April 15, 2005

I Was a Member of the Taliban Before I Wasn't

Guantanamo prisoner admits to fighting on Taliban front lines against U.S. Goes home to Kuwait. Now claims he was really in Afghanistan working for an Islamic charity. Right. Is Nasser al-Mutairi taking truth telling lessons from John Kerry?

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The Left Is Just Dying to Believe the Terrorists

The Dread Pundit Bluto e-mails with some information he received from a friend of his serving at the Camp Bucca prison, Iraq. Follow the post carefully.

a) Terrorists post propaganda messages to Islamist forums.
b) Terrorist sympathizers translate the messages into English.
c) Translations are posted by 'alternative media' as fact.
d) Leftists revel in the propaganda and spread them as fact.
e) Gullible Europeans and college students believe the worst about America and our efforts in Iraq.

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Monty Python Star Opens Mouth on Iraq, Makes Ass Out of Self

And now for something completely different.

I believe Terry Jones should consult The Holy Grail before believing the reports he cites: A five ounce bird could not carry a one pound coconut!

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Lebanon Needs Your Help

lebanon_beirut_protest.jpg

The Cedar Revolution is incomplete. Support Spirit of America's efforts at helping the Lebanese take their country back from Syria and Iran. Every dollar helps.

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Iranian Troops Arrested in Iraq

Not surprising. The caveat on this is that the source is the Iranian opposition. Iran Focus:

More than 30 armed agents dispatched from Iran were arrested in the eastern Iraqi province of Diyala, according to sources close to the Iranian opposition PeopleÂ’s Mojahedin.

Sources said that the 30 agents were mercenaries of the elite Qods (Jerusalem) Force branch of IranÂ’s Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Thanks to OpiniPundit for the e-mail. He has more here.

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Karbala Car Bombing Mastermind Captured

It should surprise no one that the Karbala bombing, which killed over a hundred Shias, was an al Qaeda operation. Kuna:

A member of the Abu Musaab Al-Zarqawi group was apprehended by Iraqi security forces in the southern city of Karbala, police chief in the holy city Abbas Al-Husseini said.

Al-Husseini said in a press statement policemen in Karbala arrested Hamed Obeis, an Iraqi national who masterminded the killing of some foreigners and a number of policemen in southern Iraq.

Obeis, he added, was also behind a number of car bombs in and outside Karbala, which killed hundreds of Iraqis.

Thanks to the Astute Blogger for sending this to me.

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April 14, 2005

Al Qaeda Continues to Call Defeat Victory

A few days ago we brought you news that Abu Musab al Zarqawi's al Qaeda in Iraq had led an 'attack' against a Marine base in Western Iraq.

The score? 3 wounded Marines, 10-15 dead al Qaeda bitches.

Since that time the international terrorist loving media has been trying to claim that a U.S. counter-offensive against the nearby city of al Qaim is a bloody mess. Some of them go so far as to claim that the U.S. [wait for it...I know this will shock you...big surprise ending] is massacring civilians. Right.

Anyway the brave al Qaeda fighters released an announcement of their [again....steady....wait for it....just one more second] victory.

You can see it here. Almost funny in that kind of Charles Mansoneseque kind of way......

One of the suicide bombers who attacked the Marines turns out to be a Saudi named Hadi bin Mubarak al-Qahtani who is said to have 'grown eager' to 'martyr himself'. I was thinking maybe he meant 'pleasure himself' but that kind of fell on deaf ears.

These guys also consider sending teenagers on a suicide bombing mission to blow up street vendors bravery. Right.

What was that line from the movie Patton? You know, the one about the point of war not being about dying for your country but letting the son-of-a-bitch you're fighting die for his?

With all this talk of bravery over suicide bombings and victory over failed attacks, the next thing we might expect coming out of Zarqawi's mouth is the claim that decapitating bound and gagged civilians is some sort of triumph.

Oh. Wait. Nevermind.

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Tales. Of. Interest.

Just like Instapundit, but all in one post!

Religion of Peace & Intl:

John at Crossroads of Arabia and I have been going back and forth via e-mail on whether or not Stephen Schwartz in The Two Faces of Islam is just mildly wrong or really really wrong. Where we really disagree is over the meaning of the word extremist. Check out his post which started it all.

-Tim at Opinin Bug sends me a link to this story. Did we send it to Syria too?? Dumbasses.

Ribbit. Ribbit. Ribbit. Indeed.

Domestic Stuff

Brain Terminal has an interesting post on academia. Heh.

Pope and Schiavo not real news. Confederate Yankee has more.

