Steve Emerson of the Counterterrorism Blog:

The American Civil Liberties Union has sent a letter (Acrobat) to Department of Justice calling for the dismissal of the remaining charges against former University of South Florida professor Sami al-Arian. Citing Al-Arian’s acquittal on 8 of the 17 charges against him, the ACLU claims that since “the two most serious charges” were thrown out, that al-Arian should be set free, and that such a move would demonstrate that the United States “welcomes religious and ethnic diversity.”

PIJ is not the only Palestinian terrorist group to find its way onto the ACLUÂ’s docket.

Earlier this month, the ACLU filed an amicus brief on behalf of Abdelhaleem Ashqar, an alleged Hamas operative indicted on racketeering charges along with Hamas’ deputy political chief, Musa Abu Marzook. The ACLU is attempting to suppress evidence by claiming that the FBI conducted an “illegal” search of Ashqar’s home in December 1993.

The ACLU have opposed every effort our government has tried to fight terrorism, and has defended the enemy at every chance they get. The ACLU carefully walk the line of treason. Many of us think they have crossed that line, and we are sick and tired of nothing being done about it.

Posted by: Rusty at 08:05 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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(Kabul) The Taliban has been intensifying its campaign against girls' schools.

From Xinhuanet.com:

Suspected Taliban militants set fire on a girls school Thursday night in Afghan eastern province of Laghman, a local police said.

"Last night at about 12 p.m. (8:30 p.m. GMT) some suspected Taliban militants blazed a girls school in Haidar area, but there is no casualty of school staff," Hizbullah, the spokesperson of the governor told Xinhua.

The spokesperson blamed Taliban to carry out this kind of attack, and said the investigation is still going on.

According to some reliable resources, four school staff have been kidnapped by the militants, but the spokesperson denied.

In the southern Kandahar Province where the Taliban previously had a stronghold, attempts to intimidate teachers and students at girls' schools have been ongoing. With these attacks against women, I wonder how in the world the feminists can consistently come out against the global war on terror. Logic would indicate that women's rights advocates should be first in line to support the Bush administration and its efforts to defeat the Taliban and other terror groups.

Companion at Interested-Participant.

Posted by: Mike Pechar at 02:51 AM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
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From The Jerusalem Post:

"The Palestinian Government is destitute, and in desperate financial straits. I hope that support for the new government will be forthcoming," Carter said at a Jerusalem press conference.

Carter, who has long supported the participation of Hamas in the Palestinian elections, voiced the hope that the Islamic terror group would act "responsibly" now that it had won the elections.

Posted by: Bluto at 12:01 AM | Comments (14) | Add Comment
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Hamas, won have we

Exterminate Jews we will

Allahu...

...
...
...

Hey? Is that a Hellfire miss

Posted by: Vinnie at 08:22 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Time to send Iranian president Maquaalude Ahmagonnadieforallah to the 72 Virgins Special Needs Center For Delusional Theocrats:

Iran has asked the United States to allow direct flights between the two countries after a break of more than two decades, a senior civil aviation official said on Thursday.

d00d, look, we know you haven't invented anything worthwile in hundreds of years, but really, if you want to nuke us, make yer own frigging ICBM.

Stop trying to use ours against us, you worthless sissy.

stein hoist to the blog grandfather

Posted by: Vinnie at 06:59 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Gee, my fish always died within 2 weeks.

Thanks, Phin! Now I have another excuse to tell the wife why I'm slamming brewskies.

Posted by: Vinnie at 06:44 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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From The US Department of State:

It is unlawful for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide "material support or resources" to a designated FTO [Foreign Terrorist Organization].

Posted by: Bluto at 06:21 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Wow sounds scrumptious especially after sitting on a shelf fermenting. Yum Yum. I thought I told Rusty not to eat this.

Hat Tip: Punk2.

