" When Joe Biden finally leaves office and politics, they will retire his jersey from Gaffe Arena "
- Andrew Wilkow
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Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Quote of the Day: See Ya Round, Joe
" When Joe Biden finally leaves office and politics, they will retire his jersey from Gaffe Arena "
Haqqani Network Leader Pleads With Turkish Jihadis To Join the Fight In Afghanistan
I'm guessing they won't get too many Turks willing to leave their air conditioned apartments in Istanbul and head for a soon to be frozen mountain top in Helmand province.
The article comes from The Long War Journal.
Senior Haqqani Network leader urges Turks to wage jihad in Afghanistan
A senior Haqqani Network leader, who is on the US's list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists for supporting al Qaeda and has captured a US soldier in Afghanistan, has called on Turks and Kurds to fight in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Mullah Sangeen Zadran, who serves as the shadow governor for Paktika province and is a top aide to Sirajuddin Haqqani, addressed Muslims in Turkey in a videotape with Turkish subtitles, according to the SITE Intelligence Group. The videotape was "produced by Fursan Muhammad Information Group and released on the al Fida' forum on July 30," according to SITE.
In the video, Sangeen told the Turks that it is their duty to wage jihad and chides them for sitting back and enjoying the comforts of the West.
"You say that you are from the Muslims?," Sangeen asked. "Here, Muslims are gathered! But you are still sitting there. We need to get here [to Afghanistan] to defend Islam."
"I want from the Turkish people to fight with their lives and possessions and to defend Islam. It is now time to be with the Taliban and with the other mujahideen, or Allah is warning you with Hell," Sangeen continued.
Sangeen also told the Turks that "jihad is not only in Afghanistan," and said that "America will leave here in disgrace." Afterwards, the Taliban will fight to establish a global caliphate, he stated.
"A State of Islam will be established in Afghanistan, and after our conquest, we will continue in our jihad and we will save the nations under oppression. We will make Islam prevail in the world!," Sangeen said.
Sangeen admitted that al Qaeda is fighting alongside the Taliban, and that the jihad will continue.
"The entire world has gathered here to kill or imprison the Taliban, al Qaeda, and everyone who follows them," including "the Muslim countries," but "the Afghan Taliban never quit the fight," he claimed.
Sangeen also said that the US is "now trying to make peace with the Taliban" because the "Taliban is a force."
"The entire world was in Afghanistan, but look at them now after the fight of the mujahideen," he said. "Now they say: 'Yield to us so we can leave.'"
Sangeen supports al Qaeda
Sangeen, a longtime ally of al Qaeda, was added to the list of designated terrorists on Aug. 16, 2011. Since 2008, nine top Haqqani Network leaders have been placed on the list; six of them were designated in 2011. All of them have ties to al Qaeda.
In the past, Sangeen has openly admitted the strong links between the Haqqani Network and al Qaeda. In an interview released in September 2009 by As Sahab, al Qaeda's top media outlet, Sangeen said al Qaeda and the Taliban "are all one and are united by Islam."
"We do not see any difference between Taliban and Al Qaeda, for we all belong to the religion of Islam. Sheikh Osama [bin Laden] has pledged allegiance to Amir Al-Mumineen [the Leader of the Faithful, Mullah Muhammad Omar] and has reassured his leadership again and again. There is no difference between us, for we are united by Islam and the Sharia governs us," Sangeen told As Sahab.
Despite the terror group's close ties to al Qaeda and its actions in Afghanistan, the US has not added the Haqqani Network to the list of Specially Designation Global Terrorist Entities. Members of Congress have urged the Obama administration to add the Haqqani Network as a terrorist entity.
US military officials have told The Long War Journal that Sangeen is considered to be one of the most dangerous operational commanders in eastern Afghanistan. Sangeen has organized numerous assaults on US and Afghan combat outposts in the region, and is currently holding Bowe Bergdahl, the only US soldier who has been captured alive in the Afghan theater.
Background on the Haqqani Network
The Haqqani Network is a powerful Taliban subgroup that operates primarily in the Afghan provinces of Khost, Paktia, and Paktika, but also has an extensive presence in Kabul, Logar, Wardak, Ghazni, Zabul, Kandahar, and Kunduz. In addition, the network has expanded its operations into the distant Afghan provinces of Badakhshan and Faryab.
The terror group has close links with al Qaeda, and its relationship with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) has allowed the network to survive and thrive in its fortress stronghold of North Waziristan, a tribal agency in Pakistan. The Haqqani Network has also extended its presence into the Pakistani tribal agency of Kurram.
In North Waziristan, the Haqqanis control large swaths of the tribal area and run a parallel administration with courts, recruiting centers, tax offices, and security forces. In addition, the Haqqanis have established multiple training camps and safe houses that are used by al Qaeda leaders and operatives and by Taliban foot soldiers preparing to fight in Afghanistan.