Germans blame neocons (read J-O-Os) for making Catholic priests look bad. I'm sure the fact that a few of them were pedophiles had nothing to do with it...

-Kill. Bush. Now. Oh, and buy some shit while you're at it.

-So, wait, an American gets indicted for the Oil for Food scandal and Kofi walks? Yeah, sounds about normal.

-Jack Lewis makes Glenn Reynolds his bitch. That makes two of us Jack.

-Jason Smith has more on the Fannie Mae scandal. You said fannie.

Bloggie Stuff

-I've said it once, I'll say it again: Damn you Quinton!!

-Paul at Wizbang is Dan's bitch. Yes I like the word bitch. You got a problem with that, bitch?

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Hot Hezbollah Babe Blogging

Ok, I can't imagine many babes in Hezbollah land, but you can't blame Michael Totten for trying. Check out the photos he took while on a recent trip through Hezbollah occupied Beirut. Pretty scary stuff, I know.

On a more pleasent note, Totten e-mailed to assure me that as soon as he gets home there will be plenty of hot protester babe photos! So just wait for it.......

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Test Liveblogging at 2 p.m. (central)

I will be liveblogging the test I am giving my Introduction to American Politics class. It's not like I have anything better to do then. Plus, some of you might find it interesting to learn what it's like to be on the other side of the test taking table.

Until then, no posts. I haven't even really had time to answer e-mail in the last couple of days. Sorry. I'll try to get to it soon.

Liveblogging is now over. But you can see what I wrote in the extended entry below. Since I'm sure so many people find this, er, fascinating.... more...

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Soldiers Cleared in Sgrena Shooting

Not that we predicted this or anything. Remember, we are Sgrena central. This was a joint report, meaning the Italians seem to be on board with the findings. We will update this post later as the official report is due out sometime today. MSNBC:

Now, NBC News has learned that a preliminary report from a joint U.S.-Italian investigation has cleared the American soldiers of any wrongdoing and provides new details into the shooting.

Intelligence agent Calipari had just negotiated Sgrena's release from Iraqi kidnappers on March 4 when the two and a driver headed for the Baghdad airport in a compact rental car.

It was dark when the Italians turned onto a ramp leading to the airport road where the U.S. military had set up a temporary checkpoint.

The investigation found the car was about 130 yards from the checkpoint when the soldiers flashed their lights as a warning to stop. But the car kept coming and, at 90 yards, warning shots were fired. At 65 yards, when the car failed to stop, the soldiers used lethal force — a machine gun burst that killed Calipari and wounded Sgrena and the driver.

Senior U.S. military officials say it took only about four seconds from the first warning to the fatal shots, but insist the soldiers acted properly under the current rules of engagement.

The investigation failed, however, to resolve one critical dispute: The Americans claim the car was racing toward the checkpoint at about 50 miles per hour, the Italians say it was traveling at a much slower speed.

In Italy, agent Calipari was given a state funeral, but the investigation found he himself may have committed a fatal error. He reportedly chose not to coordinate his movements with the U.S. military for fear it would jeopardize his efforts to free the Italian hostage.

Now you'll excuse me while I go celebrate. Hat tip Seeker.

Boughyah notices that WaPo, NYT, LA Times passing on the story. Is this true?

Others: Wizbang, Catscape, No-Oil-For-Pacifists, Powerline, Goldstein

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Jihadi Troll on the Loose!

Reader Islamic Jihad is back. This is the guy who advocates killing all non-Muslim whites.

The more I read his crap the more I am convinced that The Babaganoosh is correct--this is some punk kid.

However, Canada has a large population of Muslim immigrants. And since Master Jihad decided to single out Sikhs of all people, it seems likely that he is the son of Indian or Pakistani immigrants.

Oh, and he has been banned. Allahu-akhbar!

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April 13, 2005

60 Minutes Interviews Lying Journalist Giuliana Sgrena (ironic)

60 Minutes will interview lying communist Italian journalist, Giuliana Sgrena. Do you think they'll do a better job than NPR's Sylvia Poggioli? Maybe:

Days before the Pentagon is expected to release the results of its investigation into what happened at the checkpoint, Sgrena tells Correspondent Scott Pelley that shortly after her release by insurgents, American soldiers in Baghdad opened fire on her car without any warning.
No warning? What kind of warning was she expecting at night speeding a long a road which has had more than its fair share of terrorist attacks?
contrary to claims by the U.S. Army, her car was not warned by hand signals, arm signals, flashing white lights or warning shots.
How exactly would she know if there were arm or hand signals sitting from the back seat of the car, on a dark night, as they rounded a corner? Further, Sgrena says in one (of the many contradictory) version of the story:
The Americans shone a flashlight at the car and then fired between 300 and 400 bullets at if from an armoured vehicle.
So the U.S. shone a light at the car before they started firing? You mean maybe they were trying to get you to slow down! And then started to fire at the vehicle 300-400 times.