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Posted by: Howie at 03:20 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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No, I'm not ignoring you, I've been sick. For the past 48 hours I haven't been able to keep any food down. Then suddenly, my appetite came back. So much so that I think I could eat an entire flash fried buffalo. And no, I can't wait 40 seconds.

I should be back to normal tomorrow.

Posted by: Rusty at 01:50 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Abbas [singing]: Oh Hamas! You repaid my abuse with raw hatred. But I need you today. Oh Hamas! When you blew up some Jews and you framed me. So they locked me away...

Maybe it's my recent re-reading of Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich talking, but someone stop me if I am crazy in seeing a few hard and fast similarities between Hamas and the late-1920s/early-1930s Nazi Party:

- both elected during times of minimal government control of the territory and in an area with a "poor" economic prospects, at best

- both groups gained fame as organizations for street thugs through open and unabashed violence

- both love a good outdoor ralley with pretty flags, weapons, and nationalistic chanting

- both love artistic posters in public places

- both appealed to the population with the promotion of territorial unification and seeking retribution against the Jews

- both were hoped to be "toned down" through elections and elevation within democratic offices, as world leaders rationalized that previous thuggish activities could never play well from a ruling government

Then again, there is one dissimilarity that really hits me. In November 1932, the last election before Hitler became Chancellor and the Nazis truly solidified power, the NSDAP only had 33.6% of parlimentary seats (down from the previous July, in which the Nazi held their greatest Weimar-era seat percentage at 37.8%). It seems that Hamas picked up about 57.5% of seats, with 76 out of 132.

I'm just sayin', is all.

Posted by: wineaholic at 01:30 PM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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While most Middle Eastern news outlets still have stories posted projecting a Fatah victory based on exit polling, a few have reacted to the real story. These two, from opposite sides of the Israeli-Palestinian fence, offer similar Pollyanna takes:

al Jazeera sees a tiny ray of sunshine:

And in a first sign of pragmatism, Mahmoud Zahar, a top Hamas official, said the group would extend its year-old truce if Israel reciprocates. "If not, then I think we will have no option but to protect our people and our land," he said.

"Now that they are in power, Hamas will have to take responsibility for the future. They will have to become more moderate. Now they are part of the democratic game and they will have to play by the democratic rules," Siniora said.

Siniora, a 69-year-old east Jerusalemite Christian, is publisher of The Jerusalem Times and a co-CEO of the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information. An early proponent of negotiations with Israel, he has long been involved in pro-peace activities. He was one of seven candidates contending for one of the two seats reserved for Christians in the Jerusalem district, but is unlikely to win the seat.

What's left are the dregs, mentally damaged barbarians who have bred a sick, twisted culture based on celebrating terrorist acts. What else can you say about a society that deifies degenerates who deliberately seek out children to murder?

Are there enough intelligent, mentally healthy Palestinians left to build a civilized society? I don't think so, but I'd be very glad to be proved wrong.

Also posted at The Dread Pundit Bluto .

Posted by: Bluto at 12:34 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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I’ve been reading all morning about the Hamas victory in the Palestinian elections. One thought has been with me all morning. While it may seem bad it’s actually a good thing. No longer can the PA hide behind the “It was Hamas” defense after bombings. No longer can Hamas play the relatively easy role of “opposition”. No the buck stops here, congratulations here you go! (thump!!). That’s the sound of total responsibility landing on your desk. Whatever happens, peace, war or prosperity the time for blaming the Israel or claiming oppression and corruption is over. Now a Hamas sponsored bombing can’t be dismissed as, “not our fault”, it’s an act of war by a state worthy of a real response. Hamas/PA is responsible to the entire Palestinian electorate and subject to all the blame, criticism, and general cynicism they have promoted for so long. Ask us Republicans/Conservatives we’ll tell you, with greater power comes greater responsibility. Watch what you wish for you just might get it.