The Haqqani Network has been implicated in some of the biggest terror attacks in the Afghan capital city of Kabul, including the January 2008 suicide assault on the Serena hotel, the February 2009 assault on Afghan ministries, and the July 2008 and October 2009 suicide attacks against the Indian embassy.
The terror group collaborated with elements of Pakistan's military and intelligence service in at least one of these attacks. In the past, American intelligence agencies confronted the Pakistani government with evidence, including communications intercepts, which proved the ISI's direct involvement in the 2008 Indian embassy bombing. [See LWJ report Pakistan's Jihad and Threat Matrix report Pakistan backs Afghan Taliban for additional information on the ISI's complicity in attacks in Afghanistan and the region.]
Last summer and fall, the US and the Afghan government linked the Haqqani Network and Pakistan's intelligence service to the June 2010 assault on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul in June 2011 and the attack on the US Embassy and ISAF headquarters in September. Shortly after the attack, Admiral Michael Mullen, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, accused the Haqqani Network of being one of several "[e]xtremist organizations serving as proxies of the government of Pakistan."
The US military has been hunting top Haqqani Network commanders in special operations raids in the Afghan east, while the CIA has targeted the network with a series of unmanned Predator airstrikes in Pakistan's tribal agency of North Waziristan. Both Siraj and Sangeen have been the targets of past strikes. Mohammed Haqqani, a mid-level Haqqani Network military commander and a brother of Siraj, was killed in a Predator airstrike in February 2010.
In October 2011, the Predators were successful in killing Jan Baz Zadran, who was considered to be the Haqqani Network's third in command, during an Oct. 13 airstrike in the Miramshah area of North Waziristan. Jan Baz, a powerful leader in the Haqqani Network, was believed to be the top aide to the network's operational commander, Sirajuddin Haqqani. Jan Baz served as the Haqqani Network's logistical and financial coordinator, and also acquired weapons and ammunition for the network. He is thought to be the most senior Haqqani Network leader killed or captured since the US invaded Afghanistan in 2001.
While the US is targeting the Haqqani Network in military operations and with financial sanctions, it also seeks to negotiate with the terror group to help end the insurgency in Afghanistan. The US is pursuing a policy of "fight, talk, build" with the Haqqanis and other Taliban groups. US officials are said to have met with Ibrahim Haqqani in August 2011 as he was visiting the United Arab Emirates, in an attempt to gauge the Haqqani Network's willingness to negotiate. The talks have failed. Siraj Haqqani has publicly said the group will not independently negotiate with the US and would only do so under the banner of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Couple Stoned To Death For "Affair" By Mali Muslims
Couple stoned to death over 'illegal' affair
A spokesman for the radical Islamic group controlling northern Mali says a couple who had an adulterous relationship was stoned to death this weekend in the town of Aguelhok.
Sanda Abou Mohamed, a spokesman for the group Ansar Dine, told The Associated Press by telephone on Sunday that the couple was executed according to Shariah law.
A resident of the northern city of Kidal, who had spoken to witnesses in nearby Aguelhok, said the man and woman were buried up to their necks, then pelted with stones until they died earlier Sunday. The resident requested anonymity because he feared for his safety.
The northern half of Mali was overrun by the rebels, including the Islamic group, in early April, following a coup in Mali’s capital.
Commander-in-chief Valerie Jarrett?
We all know by now that Obama is no leader and in the area of foreign policy, is scared shitless over making any decision but did the American people really understand that the quality of person leading this country would end up being that of a Valerie Jarrett? I'm thinking that we may need to change the name of the song, at least until the end of the year to...."Hail to the Creep."
The article is from Family Security Matters.
Obama canceled Bin Laden ‘kill’ raid three times at Jarrett’s urging
At the urging of Valerie Jarrett, President Barack Obama canceled the operation to kill Osama bin Laden on three separate occasions before finally approving the May 2, 2011 Navy SEAL mission, according to an explosive new book scheduled for release August 21. The Daily Caller has seen a portion of the chapter in which the stunning revelation appears.
In "Leading From Behind: The Reluctant President and the Advisors Who Decide for Him," Richard Miniter writes that Obama canceled the "kill" mission in January 2011, again in February, and a third time in March. Obama's close adviser Valerie Jarrett persuaded him to hold off each time, according to the book.
Miniter, a two-time New York Times best-selling author, cites an unnamed source with Joint Special Operations Command who had direct knowledge of the operation and its planning.
Obama administration officials also said after the raid that the president had delayed giving the order to kill the arch-terrorist the day before the operation was carried out, in what turned out to be his fourth moment of indecision. At the time, the White House blamed the delay on unfavorable weather conditions near bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
But when Miniter obtained that day's weather reports from the U.S. Air Force Combat Meteorological Center, he said, they showed ideal conditions for the SEALs to carry out their orders.