Either the U.S. doesn't train it's soldiers well enough or they were firing warning shots!!! You lying scumbag.

You can see images of Sgrena's car here. You be the judge.

But what about Sgrena's later lie claim that the vehicle was fired on from behind? Wouldn't that explain why the photos show little damage to the car? All the damage is on the back side?

Remember, Sgrena claims she was fired on from an armoured vehicle, a 'tank' she called it in earlier interviews. If this is true, and who can tell what is truth and what is fiction coming out of that woman's mouth, that would mean the bullets probably came from a .30 caliber mounted gun.

Now look at the bullet hole in the front windshield. That is not an exit hole, it is an entrance hole. In the front. Unless maybe we're arming our soldiers with .22s?

Let's hope CBS calls Sgrena what she is: a propagandist and political opportunist whose lies constitute a blood libel against the U.S.

The online article is actually pretty promising and responds to much of Sgrena's lies. Pray that the TV version does as well.

Hat tip to Charles Johnson who is equally skeptical of CBS.

UPDATE: OpiniPundit gives his take on the interview. He was not impressed. more...

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Who Is Jean R. Cobbs? The Vegetative McCarthyism of the Left

By Demosophist

Virginia State University is an historically black institution located in central Virginia, just south of Richmond. It was originally established as part of the extensive land grant system of higher education that was set up across the country in the late 19th Century under the Morrill Act. To get right to the point, the university is currently administered in a manner that would probably make the Tweed administration look principled by comparison. Cronyism and nepotism are the rule rather than the exception. Many of the administrators have little academic or even managerial credibility, and the current President, a fellow named Eddie Moore, Jr., has been in charge since 1993. As an example of how the institution is run the VP/Provost, W. Eric Thomas, managed to wrangle an appointment for his live-in girlfriend as head of the nursing program, a person with no advanced degree in nursing.

Dr. Jean R. Cobbs is a renowned sociologist and venerable member of the faculty at Virginia State University, with over 30 years of experience. Her area of expertise is in Social Services, where she has taught and served as chair of a department that she created and for which she won accreditation. She has an Ed.D. from William & Mary, is on the State Board of Social Services, is a member of the advisory board of the Virginia Center on Aging, and is also chair the Human Subjects Committee. She has an exemplary record of teaching and scholarship. Her primary liability is that she's a conservative black woman. more...

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Nazis, the Holocaust, and Mormons

moses1.jpg Instead of apologizing for his absurd post earlier, Jay Tea digs the hole deeper. Where do I begin to respond?

First, what is offensive is not the Mormon practice of baptizing for the dead, but bringing the Holocaust into the debate. This is offensive for the same reason that calling people you don't like a Nazi is. The Nazis were so evil that to call someone a Nazi flippantly is to minimize the evil nature of the Hitler regime.

To single out Holocaust victims when objecting to the Mormon practice of proxy baptism for the deceased likewise. The Holocaust was a crime of singular and spectacular evil. By bringing the Holocaust into a theological debate over what seems to be an odd practice trivializes the evil that was done.

Further, to compare the practice with forced conversions is, well, just plain dumb. As far as I can tell the Mormons aren't actually converting anybody. Had Jay Tea bothered to read his own comments, he would have seen that Mormons do proxy baptism just in case the deceased becomes converted in the afterlife. They do not believe the proxy baptism is the mark of a conversion.

Of course, Jay Tea is right, this is an arrogant practice. But, er, so what? All religions teach that their religions are correct. And that means what exactly? It's the nature of philisophical debates.

But as much as it is arrogant it is equally selfless. That's the nature of proxy work. You do it for the benefit of others. Just think of Fonzi standing in for Richie Cunningham when he finally gets married but is off in the Air Force. See, the Fonz knows all.