BBC : The Hamas victory presents both the Palestinian political class and the international community with a huge dilemma. Washington and the EU, which have pressured the Palestinians to hold democratic elections, cannot now object to the outcome of the elections without laying themselves open to charges of hypocrisy. Crucially, the result has landed Hamas itself in a very difficult situation. It cannot be part of the Palestinian Authority and at the same time remain committed to what it calls the armed struggle.

And if Hamas and the Palestinians still want to wage war after that, then let the IDF roll across the West Bank and Gaza Strip and push the whole lot of them right into the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea. That's what total war means, and as soon as the world stops preventing the Palestinians from the risks of their own choices, the sooner they will conclude that war is the worst possible choice for them.

Hamas' role was greatly respected and embraced because it was a resistance movement," Sami Moubayed, a Syrian analyst, told The Associated Press.
"Now, they will naturally be prone to fail like any other movement that entered the political arena, because they will have a very hard time to deliver on their promises," he said.

The greatest stumbling block to peace in the Middle East is the refusal of Palestinians to accept the existence of the state of Israel. A Hamas lead government might be just the thing to realize that coexistence with Israel isn't so bad after all.
That's my hope anyway. As noted anti-Semite HL Mencken once remarked, "People get the government they deserve - and they deserve to get it good and hard."

The Filthy Report says :

So they say, "Habib, I vote for the guy who teach my kid instead of crook who steal all my money".. The thing is, the teacher is also the terrorist.

Ace Too.

Will it not be sweet to see Hamas have to deal? One thing for sure the plate is full, now dig in Hamas. I hope you are as hungry as you thought you were.

Posted by: Howie at 12:30 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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I ran into this post at Rightwingnuthouse and I can tell you itÂ’s not nutty at all. Damn good post, damn good questions.

Rightwingnuthouse : For almost three years, the conventional wisdom regarding Iraq WMDÂ’s prior to our invasion was that Saddam never had them, we knew it, Bush lied, and we invaded anyway because we wanted their oil, or to establish military bases, or because George Bush is a meany, or because the Jews told us to, orÂ…just because America is eeeevilÂ… Â…But something always bothered me about this conclusion, a nagging itch at the back of my mind. And that is the overwhelmingly belief by the worldÂ’s best intelligence agencies that Saddam did indeed have stockpiles of WMD in the six months leading up to the war. The French, the British, the Germans, The IsraeliÂ’s, the United Nations (UNSCOM and IAEA), not to mention the CIA, DIA, and most politicians here in this country... Â…ThatÂ’s quite a number of people to be dead wrong about such a huge issue.

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Posted by: Howie at 12:08 PM | Comments (18) | Add Comment
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The unabashed naivete of this man never ceases to amaze me. He does have one redeeming value.....as a negative barometer. Do the opposite of what he recommends and chances are it will prove to be the right move.

A day after Hamas swept to an upset victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections, former US President Jimmy Carter on Thursday said that Wednesday's voting had been orderly and fair.

"The elections were completely honest, completely fair, completely safe and without violence," the former president said.

Carter, who led an 85-member international observer team from around the world organized by the 'National Democratic Institute' in partnership with 'The Carter Center,' urged the international community to directly or indirectly fund the new Palestinian Government even though it will be led by an internationally-declared foreign terror organization.

"The Palestinian Government is destitute, and in desperate financial straits. I hope that support for the new government will be forthcoming," Carter said at a Jerusalem press conference.

Funding families of suicide bombers and diverting 100s of millions into Arafats private accounts tend to have that effect.

Companion OpiniPundit

Posted by: Traderrob at 11:50 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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It is now seven days from the deadline set by the terrorists who kidnapped her. Today the Christian Science Monitor has published some of the letters they have received in support for Jill. Among the letters is one from Susan Hallums, the daughter of Roy Hallums, who was held for many months before his rescue.