Monday, July 30, 2012
What a Joke - United Nations Observer Convoy In Syria Gets Attacked
So, let's get this straight - the U.N. observation teams are in Syria to verify if there is any violence going on and now every vehicle they had in their convoy has gaping holes in it from AK-47's....do you suppose they had to file a report or just attach a JPEG to the email they sent to U.N. headquarters? What do you suppose the subject line of the email was....something like ..."Tell me what you think...is there violence going on here?"
Like I said. What a joke.
The report is from The Jerusalem Post.
Ban: UN mission chief's convoy attacked in Syria
UNITED NATIONS - The convoy of Lieutenant General Babacar Gaye, head of the UN observer mission in Syria, was attacked over the weekend and only the vehicles' armor prevented injuries, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday.
"Yesterday the convoy of General Gaye was attacked by armed attacks," Ban told reporters in New York, according to a transcript of his remarks issued by the UN press office. "Fortunately there were no injuries."
He gave no further details about the attack, though UN officials said on condition of anonymity that the convoy of five vehicles was hit with small arms fire in Talibisa, some 17 km from Homs. The officials said it was an opposition-held area.
Ban said that more than a dozen UN armored vehicles have been attacked and destroyed since the mission began deploying in Syria over three months ago.
"It's quite fortunate that nobody got injured by these attacks," Ban said. "It was only because of these armored vehicles which protected our mission."
Although the mission suspended most of its monitoring work last month due to the increasing violence in the 16-month conflict, it continues to carry out limited activities. The mission's 90-day mandate was renewed on July 20 for 30 days.
Ban said that he convened a crisis meeting of senior UN officials on Syria on Monday, adding that the group would continue to meet regularly to discuss the conflict.
The UN chief also reiterated his calls for both the government and opposition forces to stop fighting. He repeated his previous demand that the Syrian government pledge not to use chemical weapons under any circumstances.
He was responding to reports that Syria said it would only use chemical weapons if it was attacked by foreign powers.
Unspeakable Tragedy: U.S. Army Medic Killed In Afghanistan After Making Blog Post About Coming Home
The links: Sgt. Eric Williams' Blog and DVIDS announcement
From the announcement:
Sgt. Eric Williams, 27, of Murrieta, Calif., was in-transit from his duty station in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan to re-deploy to the United States when he was killed. He was assigned to Company C, 3-82 General Support Aviation Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division.
It is with such a heavy heart that I express my deepest condolences to the Williams family and temper that with tears of admiration for your son and husband and the deepest appreciation for his service and ultimate sacrifice to our country.
(Hat Tip: Boots on the Ground)
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Coming home
This deployment is coming to an end, in a few days we will be on a plane back to the United States to rejoin our family and friends and to try to readjust to a certain semblance of what we think life should be. The truth is everything has changed, we collectively have changed. We have changed as people, as an army, as citizens of the United States. We face uncertainty in nearly every aspect of our lives. Our families have been without us for a year and we have only two weeks to try to enjoy the extremely limited time we have with them before its back to the daily grind. Two weeks to try to reconnect, although this process can take weeks, months or even years. There is no promise that any of us will return unchanged. But we collectively have been granted access to something few ever see, or choose to see for that matter. We have bared witness to the atrocities of war. We have thrust ourselves into the midst of chaos in order to do something so important, so visceral, that few will ever understand what it means. We collectively have risked it all and put everything on the line to save our fellow man, regardless of nationality, race, religion or sex. I for one will reflect on these experiences for decades to come. And I know my comrades will as well. I cannot begin to describe the things we’ve seen, felt, or heard. We have lost brothers and colleagues. We have felt the sting of losing someone we tried our hardest to save. We have cleaned up the blood and reset our equipment in order to go back out and do it again. These people I work with are some of the most dedicated men and women I have ever met. They come from all walks of life and although different in so many aspects, all come together collectively to accomplish this mission. I’m proud to say that I work with some of the most professional people there are. But now we are going home. Were out of this god forsaken country, but we take with us the weight of a thousand missions. To try to dissect them as best we know how.
Now I am preparing to jump on a plane and return to a world that I don’t really understand anymore. When I was younger I used to think I had it figured out. The older I get and the more aware I become the more lost I feel. There is a widening gap between service member and civilian, our economy is still struggling, jobs are scarce and I can only sit back and watch as our home slips into a more prevalent ideology of entitlement. Where we are inundated with political pressures, told how to think and feel, who to vote for because of a political party, and try to voice our intolerance by “liking” a status on Facebook. It’s sickening to me now. Our youth are hamstringed by a failing education system, the poor are being cast out and pushed aside. Veterans of these wars are living at an all-time high of homelessness and joblessness. You can’t throw a rock in this country without hitting dozens of heavily medicated veterans. But the general public cares less and less about them and us. For the general public, unless you have something personally invested in these wars they just want to get along with their day. Without having to be reminded of what these men and women endure on a daily basis. Its unfathomable to them. Thus the widening gap grows. In times of random occurrence we hear “thank you for your service” in an airport, a restaurant, in passing at the realization that you served, although I’m sure most appreciate it. I know when I hear it, it almost sounds forced. Like it’s some sort of requirement to say. It’s become trite and cliché and it just feels fake. I’m sorry if this just hit a little too close to home for some of you reading this but I’m just tired of trying to appease everyone I come across. The truth is that the general American public couldn’t give a shit about us. They want their Starbucks and celebrity gossip and their “16 and pregnant” We are breeding a generation of young people who have no idea what this country is founded on or what its citizens had to go through in order to make this country great and more about what time jersey shore is on. We are losing…we are struggling. Not in some great sense of the word as though every generation has its great struggle. We are just losing. Losing ground on what we thought was right, what we thought life was supposed to be, and we are becoming very pissed off. It seems that the more time passes by and the longer im away from the US the angrier I become. We cannot live in a world where we hold onto the ideals that bitching solves anything, where we believe that things will be taken care of for us. If you want something done, go out and get it done…period.
