Islamofascism | MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy

Archive for the 'Islamofascism' Category

(Chronologically Listed)

A timeline we can belive in

In 1982, he was involved in a coup attempt in Kenya. He was convicted and served 8 years in jail. He denied his involvement until the statue of limitations had expired. Then in his book, he boasts of it. Had he been convicted of masterminding it, he goes bye bye.

2006 - Obama campaigns in Kenya for Odinga opposing our current ally in the Kenyan government. This government has helped us round up terrorists in the region. They have been one of the few stable governments in Africa. The State department calls him naive.

August 2007 - Odinga is running for the Kenya presidency. He signs pact with muslim areas saying that if he’s elected he will do certain things for them including:

1. He will implement Sharia courts in the areas that are 40% or more muslim within 6 months.
2. He will expand it to nation wide in 12 months.
3. He will implement islamic law including female dress codes. Even non-muslim women must comply
4. All religions outside of Islam will be banned from the public.

December 2007 - Odinga loses by 200k votes (1.2%). Odinga refuses to accept result and urges his followers to take the streets and riot.

December 2007/January 2008 - Muslims killing Christians, Hindus, Atheists, etc. Women and children are hacked to death by machettes.

In one case, women and children were locked into an assemblies of God church after the men were killed. The church was burned to the ground and the women and children inside were burned alive. Any who escaped the flames where machetted to death.

Even after Odinga refuses to stop the killing and riots, Obama calls him and backs him. His spokesman confirms the call took place but says the call was to talk about the destabilising crisis. Yeah, like we can believe that. Odinga brags that he has Obama’s support and the Kenyan government caves. Odinga is rewarded for it with a post: Prime Minister.

Another international thug supported by Obama.

But hey, you don’t need to know about that. Sarah Palin bought some new nail polish and that is much more important since no one buys nail polish. What a terrible woman…

highest judge in uk says sharia is fine by him

What a twat.

Lord Phillips said: “It is possible in this country for those who are entering into a contractual agreement to agree that the agreement shall be governed by law other than English law.”

Therefore, he said, he could see no reason why Sharia law should not be used to settle disputes in this country.

He said: “There is no reason why principles of Sharia law, or any other religious code, should not be the basis for mediation or other forms of alternative dispute resolution.”

Like, say, cutting off somebody’s head, or stoning them to death?

Apparently not.

“Part of the misconception about Sharia law is the belief that Sharia is only about mandating sanctions such as flogging, stoning, the cutting off of hands or death for those fail to comply with the law,” he said.

“In some countries the courts interpret Sharia law as calling for severe physical punishment. There can be no question of such courts sitting in this country, or such sanctions being applied here.”

So it’s a misconception, based upon how Sharia is actually applied in countries that use it? So not a misconception at all, really, more of a conception. But he won’t have any of the barbaric stuff. No sir. He’s going to allow Sharia-Lite™ the new, improved extra-judicial system made from tangy oranges and juicy mango - only 8 calories per serving!!

I can’t even begin to comment upon this, except to say that having a contractual agreement governed by a law other than UK law might sound fine. But this gentleman lets the cat out of the proverbial bag:

Mahmud Al Rashid, spokesman from the Association of Muslim Lawyers, said: “There is massive misunderstanding about what Sharia is. It is not a single law.”

No, it certainly is not. It’s a hodge-podge of subjectively-applied Koranic interpretations by largely unschooled Muslim clerics - with no system of appeals, rules of evidence, consistent procedure, or any other component of legal systems in the developed world.

In other words, it has no place in the civilized west, and this clown should have his fucking law license revoked for saying anything to the contrary.

Abdulkarim Al-Khaiwani Sentenced

The same miserable, corrupt Yemeni government that set the USS Cole terrorists free has sentenced journalist Abdulkarim Al-Khaiwani to six years hard labor.

I. Am. Disgusted.

Thankfully, the US State Department has condemned the act. Not that the Yemeni government will give a damn, I suppose.