As to Jay Tea's final point that the Mormons' renigged on an earlier promise to not baptize in behalf of Holocaust victims, Tom at INFDL notes:

The Mormon church as an institution does not have alot of control over who turns up on the database of names of deceased. It's mostly done privately by church members themselves. So how is the church itself supposed to completely stop it? Plus, is it just assumed that mormon church members are stealing the names of jews, with no relation to themselves? Right down the street from my folks' house there lives a jewish convert to the mormon church. Yup, him and his whole side of the family were jews who converted to the mormon faith. They're very devout, and like most devout mormons they will do their own geneology and perform this particular practice for them. So if ancestor rights are presumably owned by descendants, then the whole argument concerning "leave my ancestors alone" becomes much more complicated.
Let me also just take a moment to spank Sorta Pundit. Wait. Let me reword that. He likes to get spanked (he told me, I swear). Let me correct him.

They don't actually dig up your body, some dude just gets baptized on behalf of some dead guy. Again, they are not making you a post-mortum Mormon. They're just catching you. You know, just in case.

But what is really irritating is that a lot of people, like Sorta Pundit, take offense to Mormons telling dead people that they were wrong. I don't get it. Mormons are saying the same thing about the living. Yup, they think your atheism is wrong. Is that a surprise?

Why is it more offensive to say a dead person was wrong than the living?

The last time I checked the Catholics thought living Protestants were wrong, and vice-versa. Oh and Wesley had this slight disagreement with the faith of Calvinists, etc.

*****Exclusive*****Must Cite Jawa Report*****

Pope still Catholic. Archbishop of Canterburry still Anglican. Dalai Llama still Buddhist.

More breaking news as it happens......

Sobek and Aaron have the humorous take. And yes Aaron, very funny.

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Pop Quiz: Which Religion Escapes the Ire of Marxist States?

Wait, wait, I know this one. It's the Mennonites, right? Right.

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Hostage Video: American Jeffrey Ake urges US to Leave Iraq (UPDATED)

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A video of an American civilian contractor taken hostage in Baghdad on April 10th has been aired by Al Jazeera television. The victim's name is Jeffrey Ake.

Our earlier report on Jeffrey Ake is here. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad now confirms Mr. Ake's identity. As with Roy Hallums, the State Department did not confirm his identity until after a video tape was released.

Links to video will be posted here as soon as they are available.....

Al Jazeera reports:

The tape on Wednesday showed a man sitting behind a wooden desk as three men pointed their guns towards him.

He was holding what looked like a passport and a photo identification.

Al Jazeera did not release audio of the tape. The network has come under increasing fire for its airing of hostage videos produced as propaganda.

SMH reports:

The hostage, who was shown surrounded by gunmen, called on the US administration to "open a dialogue with the Iraqi resistance" and strive to save his life, Al-Jazeera said.

He also urged US forces to promptly pull out of Iraq.

The demand is standard for these types of videos. However, what is new is the demand for dialogue between the U.S. and insurgents.

Could this be a further sign of the weakening of the insurgency?

Since there was no money demand mentioned, it also is very unlikely that those responsible for this kidnapping are financial opportunists. However, part of the deleted audio may have made a ransom demand.

Further, this is not the M.O. of the usual terrorist suspects. While I cannot say for certain, the video does not appear to show the banners of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al Qaeda in Iraq, The Army of Ansar al-Sunna, or The Islamic Army of Iraq.

Hat tip to James Joyner who e-mailed me about this while I was in class. He's also all over this one.

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UPDATE 12:09: More information on Jeffrey Ake. According to WISHTV, Ake is from Northern Indiana. He is the President of a Rolling Prairie, IN, based water company, Equipment Express.

According to a local news article dated November 19, 2003, and reprinted at Equipment Express' website:

Equipment Express is again helping with the rebuilding effort in Iraq.

A Western European country that company president Jeff Ake couldn't identify because of contractual reasons hired the Rolling Prairie company to construct an integrated system that will provide water bottles to be sold in Baghdad.

A second system for Iraq will be built in January.
Equipment Express began construction on the system Nov. 3, completed the work Tuesday and will ship it out today. It should arrive in Baghdad around Christmas.

"We're called Equipment Express because we are fast. It's exciting to be part of the rebuilding effort," Ake said.

From another article on their website:
Equipment Express constructed "An integrated system that provided water bottles to be sold in Baghdad ... they have also constructed a machine that fills edible oil into containers to be used by Iraqi residents," according to information on the company Web site.
And one more:
A fast growing Rolling Prairie company will be helping the humanitarian effort in Iraq.

A manufacturer Friday asked Equipment Express, 4744 E. Oak Knoll Rd., if it could construct as quickly as possible a machine that will fill edible oil into containers to be used for the millions of recently liberated Iraqi people....

Not everyone will drop what they're doing to manufacture the machine, but "there's a fair amount of effort being put into it. There will be some overtime."

Much of the Middle East needs the edible oil because it's used in so much of the people's cooking.