So in closing, while reading this you might think I’ve become some angry disillusioned man, someone who sees things so much different than the average citizen, well maybe your right. But I can only hope that things someday will change. As for our accomplishments here in Afghanistan, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I will forever hold these experiences close.
Posted by Eric Williams at 2:38 AM
71 comments:
CarlsbadJanet said...
Well written, son....Can't wait till you're on American soil once again. Right or wrong, it is your home, and always will be. I love you...and safe journey!
XXXOOO Mom
July 17, 2012 6:32 AM
Wendi Williams Photography said...
Great as always hun. Im sure your more then excited to be home soon. Please be safe in your last few days. Love you.
July 17, 2012 10:47 AM
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News: 82nd Airborne Division flight medic killed in Eastern Afghanistan
FORT BRAGG, N.C. — An 82nd Airborne Division flight medic was killed Monday when the Forward Operating Base he was on came under enemy fire in Logar province, Afghanistan.
Sgt. Eric Williams, 27, of Murrieta, Calif., was in-transit from his duty station in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan to re-deploy to the United States when he was killed. He was assigned to Company C, 3-82 General Support Aviation Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division.
“Our deepest condolences go out to the entire Williams family during this time of great sadness,” said Col. T.J. Jamison, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade commander, of Broken Arrow, Okla. “Eric was a valued member of the Task Force Pegasus family, and his memory as a great medic and soldier who always put others before himself will not be forgotten.”
Williams entered the U.S. Army in 2007, completing basic training at Fort Benning, Ga. He completed advance individual training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, earning military occupational specialty 68W, Healthcare Specialist, later that year.
This was Williams’ second deployment. He previously served a 14-month deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2008-2009 as a combat medic.
“He was always on his game,” said Sgt. Cormac Chandler, a Medevac crew chief who served with Williams, and native of Murfreesboro, Tenn. “Will always kept his cool, which in turn helped me keep my cool, and he never quit. That was the caliber of his personality. That is who he was.”
His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with Valor and one bronze oak leaf cluster, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with one Campaign Star, the Iraq Campaign Medal with two Campaign Stars, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal, the Combat Medical Badge, and the Combat Action Badge.
He is survived by his wife, Wendi, and parents, Bruce and Janet Williams.
Shocking Report: Muslims Raised to be Insecure and Intolerant
From Family Security Matters.
Shocking Report: Muslims Raised to be Insecure and Intolerant
The research and writings of Nicolai Sennels may have crucial - albeit exceptionally controversial and politically incorrect - implications for understanding both the likely similarities as well as possible crucial differences between many Muslims and Westerners as far as politics, economics and religion are concerned. It is also important to include these postulations (even if clearly only imperfect generalizations) in any discussion as to how these cultural implications, where relevant, would affect the chances for a Muslim Reformation and the evolution of Islamic moderation.
Nicolai Sennels is a Danish psychologist who developed an unorthodox therapy at Sønderbro, the Danish youth prison. He taught the young prisoners about mindfulness meditation and developed a special program on anger management, focusing on teaching criminals with a low understanding of emotions and empathy, how to take responsibility for their own behavior. In 2008, the prisoners of Sønderbro voted the facility as the best prison in Denmark.
Seven out of ten inmates in the Danish youth prisons have immigrant backgrounds, and almost all of them are Muslims. Sennels was threatened by his superiors that if he were to discuss his experiences, he would risk losing his job.
Sennels decided in spite of the evident risks, to publish a book on his experiences, Among Criminal Muslims: A Psychologist's Experiences from the Copenhagen Municipality. Hereafter are selections from his interviews, which may be one-sided, may be hard-hitting, yet do open the door somewhat to issues often ignored:
Sennels: There are many differences between people brought up as Muslims and those who are brought up as Westerners. I identified four main differences that are important in order to understand the behavior of Muslims. They concern anger, self-confidence, the so-called "locus of control" and identity.