Press Statement
Sean McCormack, Spokesman
Washington, DC
June 9, 2008

Yemeni Journalist Sentenced

The conviction and sentencing of Yemeni journalist Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani to six years in prison points to a distressing trend in Yemen of intimidation and prosecution of independent journalists in criminal and security courts. Al-Khaiwani’s sentence has been condemned by both Yemeni and international journalism and human rights NGOs.

Al-Khaiwani himself has been the victim of violence, intimidation, and kidnappings that the Government of Yemen has yet to fully investigate and prosecute those responsible. We call upon the Government of Yemen to protect Yemeni journalists and their right to free expression in the pursuit of their profession. A free and independent media is a key component of a democratic society.

Jane Novak has much more, with lots of international reaction.

More to come as the next plan of action is determined.

Al-Khaiwani Update

A few updates for today:

First, the really important news! The sentencing for Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani has been postponed until next week. Jane says the government is putting it off, that “it’s a ploy to wait until attention is focused elsewhere.” Our efforts are having an impact!

Also postponed, the trial in the lesser known but just as stupid case of Fahd al-Qarni, a singer/comedian who is charged with attempting to overthrow the regime with a song. Yes, really: (al-Qarni) has been charged with inciting an armed overthrow of the government and insulting the President.

A song. I’d laugh at the stupidity, but it’s so outrageous it’s hard to laugh. (God only knows what happens to cartoonists there!)

Keep spreading the word and pushing for signatures! We can do this - so often we wish blogs could do more; and while this isn’t as close to us personally as other things, we can have a real impact on people’s lives.

Next, International journalist unions call for charges to be dropped:

No one knows better how retarded the charges are than the other Arab journalists.
International Federation of Journalists Statement:
[...]
Journalists’ Unions and Associations representing thirteen different countries from throughout the Arab World and Iran meeting in Casablanca at a regional meeting of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called upon the Yemeni authorities to drop charges against journalist Al Khaiwani and to take measures to guarantee his safety.

This call is also supported by the National Union of Journalists in the United Kingdom and Ireland, the Deutscher Journalisten-Verband, and Deutsche Journalistinnen- und Journalisten-Union (dju) in ver.di and the East African Journalists’ Association.

Now, as a reminder for us, Conservative Belle has a must-read post today: Population, Privilege, Prestige, Pride and Power - The Five Reasons We Are Obligated to Fight for Democracy

At the time of this writing, there were 1172 signatures on this petition. Of that number, based on Jane’s reports, at least two or three hundred of these signatures are a direct result of the NZZ story. But in America, between the story in the New York Times and at least 50+ stories in the blogosphere, we could only generate approximately 800 signatures for freedom and democracy? This is shamefully pathetic. So now I’m going to take us to task for it.

Are we so arrogant, lazy, selfish and apathetic that we cannot take 30 seconds to click and sign this petition for a man who is willing to be separated from his family or even worse, possibly die for journalistic freedom and truth? How can the Yemeni government possibly be intimidated by a petition if Americans don’t even appreciate the very freedoms we have by signing it?

We have this huge population. We have people willing to fight and die to protect our freedoms and provide them for others. There is safety in numbers in this affluent nation of ours. The number of signatures on this petition should be overwhelming just based on our population. Why aren’t they there?

Amen, Vivian. See, while Karim al-Khaiwani is eternally grateful (as is Jane) for what’s been done so far, I’ve been a little disappointed. I’m not going to name names, but there are some big blogs linking to this, and I don’t see those bloggers’ names on the thing, much less the numbers one would expect to see considering the traffic they get. This isn’t about linky love for Jane, it’s about a man’s life.

THANK YOU to those of you who have signed, and who have tolerated my incessant nagging. You know who you are, and your support is deeply appreciated.