"It's extremely important to that culture, to cook almost anything. If they have grain, clean water and oil, they are able to feed themselves."

This isn't the first time Equipment Express handiwork has benefited the Middle East. Water treatment systems that include bottling, rinsing, filling and labeling capacities were built here and are being used in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Once again insurgents capture a man in Iraq attempting to improve the standard of living in that country....

UPDATE 12:45: It appears that Jeffrey Ake was also a nationally recognized export specialist. His name appears frequently as a convention speaker on the subject.

UPDATE 12:50: White House chimes in....KHNL

White House press secretary Scott McClellan describes the situation as very "sensitive," adding that the administration is in touch with the family of the missing contract worker.

But he says U-S policy calls for no negotiations with kidnappers.

What is it a video that is so powerful? Ake has been missing since Sunday, and we have been reporting it since Monday, yet no widespread media coverage.

Another American was just kidnapped in Iraq. His name is Mohammed Monaf. No video, no coverage. It's sad.

Or what about the other American hostages being held? Roy Hallums, Dean Sadek, Tim Bell, and Bill Bradley? Or of the missing Army Spc. Keith Maupin?

Developing........

Others: Mike King, Chad Evans, Secure Liberty, Rooftop Report

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Muslims in NY: "next time we will get all of NYC"

This. Is. Outrageous. A woman retells her many run ins with an al Qaeda linked group which was given permits to protest by the Dhimmi government of New York City.

Global Politician:

I went over to the group, to inform them that I believed they were overstepping their permit, because of the sound system and because they were on both sides of the street. As I crossed to them, I observed their placards on the street (typical al-Muhajiroun stuff : US the real terrorist, oppose the war on terror, God hates the US because they have Homosexuals, restoration of the Caliphate, pictures of Abu Gharab, 9/11 pictures saying it was justified, etc..)...

They were telling me how wicked America and I was. A
member of the group was also telling me, "we will kill you", and "next time we will get all of NYC".

A man punched me in the face, knocking of my glasses. These were not just a group of individuals. These people (that started the demonstration) were men in their 20's who were radicalized, mostly from the Mid-East, who were controlled by one elder man. They had great discipline that you would not see in just a mob. They were also videotaping this whole incident, with the elder man shouting "film this, it will get us more recruits."

Any way the police came finally. After a few minutes finding out about the incident, they took me away alone. This even after I informed them that I was assaulted, a fact which was verified by a few witnesses. When I asked the officer why they did not bring the people who assaulted me in, I was told that "since 9/11 we have to bend over backwards for them."

more...

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Canadian Reader Love Mail: 'Kill All Infidel White People'

It's not so much irony as it is ironical when followers of the religion of peace a) blame Christianity for the rise of Hitler, then b) claim Jews are the root of all evil in the world then c) go on and on about racists, and then d) advocate killing all non-Muslim white people.

By the way, the man who only identifies himself as 'Islamic Jihad', is from Calgary, Alberta, Canada and subscribes to Shaw Cable. So if you're in Calgary, you might just want to watch your back. I'd be on the lookout for a young man, probably of Pakistani or Indian origin.

You mutha fuckers should have stayed out of Iraq now we have to see innocent people get killed.You Stupid white mutha fuckers ,yah specialy Bush.

The root to this world problems are jews ,Christans and fucken idol
worshippers (Hindus,Sikhs and Buddaist). But the main problem in the
world is Christian nations there the ones who fucken influenced Hitler to
kill Jews even though the bastard was one himself,they also influenced
imperialism world wide for their greedy asse's.Many people were
slaughter when these so called fucken pilgrim Christians came to to North
America.

Also these Goddamn bastard were too racist to bring jews to Canada
or The U.S so yah lets give them Israel so they can fight people from
another religon for land because selfish Chritian nations did'nt accept
jews and they thought maybe people in Palestine would.Not to metion all
the sufferin Muslim brothers go through beacause of fucken Jews,Bosanains,Serbians and other white mutha fuckers.

Until white people convert to our religion or stop being racist I say kill them all.They have been Tyrants of this world for too long.They formed racist groups like the KKK,Skinhead and those pussy Nazi.Oh yah that bitch Hitler or any of those KKK son of a bitches never had the guts to step up to a Muslim nation beacause we would whop their asse's like we did a thousand years ago with those Christian Crusade bastards.

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April 12, 2005

Maybe Bin Laden Just Needs a Job?

Actual Reuters headline: Palestinian Gunmen Sign Peace Pledge for Jobs

Gunmen. You know. Members of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Fatah.

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