Westerners are brought up to think of anger as a sign of weakness, powerlessness and lack of self-control. "Big dogs don't have to bark," as we say in Denmark. In Muslim culture, anger is seen as a sign of strength. To Muslims, being aggressive is a way of gaining respect. When we see pictures of bearded men hopping up and down and shooting in the air, we should take it for what it is: the local madhouse passing by.
In Western culture, self-confidence is connected with the ability to meet criticism calmly and to respond rationally. We are raised to see people who easily get angry when criticized, as insecure and immature.
In Muslim culture it is the opposite; it is honorable to respond aggressively and to engage in a physical fight in order to scare or force critics to withdraw, even if this results in a prison sentence or even death. They see non-aggressive responses to such threats and violence as a sign of a vulnerability that is to be exploited. They do not interpret a peaceful response as an invitation to enter into a dialogue, diplomacy, intellectual debate, compromise or peaceful coexistence.
"Locus of control" is a term used in psychology, and relates to the way in which people feel that their lives are controlled. In Western culture, we are brought up to have an "inner locus of control," meaning that we see our own inner emotions, reactions, decisions and views as the main deciding factor in our lives. There may be outer circumstances that influence our situation, but in the end, it is our own perception of a situation and the way we handle it that decides our future and our state of mind.
The "inner locus of control" leads to increased self-responsibility and motivates people to become able to solve their own problems. Muslims are brought up to have an "outer locus of control." Their constant use of the term inshallah ("Allah willing") when talking about the future, as well as the fact that most aspects of their lives are decided by outer traditions and authorities, leaves very little space for individual freedom.
Independent initiatives are often severely punished. This shapes their way of thinking, and means that when things go wrong, it is always the fault of others or the situation. Unfortunately, many Westerners go overboard with their self-responsibility and start to take responsibility for others' behavior as well. The mix of many Westerners being overly forgiving, their flexible attitude, and Muslim self-pity and blame is the psychological crowbar that has opened the West to Islamization (and consequent sympathy towards Shariah Law and Madrassas). Our overly protective welfare system shields immigrants from noticing the consequences of their own behavior and thereby learning from their mistakes and motivating them to improve.
Finally, identity plays a big role when it comes to psychological differences between Muslims and Westerners. Westerners are taught to be open and tolerant toward other cultures, races, religions, etc.
This makes us less critical, impairs our ability to discriminate, and makes our societies open to the influence of other cultural trends and values that may not always be constructive. Muslims, on the other hand, are taught again and again that they are superior, and that all others are so bad that Allah will throw them in hell when they die.
While many Westerners find national and cultural pride embarrassing, Muslim culture's self-glorification achieves the opposite with their culture and identity.
In general, Westerners are taught to be kind, self-assured, self-responsible and tolerant, while Muslims are taught to be aggressive, insecure and intolerant.
Integration in the West is dependent on motivation and freedom. Immigrants have to want to integrate, be allowed to by their family and friends.
People coming from cultures that are aimed mainly at physical survival, and in which religious practice and adherence to cultural traditions give more social status than having a good education and being self-supporting, usually are not very productive if they can live on the state. If on top of that, they can live in closed communities among others with the same culture and language, there is very little reason for them to get involved in our society. The only solution is to make the lack of integration so impractical and economically non-beneficial that the only attractive choice is to integrate or receive our offer of state-sponsored repatriation.
Through communal fear and coercion, the majority "voluntarily" prefer Sharia to integration.
Handling intellectually demanding jobs in our high-tech societies, it is not easy for people brought up to believe that the Qur'an and Hadith, not school and science, has the answers. Our workplaces demand that the employees are able to take initiative and be creative, difficult among people who are first of all expected to blindly submit and who live in surroundings that punish independent thinking and behavior, sometimes even with death.
Adams' and Maslow's views describe the goals and aims of the Western society as the full development of an individual's potential - this does not apply to Islam or the Muslim tradition. The aim of Islam and Muslims is dominance, not self-realization. Islam and Muslim culture is an aggressive movement, and giving space to female qualities such as sensitivity and empathy would be a hindrance.
Diplomacy, compromise, tolerance, democracy, compassion, sensitivity and empathy have to be locked away both on an internal and external level. On the outside, the oppression of women limits their influence, and their aversion against femininity in the outer world helps Muslims to also repress it inside themselves on the psychological level.
Oppression of women is thus a psychological method of hardening a culture on the outside and people on the inside.
The other reason why Muslims oppress women and female sexuality is the fact that women are simply stronger when it comes to sex. And it does not work for omnipotent, jealous and insecure Muslim macho-men that they in the most naked and vulnerable situation of all are the weaker party. Muslim men compensate for this by oppressing their women and locking them up in apartments and ugly clumsy garments. In many Muslim societies, a women's ability to enjoy sex is simply destroyed by clitorectomy via a knife or a piece of glass.