But for those who haven’t, I wonder, is it because al-Khaiwani is accused by the Yemeni government of “supporting terrorism?” I can understand why that would give some pause. Remember, the Yemeni government is the same government that FREED THE USS COLE BOMBERS. Obviously they aren’t ones to speak of who is “supporting terrorism.” Read through Jane’s archives - the regime’s hands are drenched in the blood of innocents, and they routinely charge liberal dissidents with absurd charges of sedition or support for terrorism because they (unfortunately, often correctly) believe it immunizes them from international criticism.
Anyway, does anyone question the dedication of the Jawa Report writers to fighting terrorism? They all support al-Khaiwani; they know he’s one of the good guys.

So what is it? Is it just apathy because it’s “just one guy” and people feel powerless? Is it because it’s “just” a letter? It is so much more than that - this is for all those like him, and the letter is making an impact. Imagine if there were ten times as many signatures, as there should be.

Is it because of having names publicly displayed? There is an option to have your name displayed as “Anonymous,” but I only see two “anonymous” signatures there. Is it because you don’t want spam? You don’t get spammed.

Isn’t this exactly what we should be supporting if we want to spread freedom in the totalitarian Islamic world? Wouldn’t it be better if they were able to have freedoms that we have without our government’s intervention? What if we had been able to do this for Iraqi dissidents under Saddam’s regime?

Vivian gets it.

We have the power to make a difference. In the past the Yemeni government yielded to outside pressure and a petition for al-Khaiwani when he was jailed on another occasion. Did you get that? He has survived this oppression before. Please don’t dismiss this as a waste of time or as something unlikely to have an impact. This is not the case.

Again, to those of you who have supported this - thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

For anyone else - if you’re reading this, I believe it’s your moral obligation as a free human being to step up to the plate. It only takes a minute. Sign it, blog it, just do it.

Still fighting for Abdulkarim Al-Khaiwani and Yemeni freedom

[This will remain at the top for a while; scroll down for new posts.]

A Blog That Makes a Difference - Armies of Liberation

I’m so lucky to call Jane (from Armies of Liberation) a friend, and this article about her just makes me burst with pride. Yay Janie!!!

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Jane Novak, a 46-year-old stay-at-home mother of two in New Jersey, has never been to Yemen. She speaks no Arabic, and freely admits that until a few years ago, she knew nothing about that strife-torn south Arabian country.

And yet Ms. Novak has become so well known in Yemen that newspaper editors say they sell more copies if her photograph — blond and smiling — is on the cover. Her blog, an outspoken news bulletin on Yemeni affairs, is banned there. The government’s allies routinely vilify her in print as an American agent, a Shiite monarchist, a member of Al Qaeda, or “the Zionist Novak.”

The worst of her many offenses is her dogged campaign on behalf of a Yemeni journalist, Abdul Karim al-Khaiwani, who incurred his government’s wrath by writing about a bloody rebellion in the far north of the country. He is on trial on sedition charges that could bring the death penalty, with a verdict expected Wednesday.

Right, remember him? Did you sign the letter? That’s what this is all about; Jane got an article in the New York Times, but as nice as it is to get some recognition, none of what she does is for personal glory or publicity for herself (in fact, she’s rather media-shy). It’s about liberation. Even while this article is in the New York Times, she’s working tirelessly for and worrying about al-Khaiwani’s verdict tomorrow.

It’s not too late. PLEASE, sign and pass on the word. The corrupt thugs in the Yemeni regime must be put on notice. A man’s life depends on it, and by extension, so do countless others like him who fight corrupt and brutal regimes.

The story, short version:

Renowned journalist Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani is one of Yemen’s most prominent democracy advocates - for which he has paid a steep price. His paper has been closed, his website blocked, and his children threatened. He is now due to be sentenced on May 21 for “insulting the president” and “demoralizing the military.”

During his arrest in June of 2007, Al-Khaiwani was beaten and his six-year-old daughter slapped unconscious. While released on bail in August, Al-Khaiwani was kidnapped and tortured by thugs who threatened his life if he continued to write about Yemen’s president.

As al-Khaiwani’s sentencing approaches, there is growing fear a guilty verdict will open the door for a brutal crackdown on Yemen’s already-endangered journalistic community. Join with al-Khawiani’s supporters in Yemen and throughout the world as we urge the Yemeni government not to imprison journalists for their work.

