Glenn)

Posted by: Demosophist at 07:35 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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Category 5 yes 5 Hurricane Katrina is threatening New Orleans. ItÂ’s a big one.

The storm was moving west-northwest at nearly 12 mph and was expected to turn north-northwest. Forecasters said the weather would start getting rough late Sunday and the eye would strike land early Monday.

The President urged evacuation.

I urge all citizens to put their own safety and the safety of their families first by moving to safe ground," Bush said.

FOXNEWS Sunday reveals the democratic plan for winning the war.

WALLACE: Senator Dorgan, what's the Democratic plan? What specifically would your party do differently in conducting this war?

DUNCAN: Well, first, I mean, this is not about good news or bad news. You know, the fact is we need to get the facts straight about what's happening in IraqÂ…Â…..BLAH BLAH BLAH.

Nice plan.

Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. See got that right this time. Has an easy job pointing out But sir you have not answered the question.

Terror attack in Beersheba injures 21. Captains Quarters has more.

Twenty-one people were wounded Sunday, two seriously, in a suicide bombing at a central bus station in the southern Israeli town of Beersheba, Israeli officials said. ...

I see this goes right along with the Hamas “peace” plan.

We did not achieve the liberation of the Gaza Strip without this holy war and this steadfastness," he said, adding that attacks should continue until Israel is eradicated. Israel's obliteration is Hamas' ultimate goal. Sr. Commander Mohammed Deif.

I see peace by obliteration. Hmm interesting conceptÂ….

Russia gives US senators a hard time. LetÂ’s be sure and see that Lugar and the rest have to say when they get back.

Sens. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and Barack Obama D-Ill., were held at the airport in Perm but allowed to leave after discussions between U.S. and Russian officials, the embassy spokesperson said on condition of anonymity. The spokesperson also said Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., was delayed in departing from another Russian airport Sunday because of documentation problems.

OK long post. Also the Iraqi constitution will be voted on who knows Ace has his two cents here as well as good hurricane info and other news.

See below the break. From my Illinois Republican newsletter you know. Its good to see the party addressing these issues. See below for the party policy statement on ethics & other good stuff for those of you who are into that kind of stuff

more...

Posted by: Howie at 01:51 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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(Lodi, California) The Lodi Muslim community has been rocked by two prominent citizens being implicated in a federal terrorism investigation.

From ABC7News.com:

Hamid Hayat is accused of lying about attending a terrorist training camp in Pakistan. His father, Umer Hayat, was also arrested for lying about his son's involvement.

Muslim leaders in Lodi say since those arrests, a man who'd forged deep ties in the community has now disappeared. Federal prosecutors have revealed they did have a cooperating witness in Lodi, but did not name the person.

In my estimation, we would probably benefit by having more moles.

Posted by: Mike Pechar at 12:25 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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How come the Moonbats aren't protesting Canada over that countries holding of Hassan Almrei, an al Qaeda linked terrorists, for the past four years without being charged? But I thought it was Bush-Hitler that was the only one that did that? The terrorist in question has been on a hunger strike for 65 days. It's not so much his impending deportation to Syria that's bugging him as much as it is the lack of TV in his cell......

Missaugua News:

His closest friends say a Cooksville man accused of being a terrorist is near death as he enters the 65th day of a hunger strike.

A fading Hassan Almrei, 31, spoke to The News yesterday afternoon from the Metro West Detention Centre, where he has been held on a national security certificate for the past four years without being charged. The federal government and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) allege Almrei is linked to terrorist kingpin Osama bin Laden....

Almrei, a Syrian refugee who came to Mississauga in 1999, is protesting provincial correctional services rules that allow him just 20 minutes a day outside of his cell, and no television or radio in his solitary confinement cell.

"I've been here for four years without charge and under these conditions," he said. "This is something I would expect in Syria or Iraq, but not Canada, the country I came to for freedom. All I am asking for are simple human rights."...

Almrei said he wants an hour a day of fresh air, as well as a radio and television in his cell.

The government's decision to deport Almrei has already been upheld by the federal court.

Now the immigration minister must decide whether the risk Almrei poses to Canada outweighs the risk of Almrei being tortured upon return to Syria.

Meanwhile, Almrei is fighting to be let out on bail.

Several prominent public figures, including Alexandre Trudeau, the son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, and former federal New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Alexa McDonough, have offered to put up Almrei's bail.

File under hunger strikees we'd like to see succeed. This story is a couple of days old. It will be interesting to see if he chickens out at the last minute and eats.

Posted by: Rusty at 07:57 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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