True love can only exist on the basis of respect and equality. The emotional and sexual frustration that results from the inequality of the sexes and being forced to marry a partner whom one does not love surely contributes to the aggression and emotional immaturity. As one said, "forced marriage is the earthquake and what follows is a tsunami of domestic abuse, sexual abuse, child protection issues, suicide and murder."
Muslim culture's degrading view of non-Muslims functions in the same way as war propaganda. By hearing again and again how evil, disgusting and unworthy the enemy is, empathy is removed, aggression is strengthened, and the step towards harming the perceived enemy becomes smaller.
Islam does not strive for freedom, happiness and love. Islam strives for the submission of Muslims to Allah and of non-Muslims to Muslims - a dark, cold and humorless world where men are forced to mistreat their women and everybody is a slave to a god whose only wish is the enforcement of Sharia down to the very last comma. They do what they can to reach their final solution, and we must do what we can to prevent it from happening.
We in Denmark are worried about the freedom of our women and the future of our children, and about our constitutions. And we know that the first and in many cases also the biggest victims of Islam are Muslims.
Our politicians and media aim for the soft middle in society in order to be reelected and to sell newspapers and ads, and it is therefore up to ordinary people to protect our values, society and constitution and not fear to lose a few politically correct friends on the way.
Video: Dhimmis In the Pulpit
Take your blood pressure medicine before viewing this video. This was showcased in Saturday's "Ghost of a Chance" at The Awakening.
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32 People Killed In Train Fire In India...Was It Islamic Terror?
I don't see this latest disaster to hit India being reported as a terrorist attack but when you put two and two together....the fact that 32 people were killed and it happened in India, how can you not first point to Islamic terror?
From the report at DAWN:
At least 32 people were killed Monday when a fire ripped through a coach on a speeding express train as it carried sleeping passengers to the southern Indian city of Chennai, officials said.
The accident, on a long-distance service from New Delhi, occurred in the early hours of the morning near the town of Nellore in Andhra Pradesh state.
“Thirty-two (bodies) have been pulled out from the coach,” Madhusudan Sarma, a senior administrative officer in Nellore district, told AFP, adding that there were still more corpses inside.
from photo caption - “We are unable to identify the cause of the fire yet — it might have been a short circuit, it might have been due to someone carrying inflammable materials on the train,” Mukherjee told AFP.
Now, some will stumble upon this article here and call me chicken little for calling this out as a terrorist act but hey, prove me wrong. I'm going all in that this was an intentional act of Islamic terror.
India train fire kills at least 32
HYDERABAD: At least 32 people were killed Monday when a fire ripped through a coach on a speeding express train as it carried sleeping passengers to the southern Indian city of Chennai, officials said.
The accident, on a long-distance service from New Delhi, occurred in the early hours of the morning near the town of Nellore in Andhra Pradesh state.
“Thirty-two (bodies) have been pulled out from the coach,” Madhusudan Sarma, a senior administrative officer in Nellore district, told AFP, adding that there were still more corpses inside.
Another 26 people have been admitted to hospital, he added.
One coach was completely gutted, and rescuers were struggling with the fierce temperatures inside the mostly metal carriage. Gas cutters were being used to cut open wider access for the emergency services.
Images of the crash showed thick black smoke still pouring out of the charred carriage as dawn broke over the accident scene.
Dozens of rescuers, survivors and crowds of onlookers milled around as the blackened and twisted bodies of victims were lifted out of the wrecked carriage and laid in rows alongside the railway line.
Family members of the victims wailed and screamed, while other dazed survivors sat around quietly with their belongings.
Nellore chief district official B. Sreedhar said preliminary investigations suggested a short circuit near a toilet had triggered the blaze.
“We expect the death toll in the affected coach to be around 30 to 35 people,” Sreedhar told NDTV television.
Some 26 passengers managed to escape the burning carriage which would normally carry around 70 people.
“The fire spread fast and blocked the door at one end of the coach, so there was only one exit available,” Sreedhar said.
The non-stop train was travelling at 110 kilometers an hour when it passed through Nellore station, where staff noticed the fire and informed the railway authorities.
India’s accident-prone rail network is still the main form of long-distance travel in the huge country, despite fierce competition from private airlines.
There were two fatal accidents this May alone, including a collision that killed 25 people near the southern city of Bangalore. Four passengers also died after a train derailed in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
In March, the then railway minister Dinesh Trivedi unveiled a draft budget for 2012-13 that included a major safety upgrade which would be financed by across-the-board fare hikes.
But he was forced to withdraw it and resign after a rebellion from his own populist party, the Trinamool Congress, which objected to increasing ticket prices for the poorest travellers.
The National Crime Records Bureau, which gathers the causes of fatalities across India, says 25,705 people in total died on the railways in 2009, including pedestrians hit by trains and others who were killed on unprotected crossings.