This is all you are asked to sign:

I write to protest Yemen’s prosecution of journalist Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani, who will be sentenced on May 21 for allegedly “insulting the president.”

Al-Khaiwani is an outspoken independent journalist repeatedly targeted by authorities. His newspaper has been closed, his website blocked, and his children threatened. Yemeni and international human rights groups have observed that the charges are simply political retribution and pose a serious threat to Yemen’s emerging free press.

Please intervene to ensure Al-Khaiwani goes free and that freedom of expression for all Yemeni journalists is protected.

That’s it. Will you sign your name to that simple statement on behalf of freedom?

http://campaigns.aicongress.org/yemen/

Barack Obama - Endorsements

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Barack Obama endorsements wallpaper, even! :D

I ♥ the Dissident Frogman. [Note to self: Must make a Mickey Mouse Obama for him.]

stein hoist Lance

More intellectual dishonesty from Democrats: McCain and Hamas

While I was at TPM earlier reading the Greg Sargent piece on the McCain blogger call, I noticed they’re pushing yet another lie - that McCain wanted to “negotiate with Hamas.” Haha. As if.

Thankfully, I don’t have to tear that lie apart, because Ed Morrissey has already done it.

The Left has had a field day with an expertly-clipped YouTube excerpt from a John McCain interview in January 2006, shortly after Hamas won the Palestinian Authority election. Former Clinton official James Rubin uses it for a dishonest attack on McCain, calling him a hypocrite for tying Barack Obama to Hamas while McCain supposedly supported diplomatic contact with the terrorist group. In doing so, Rubin and McCain’s opponents misrepresent both the Hamas issue and the larger context of McCain’s remarks.
[...]
The context here is crystal clear. McCain envisioned a possible change in Hamas from a terrorist group to a legitimate political party, one that recognized Israel and renounced violence. Under those conditions, McCain said that we could engage them in talks designed to establish peace, and only under those conditions.

More of the same distortions of the truth (aka lies) from the Lefty Liars, as usual. Nice try, chumps.

I wonder, will they go with this lie during the next blogger call?

Here’s the part they conveniently “forgot.” Notably, so did Obama (biggest liar ever to seek the Presidency, perhaps?)

DNC and Obama: Quit talking about us!

I know everyone’s already talked about this, but I’d feel criminally negligent if I failed to pile on. Besides, has anyone even BOTHERED to consider the fact that Bush was in Israel and was likely also referring to the suicidal Left (cough Olmert cough) in Israel that wants to appease Hamas, Hizb’allah, and Ahmadinejad?

Nevermind that, though - Obama and the Democrats, like everyone else, obviously saw themselves in this. Truer words never spoken, if you ask me. Waaaah! The truth huuuurts!

If the shoe fits…

More shoes for fitting -

Jim Geraghty: Obama: I Won’t Negotiate With Terrorists, Just Their Sponsors

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air: I wonder where he got that idea? Oh, yeah!

Quin Hilyer at the American Spectator: Obama Accepts Guilt, With Fellow Dems’ Help

Right Truth has a whole lot more: Know what happens when you ‘assume?’

Maybe it’s time to update my Twitter icon. Heeee!

Barack Obama Ahmadinejad logo

Bloggers Unite Action: Save Abdulkarim Al-Khaiwani

I’m re-posting this for Bloggers Unite for Human Rights today in hopes of getting some more eyes on this issue, and also to make sure you’ve gone to sign the letter to the Yemeni government and international human rights groups expressing opposition to the Yemeni governments suppression of freedom. Please also see this post with Abdulkarim Al-Khaiwani’s thanks to those who have and who will sign the letter.
Please DO THE RIGHT THING - stand up for democracy and freedom.
Re-posted text follows.

URGENT help needed, via Jane at Armies of Liberation, who is the go-to for news about the Yemeni dictatorship. A prominent pro-democracy journalist in Yemen is facing a jail sentence–again:

Renowned journalist Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani is one of Yemen’s most prominent democracy advocates - for which he has paid a steep price. His paper has been closed, his website blocked, and his children threatened. He is now due to be sentenced on May 21 for “insulting the president” and “demoralizing the military.”