Susan Hallums VIA CSM : I am praying for the safe release of Jill Carroll in Iraq. She was there to help the people of Iraq. She is a good, kind, giving person who put herself there to give to and to teach Iraqis. My family suffered for 311 days while our loved one Roy, a contractor in Iraq, was being held hostage. It was so difficult to keep going before his release. If we can help Jill's family in any way, we are here for them. Stay strong and keep the faith. We have a website: hostagefamilymatters.com.
Susan Hallums
Corona, Calif.

Patrick Kerr Via CSM : I was a public affairs officer with the Marines in Iraq last year and had the privilege of working with Jill on several occasions. Her professionalism and objectivity were unparalleled within the media community. I saw her in Husaybah, on the Syrian border, in early December shortly before I returned to the States. Aside from being very personable and down-to-earth, what really struck me was Jill's bravery. She seemed to fit right in with the Marines and Iraqi security forces. It is this attribute, I believe, that will see her through her current ordeal. My family and I will continue to keep Jill in our prayers. I am hopeful for her eventual release.
Patrick Kerr
New Orleans

Our prayers go out to Jill that she will be released unharmed.

See the Jill Carroll Acrhive for background.

Posted by: Howie at 09:36 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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(Jakarta, Indonesia) The planned publication and sale of Playboy magazine in majority-Muslim Indonesia has prompted angry protest (pic) from several groups. It's believed the magazine will destroy the morality of young people and the nation.

From Antara News:

The Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) Chairman Tarman Azzam has said every effort should be taken to prevent the publication of the Indonesian version of playboy magazine or the sellers should be arrested should the pornographic magazine reaches the children.

"If the magazine publication comes into being and their circulation reaches the children, the producers as well as the sellers should be arrested, and bring them to the court to make them afraid," Tarman said after inaugurating the temporary board members of the PWI here on Tuesday.

Several rejections to the planned publication of the Playboy magazine among other things came from Youth Affairs Minister Adhyaksa Dault, and the country's two largest Muslim organizations respectively Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU).

Interestingly, the Indonesian public protest and debate of a free press issue is in stark contrast to the way the Chinese communists deal with free speech. In Indonesia, a democratic (albeit Muslim) country, the controversy is open to public discourse and, presumably, a decision will be made in a democratic manner. Conversely, China, a police-state dictatorship, yesterday specified the manner which Google would censor information on Internet searches. No debate and no discussion allowed. It makes no difference what the public wants in China.

The Indonesian version of Playboy was licensed in November 2005 and is planned to hit the news stands starting in March for 40,000 rupiah (about $4.30).

Companion post at Interested-Participant.

Posted by: Mike Pechar at 08:36 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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Jay at Stop the ACLU sends word of two separate, and disgraceful, lawsuits.

First, ACLU lawyers are suing the government for barring Tariq Ramadan, a "scholar" from Switzerland, from entering the US. It might have something to do with Ramadan's ties to Islamist groups...and the fact that he was banned from entering France on suspicion of ties to Algerian terrorists. Read about this one here.

That's right. Not only does the ACLU not want the government intercepting terrorist communications to agents within the United States, now they want us to let the terrorists' recruiters in, too. ROTC should hire the ACLU.

For your further edification, Jay reports that psycopathic mass-murderer Saddam Hussein's lawyers are helping him file suit against the United States for "destroying Iraq". Read about this pathetic travesty here.

And don't you dare question their patriotism!

Also posted at The Dread Pundit Bluto and Vince Aut Morire.

Posted by: Bluto at 12:06 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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As I'm sure most people who follow the news are aware of by now an LA Times writer, Joel Stein, wrote a controversial piece insulting my career titled, Warriors and wusses. Mr. Stein is entitled to his opinion and he's been a pretty good sport about the criticism he's received due to his editorial that bashes the troops. However, I think as an American, a blogger and a service member I'm entitled to address Joel Stein directly.