India’s worst rail accident was in 1981 when a train plunged into a river in the eastern state of Bihar, killing an estimated 800 people.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Quote of the Day: Tyranny
Laura Ingraham interviewed gun rights advocate John Lott. He recounted a conversation with then-Senator Obama who told Lott: “I don’t believe people should be able to own guns.”from PatDollard.com
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Iranian Olympic Judo Competitor Wimps Out With Fake Infection Rather Than Get Beat By An Israeli
You're going to see in the article here from CNS News that the Iranians and other Muslim countries will withdraw from Olympic events where they will be matched against Israeli competitors because they refuse to compete against a Jew...well, the real reason they withdraw is because they are so yella, so chicken shit that they cannot stand the idea that the world would see them get pinned to the mat like a little girl by a "lowly" Jew. Once again, in the 2012 Olympics we see a spineless pussy Iranian "athlete" mysteriously withdraw from competition with a "sudden" infection attack because the pussy boy doesn't want to have to wrestle an Israeli.And we are worried about taking on these cowards in the field of battle? The Iranians cannot even stomach a one to one competition against an Israeli. Cowards. Yellow bellied cowards.
‘Gut Infection’ Denies Iranian Chance to Compete in Olympics Against Israeli
(CNSNews.com) – So much for the Olympic spirit. Just days after U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon announced the traditional Olympic Truce – for people and nations to “set aside their differences” during London 2012 – news emerged that the one Iranian athlete likely to face an Israeli in competition has withdrawn with a “gut infection.”
Iran and a number of other Islamic counties have pulled athletes from international competitions in the past rather than face Israelis, but International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge warned recently that “sanctions will be taken” if any athlete withdraws from a competition without an explanation that is upheld by an independent medical board.
Iranian Javad Mahjoub qualified in the same half-heavyweight judo category as an Israeli, Ariel Ze’evi, who participated in the last three Olympics, won the bronze medal in Athens 2004, and is the 2012 European champion. The half-heavyweight category competition is scheduled for August 2.
But Iranian Sports Medicine Federation head Lotfali Pour-Kazemi said this week Mahjoub’s condition required a 10-day antibiotic course and he would not be able to compete. An Iranian judo website quoted him as saying the judoka was experiencing “weakness, nausea and vomiting.”
Mahjoub’s name still appeared Thursday on the Iranian national Olympic committee (NOC) list of 54 competitors at the London games.
During the Judo World Cup in Tashkent in 2011, Mahjoub was lined up in a head-to-head against another Israeli, Or Sasson, but refused to compete.
For his part, Ze’evi has been on the receiving end of an anti-Israel boycott before, when a Tunisian withdrew rather than taken him on during world judo championships in 2001. Ze’evi won silver.
Iranians withdrew from events pitting them against Israelis in the last two Olympic Games, in Athens 2004 (judo) and Beijing 2008 (swimming).
The Olympic Charter states, “Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.”
“We have just told all the national Olympic committees that we expect all the athletes to respect the schedule of competition and not to pull out without a good reason for competition against an athlete of another country,” Rogge told the London Guardian last month.
“If nation A does not appear at the competition against nation B we will ask for explanations,” he said. “If the explanation is not satisfactory and valid at the end of it and is not credible then we will go into cross-examination by an independent medical board. And if the medical board says it is not a genuine reason then sanctions will be taken. That is quite clear.”
‘Zionist logo’
Last month, Iran’s official IRNA news agency quoted Sports Minister Mohammad Abbasi as saying Iranian athletes would definitely refuse to compete against Israelis if they were drawn to do so.
“Not competing with the Zionist athletes is one of the values and prides of the Iranian athletes and nation,” he said.
IRNA commented, “Iranian athletes have ever since the glorious victory of the Islamic Revolution been boycotting entire competitions against the Zionist regime athletes and athletic teams, even at cost of losing valuable medals, to protest to the illegitimate occupation of Palestine by that usurper regime and the sixty year massacre, deportation, and siege of its real owners, the Palestinians.”
On Monday, wire service reports suggested that Iran may be reconsidering, quoting Iranian NOC chief Bahram Afsharzadeh as saying in London that Iran will “just follow the sportsmanship and play every country.”
But Iran’s Fars news agency on Tuesday said his words had been misrepresented, and that he had not referred to Israel.
Last year, Iran threatened to boycott the London Olympic altogether, claiming that the event logo – jagged figures meant to represent 2012 – resembled the word “Zion.”
“Certainly other countries, including Islamic nations, will react to this racist logo and this would jeopardize the goals of the Olympic Games in the world,” Afsharzadeh said at the time.
Nonetheless, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad now plans to be in London later this week for the games opening.
Meanwhile, the Iranian camp could have one more Israel-related headache to deal with in London. A review of the calendar shows that Iran’s Sajjad Hashemiahangari and Israel’s Los Angeles-born Donald Sanford are both competing in the 400m men’s sprint.
They could conceivably end up in the same heat on August 4, or both progress to the semi-finals or finals over the following two days. Sanford’s personal best time is 45.21 seconds while Hashemiahangari’s is 45.81, according to IAAF data. The Olympic record for the event is 43.49.