During his arrest in June of 2007, Al-Khaiwani was beaten and his six-year-old daughter slapped unconscious. While released on bail in August, Al-Khaiwani was kidnapped and tortured by thugs who threatened his life if he continued to write about Yemen’s president.

As al-Khaiwani’s sentencing approaches, there is growing fear a guilty verdict will open the door for a brutal crackdown on Yemen’s already-endangered journalistic community. Join with al-Khawiani’s supporters in Yemen and throughout the world as we urge the Yemeni government not to imprison journalists for their work.

Al-Khaiwani stands on principle for free speech. When he was arrested in 2004 (for “insulting the president”), prison guards broke his jaw - yet he still refused to agree to stop writing. In June of 2007, he was re-arrested on similar charges and dragged outside in his underwear. After being released on bail, he abducted by gunmen who broke his fingers threatened to kill him if he “wrote another word against the president or national unity.”

Civil rights advocates inside Yemen and abroad believe the charges against al-Khaiwani are unsubstantiated and simply punishment for his critical reporting. In fact, one of the main pieces of evidence used against him by prosecutors is an unpublished article criticizing Yemen’s president.

All I ask is for you to send a letter–it’s already filled out, you just have to send it. You won’t get spammed or anything; you can opt-in for updates from them about freedom of the press in Yemen if you want. (Or you can just read Jane’s blog, like I do, and get other news as well, like the latest on the USS Cole bombers.) You can keep your name off the public list, too.

Jane tells me this is due to get some major media coverage in the region, so every bit of support is needed. Just one minute of your time, please. Click and send the letter.

McCain Blogger Call

I just got finished at today’s blogger call with John McCain. I take horrible notes from these things anyway, and I don’t have time at the moment to clean things up (gotta go get the little one from school) so I’ll post my raw, unedited notes ~~below the fold~~, and send you to Fausta’s blog for a much more coherent version. I’ll probably add more links (as well as links to the questioners’ sites) later.

NOTES:

Talked about this morning’s speech, what he wants America to look like after his first term in office. Aware that this depends on the good will of Congress, but he thinks these things are DOABLE and that Americans are tired of gridlock and partisan bickering.
We will have won in Iraq - Winning = Maliki govt in control, sporadic problems with terrorists, but IA will be handling the problems, will have security arrangement w/Iraq akin to Korea, post Gulf War I, etc. but troop presence is way down.
Wants to debate Obama on whether we are winning, surge is working.

Jennifer Rubin:
1. What is view of developments in Lebanon?
Proxy war btw US and Iran; UNSCR calling for Hez disarmament has never been enforced. BO wants to sit down with the guy who calls Israel “a stinking corpse,” WHY? What does he expect to accomplish with the state that sponsors terrorism and is responsible for the deaths of Americans?
2. Bush speech in Israel made DNC/BO go nuts
Bush said he wasn’t talking about Obama, he was talking about appeasement and there are plenty of examples to point to it. Reaction because it takes the highest degree of naivete and inexperience to think sitting down and chatting with the likes of the Iranians is going to help.

Michael Goldfarb (TWS):
What should be discussed w.r.t Iran?
Have Iran renounce intentions to “wipe israel off the map”
Get Iran to renounce ambition for nukes
Get them OUT of Iraq’s business
End state sponsorship of terrorism i.e. Hezbollah
Only then can negotiations take place - “preconditions” - Iranians can signal such intentions easily
Crocker says Iranians haven’t shown the slightest inclination to do this. What does BO expect to accomplish with these people? What do you want to talk to them about?
Chatting w/them enhances their prestige.