Warriors and wusses is an interesting title. But I don't believe that Joel Stein intended it to be an insult to service members directly. I believe that Mr. Stein thinks that is you support the troops but not the war then you're a wuss with a misguided sense of direction. Joel Stein probably believes that most people that have a yellow ribbon of some sort displayed some where hate the President, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Conservatives but still want to support the troops. I honestly don't think it occurs to Mr. Stein that there are people out there that actually support the troops and our wishes on a grander scale than he imagines (he might now since he's written his editorial).

The fact that Joel Stein says that he thinks he would like the troops and admits he knows not a single US service member doesn't surprise me. Mr. Stein, you should seriously consider meeting some of us before you say you don't support us. We're just like you in almost every way the only thing that separates us from you, sir, is the fact we work for the Department of Defense and have probably been to more countries than you without spending nearly as much money. To help Mr. Stein along in meeting some of us I'd like to extend an open invitation to Joel Stein to come and spend some time with my daughter and me in our home in Colorado. I could invite some friends over and he could meet people from every branch of the Department of Defense if he so wanted.

I honestly don't think there is anyone left out there that supports the troops and not the war. Joel Stein's piece certainly indicates that support for Operation Iraqi Freedom has certainly started to dry up on the left side of the aisle. That dwindling support is even more apparent when you read left-wing blogs and listen to Democrats. However, when you step over to the right side of the aisle and the right-wing blogs support for me and my fellow service members couldn't be stronger. For the moment, we're the majority of America and it will probably stay that way due to articles like Mr. Stein's.

Joel Stein also points out that "people who pull triggers are ultimately responsible" for what the left considers the wrongs of the war. Mr. Stein stops short of saying that we should all be hauled in front of a war crimes tribunal but he certainly implies that we should be. He's more than welcome to think that. However, I'm not sure how his home would look after the world realized that there was no way the United States could defend itself and the Pentagon was now the Penta-gone. Mr. Stein states, "An army of people making individual moral choices may be inefficient, but an army of people ignoring their morality is horrifying." I think that Joel Stein's lack of knowledge about military service shines through on this one. I go to work every morning because I'm ordered to. I take courses because I'm ordered to. I better myself because it's expected of me. I live by a set of rules that makes the US Code look like a children's book and follow everyone of them to the letter because I made the moral choice to do so. I took my Oath of Enlistment very seriously and I'm very proud to continue to serve my nation and defend Joel Stein's right to write bad things about me and my second family.

All-in-all, I respect Joel Stein's opinion. I think it's a very misguided opinion and I'm more than willing to help him meet a few of his protectors and their families, however, I don't respect Joel Stein the person because of what he's written. Just like how he doesn't respect me even though he's never known or met someone even like me. If Mr. Stein reads this then we'll be on the exact same playing field. He's more than welcome to discuss morals with me at the time of his choosing.

UPDATE: Joel Stein Responds

Technorati Tags: joel stein, LA Times, military, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Department of Defense

Originally Posted at

Posted by: Chris Short at 09:05 PM | Comments (17) | Add Comment
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Michelle Malkin has a list of 25 ways to ignore Joel Stein and support our troops.

All of them are worthy, and I wholeheartedly support her effort.

So I'll give you Number 26. If you really, really want to support our troops, and you are of the proper age, then by all means, sign up and join them.

No, I'm not making some sort of "chickenhawk" argument here. I do not look down on people who haven't enlisted. It's none of my business how you plan your life. Not only that, the home front is every bit as important to the success of this war as the fighting fronts.

No big deal, really, just something to consider.

Posted by: Vinnie at 06:31 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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The American Thinker has posted a reply to Joel Stein's LA Times column written by serving Lieutenant Colonel Steve Russell. Stein, has admitted that he has absolutely no military expertise or knowledge, and thus would be completely incapable of performing LTC Russell's duties. Ironically, LTC Russell is a talented writer, and seems more capable than Stein at setting his thoughts down in a powerful way: more...

Posted by: Bluto at 06:26 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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