Jim Geraghty:
On Monday, NYT article said it’s not true that BO wants to negotiate with rogue states, how to combat these lies?
Hopefully rely on media and new media to tell the truth, and the American people knowing the difference? Plenty of examples where Obama isn’t held accountable for things he’s said and that are ON THE RECORD. Not just inconsistency, but outright contradiction

Weekly press conferences? Blogger calls too?
Will try to do them, because it’s very important to keep contact

Doug Lambert (Granite Grok):
“Doing what is doable” - sounds like what Newt’s said; have you been talking to Newt?
I’ve talked to him for years, and have listened to him on TV and read him. Would be pleased to have more conversations with him; he is a great thinker. Intends to talk to him more because he is a very smart person.
Not modeling Contract with America, nor the Reagan Revolution. Just believes in the same need for change and vision for the future.

Kate Shepard:
Climate change: not for subsidies but for nuke power?
- Problems with nuke power are our own making - goes back to Carter years, overregulation after Three Mile Island and Chernobyl ended up killing nuclear power generation; also Yucca Mountain issue
Wants to encourage research & development, including electric/battery powered cars
Unashamed and unembarrassed about support for nuke power.
Also for R&D on clean coal technology, as well as other tech.

Erin ~~Kovicka(?)~~ Kotecki -
Why announcing withdrawal timeline in 2013?
NOT a withdrawal timeline - see the speech. The withdrawal is an expected natural consequence of progress in Iraq. NOT a withdrawal timeline, and 2013 would be the end of his first term. Facts on the ground will dictate withdrawal.
Announce a date for w/d - enemy sits back and waits, then brings chaos and genocide when we’re gone and Iran moves in. Announcing date = announcing surrender.
What to do for troops?
Rec’d highest support from veterans organizations because they know he cares about not just nat’l security but their needs. Improving health care for vets, increase education benefits. GI Bill (Webb) - wrote letter to Webb about making it where it will encourage retention.

Joanne Bamberger:
Bipartisanship - what dems would you consider in your administration?
I don’t id specific posts for Democrats in my administration. I want best and brightest, and if it does happen to be a Dem, then okay.
Specifics?
No, haven’t considered it. Wants to get a VP first.
Open to D’s?
Will appoint a D if he or she is the best candidate for the position.

A post-call note from me:
Anyone here think someone from Red State or LGF or whatever would be allowed to ask questions in a hypothetical Barack Obama blogger call? FAT CHANCE. Take note of where Joanne Bamberger writes. I’m still looking for where Erin Whatever writes, but I strongly suspect she’s either a journalist or a Democrat (redundancy is redundant!), since they’re going with the meme that the 2013 speech and ad means a timetable. I saw on FNC earlier that journalists had asked McCain repeatedly today about it being a “timetable for withdrawal.” I mean, how freaking stupid and/or dishonest do you have to be to actually ask such a question? Honestly, John McCain was a whole lot more respectful in his response than I’d have been, although he did ask if the questioner had heard or read the speech.

I should note that I’ve seen talk around the moonbatosphere lately that a good tactic for them would be to drive a wedge between the angry conservatives and John McCain. CLEARLY, Bamberger was desperately trying to get McCain to commit to naming a Democrat to his cabinet, but he didn’t bite. Too bad, Joanne - you FAIL.

~~Now to track down the Timetable for Withdrawal Genius. If you were in on the Blogger Call and caught her name, please let me know.~~

UPDATE: BUSTED. Big time.
(Also updated to add links to other questioners.)

Letter from Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani

Following up on the call for democracy and press freedom in Yemen, Jane from Armies of Liberation passes on this letter from Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani:

Thank you very much for this campaign, which comes in the context of the overall values that we believe, and they punish us when we believe those values and adopt them. I do not want to talk about myself, but rather the environment that we live in and suffering we endure from the inconsistency between what the authorities announce about democracy and freedoms, and what happens when we believe in those same things, democracy and freedoms.

They want us to practice our rights as they understand them, but we do it ideally. The regime said that democracy is the way of ruling, but when we try to practice our rights within this concept, criticizing the way that the regime governs and how they act, then they deal with us in a way that has no relation to democracy. They deal with us as outlaws. They use all of the state’s resources to attack anyone who has any opinions not corresponding with their opinions, and to attack those who even discuss their way of ruling.

What I am suffering and facing is part of the price I and many others pay for the democracy and freedom we hope to achieve in the future. At least we are preparing for a healthy environment that we want the next generation to live in. We believe that democracy and freedom have an expensive price, and this is a part of that price.

However that doesn’t mean we will keep silent and bend, as it is the price. We will refuse injustice peacefully. Solidarity is a way to enhance new civil values which support the democracy we will make with our sacrifice and with the support of others. We pay the price of the freedom for ourselves and for the generations after us. Again, thank you very much for your help and support.

Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani
Sana’a, Yemen

(Feel free to post or forward. Link to the one-click letter campaign: http://campaigns.aicongress.org/yemen/
Background article: http://www.menassat.com/?q=en/news-articles/2492-fearless-yemen )

If you have not yet sent a letter, PLEASE do so here. All you have to do is “sign” your name and send, and your name can be kept off the internets if you wish.

Two minutes, two clicks, and you’ll have made a difference.

A list of blogs supporting al-Khaiwani and media freedom in Yemen is here. If you post on this (and please do!), let Nicki know and she’ll add you to the list.

Sign a letter to the Yemeni government protesting his upcoming sentencing.

Let Mr. al-Khaiwani and his family know you appreciate his efforts to bring democracy to Yemen.

Iran and syria are at it again

Lebanaon looks set to explode. Again.

Clashes broke out in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley today as rival factions prepared for what many in the country feared would be a bloody showdown between the Government and the Shia group, Hezbollah.

At least one person was killed when fighting broke out in a mixed Sunni and Shia neighbourhood near the Bekaa town of Chtaura as supporters of Hezbollah and the allied Amal Movement fought partisans of the pro-Government Future Movement.

(Note from Markos: Can somebody please find an angle to Blame Boosh™ for this? It’s patently obvious that the criminal invasion of Iraq by the crusaders and occupiers has stirred up this unpleasantness in a region where peace and tranquility have otherwise reigned for centuries. Please pass on approved progressive responses to Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Howard Dean).

Uh-oh! Methinks perchance Messrs Carter and Obama are needed to smooth things through with a bit of hope and, errrm, some change, and some talking to enemies, and stuff.

Last night, Sheikh Rashid Qabbani, the Sunni mufti of Lebanon, delivered unusually harsh criticism of Hezbollah, describing the party as an “armed gang of outlaws that have carried out the ugliest attacks against the citizens and their safety”.

An armed gang of outlaws! WHAT???? These people are legitimately-elected representatives of the people!! Or perhaps he’s absolutely right, and the scales are falling from the eyes of the people regarding radical Islamism - Lebanon could actually become, together with Iraq, a bulwark in the fight against these barbaric savages, if they tough it out and destroy the rag-tag gangs who actually do the fighting (Hezbollah will of course deploy their very own Comical Ali to hail the great military victories of their street thugs, all the while downplaying the actuality of Lebanese troops shooting them like fish in a barrel).

The Higher Shiite Council, the leading authority for Lebanese Shia, today accused the Government of “bias” and blaming it for triggering the crisis.

Triggering it by not capitulating to the threats of a bunch of seventh-century hoodlums, one assumes?

But Marwan Hamade, the Minister of Telecommunications, told The Times that the Government had no intention of rescinding its decisions.

“Hezbollah has unmasked itself. It is not a resistance movement, but a militia trying to take power in Lebanon,” he said.

Quite so, old chap, quite so. The only part you need to add is ‘funded by a pencil-necked weirdo and a grinning midget psychopath from the Axis of Evil’.

Courage, as a proven fabulist once said.

Today’s Anti-Islamofascist Action: Save Media Freedom in Yemen

URGENT help needed, via Jane at Armies of Liberation, who is the go-to for news about the Yemeni dictatorship. A prominent pro-democracy journalist in Yemen is facing a jail sentence–again:

Renowned journalist Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani is one of Yemen’s most prominent democracy advocates - for which he has paid a steep price. His paper has been closed, his website blocked, and his children threatened. He is now due to be sentenced on May 21 for “insulting the president” and “demoralizing the military.”

During his arrest in June of 2007, Al-Khaiwani was beaten and his six-year-old daughter slapped unconscious. While released on bail in August, Al-Khaiwani was kidnapped and tortured by thugs who threatened his life if he continued to write about Yemen’s president.

As al-Khaiwani’s sentencing approaches, there is growing fear a guilty verdict will open the door for a brutal crackdown on Yemen’s already-endangered journalistic community. Join with al-Khawiani’s supporters in Yemen and throughout the world as we urge the Yemeni government not to imprison journalists for their work.

Al-Khaiwani stands on principle for free speech. When he was arrested in 2004 (for “insulting the president”), prison guards broke his jaw - yet he still refused to agree to stop writing. In June of 2007, he was re-arrested on similar charges and dragged outside in his underwear. After being released on bail, he abducted by gunmen who broke his fingers threatened to kill him if he “wrote another word against the president or national unity.”

Civil rights advocates inside Yemen and abroad believe the charges against al-Khaiwani are unsubstantiated and simply punishment for his critical reporting. In fact, one of the main pieces of evidence used against him by prosecutors is an unpublished article criticizing Yemen’s president.

Jane tells me this is due to get some major media coverage in the region, so every bit of support is needed. Just one minute of your time, please. Click and send the letter.

Thank you President Carter

Jimmy Carter loves thugs and dictators. If you regularly violate human rights and torture, murder, maim, imprison or otherwise destroy ordinary people then by all means, President Carter is your friend. He decides that since Hamas is so good at this, he would go chat with them to see how he can help them feel good about themselves.

Now, I really haven’t seen much of this in the news about Carter’s trip to see Hamas and it really isn’t surprising that the news media is ignoring it. Here’s why: Earlier this week, Carter defended his trip to see Hamas. He said he failed to convince them to stop shelling Hamas for a month. Note, not stop shelling period, no, just for a month. So it’s ok to kill Jews, as long as you wait a month? Is that it Mr. Carter?

So when Carter got there, they negotiate and agree to peace for 10 years as long as Israel agrees to the pre-war borders. Carter comes out and announces a big win. However, during the very next meeting, Hamas launches the biggest attack in about 5 years. Killing 3 soldiers and hurting a child. They did this is during the meeting, while Carter is sitting there with the top terrorist. He was totally oblivious to what is happening. Hamas then comes out and contradicts everything Carter said after the first meeting.

That’s not the worst of Carter’s woes. Hamas, as you know, is a puppet of Iran. What do you think led the Iranian news (and news stations all through the Middle East) that night. Carter, shaking hands with Mr. Hamas-boss super-imposed with the details of the new attack. Carter was used. He was pulled off the roll, used to wipe and then flushed. Carter, by virtue of being an ex pres, has credibility. When he is seen with a group like Hamas, he gives them legitimacy. He gives them the pictures they need to coerce people. “The U.S. is on OUR side, you better obey or you’ll disappear with their blessings”. Carter either didn’t realize this or he didn’t care. The State Dept has a study that shows that terrorist groups like to launch their biggest attacks while “negotiating” for peace. It was standard operating procedure here and Carter swallowed it hook, line and sinker. Carter was reduced to a stammering “I did my best, yada yada yada…” and looks like a complete fool.

So, why do I say thank you to him? Why has the news media pretty much ignored this? Simple. Barack Obama says he wants to negotiate with Hamas. He says he’ll meet with them without pre-conditions. Thank you Jimmy Carter. You just showed us what the real world does to a hippie fantasy. We can now point at your abject failure to show what a failure Obama WILL be. His biggest foreign policy plank, meet with people that we used to refuse to meet with, is now toast. Every time he suggests it, we can hang Carter around his neck and sink him. This hippie “sing cumbaya and talk” junk does not work with thugs. We knew that. Now, more people will know it too. We just need to keep reminding them. So thank you President Carter. You showed what a fool you are, and by extension, what a fool Obama is.

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