The Times of Israel quoted Israeli NOC head Zvi Warshaviak as telling reporters before leaving for London Tuesday that that he expected athletes from some countries to feign illness rather than compete against Israelis.
When the times comes, he predicted, “someone will have an upset stomach.”
Blog Talk Radio: The Awakening - "Ghost of a Chance"
" Ghost of a Chance "
"Ghost of a Chance" (Asia, 2012)
Hold on tight,
Fight it tooth and nail,
You are right,
You just cannot fail.
Seek to change,
Your circumstance,
While there's a ghost of a chance.
Plain as day,
All is black and white.
Stand your ground,
You can win the fight.
Outnumbered now,
Face the enemy,
Against the odds,
Seal your victory.
Seize the day,
Raise your lance,
While there's a ghost of a chance.
U.S. Drone Strike In North Waziristan Makes Six Uzbeks Wish They Never Had Left the North
The article is from The Long War Journal.
6 Uzbeks killed in North Waziristan drone strike
Six Uzbek fighters were among those reported killed in the latest US drone strike in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan.
The remotely piloted Predators or the more advanced Reapers fired at least six missiles at a compound and a vehicle in the village of Khushhali Turikhel near Mir Ali, according to reports from Pakistan. The Uzbek fighters were "visiting a spring for leisure" when they were attacked, a Pakistani intelligence official told The Express Tribune, which put the number of Uzbeks killed at six. AFP reported that seven "militants" were killed.
No senior al Qaeda or allied jihadist commanders from foreign terrorist groups are reported to have been killed in the strike.
The Uzbek fighters were likely members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, or the Islamic Jihad Group, an IMU splinter. Both groups are closely tied to al Qaeda and the Taliban, and are known to operate in the Mir Ali area.
Mir Ali is a terrorist haven
The Mir Ali area is in the sphere of influence of Abu Kasha al Iraqi, an al Qaeda leader who serves as a key link to the Taliban and supports al Qaeda's external operations network. Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar and the Haqqani Network also operate in the Mir Ali area. Moreover, Mir Ali is a known hub for al Qaeda's military and external operations councils.
Since Sept. 8, 2010, several Germans and Britons have been reported killed in Predator strikes in the Mir Ali area. The Europeans were members of the Islamic Jihad Group, an al Qaeda affiliate based in the vicinity of Mir Ali. The IJG members are believed to have been involved in an al Qaeda plot that targeted several major European cities and was modeled after the terror assault on the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008. The plot was orchestrated by Ilyas Kashmiri, the al Qaeda leader who was killed in a US drone strike in June 2011.
Mir Ali also hosts at least three suicide training camps for the the Fedayeen-i-Islam, an alliance between the Pakistani Taliban, the anti-Shia Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and Jaish-e-Mohammed. In early 2011, a Fedayeen-i-Islam spokesman claimed that more than 1,000 suicide bombers have trained at three camps. One failed suicide bomber corroborated the Fedayeen spokesman's statement, claiming that more than 350 suicide bombers trained at his camp.
Prior to this year, the US has been pounding targets in the Datta Khel, Miramshah, and Mir Ali areas of North Waziristan in an effort to kill members involved in the European plot. Al Qaeda and allied terror groups such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the Islamic Jihad Group, the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Party, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and a number of Pakistani and Central and South Asian terror groups host or share camps in the region. These groups are given aid and shelter by Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar and the Haqqani Network, a Taliban subgroup run by Siraj and Jalaluddin Haqqani.
Despite the known presence of al Qaeda and other foreign groups in North Waziristan, and requests by the US that action be taken against these groups, the Pakistani military has indicated that it has no plans to take on Hafiz Gul Bahadar or the Haqqani Network. Bahadar and the Haqqanis are considered "good Taliban" by the Pakistani military establishment as they do not carry out attacks inside Pakistan. Bahadar has recently banned polio vaccinations in North Waziristan in protest of US drone strikes.
Background on the US strikes in Pakistan
The US has struck targets inside Pakistan's tribal areas four times this month. All four strikes took place in North Waziristan. Today's strike is the second in seven days. The last strike took place in the Shawal Valley, a known stronghold of the Taliban and al Qaeda. Twelve Taliban fighters, including a commander loyal to Hafiz Gul Bahadar, were reported to have been killed.
Today's strike is just the seventh in Pakistan since June 4, when the US killed Abu Yahya al Libi, one of al Qaeda's top leaders, propagandists, and religious figures. Abu Yahya was killed in a strike on a compound in Mir Ali. Uzbek, Tajik, and Turkmen fighters belonging to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan were reportedly among the 14 terrorists killed along with Abu Yahya.
Al Qaeda has since released two videos of Abu Yahya; both look as if they were produced sometime after November 2011. The first video, which appears to have been taped long ago, addressed the Syrian revolution. Abu Yahya spoke about US ethics in the second video. Abu Yahya did not address reports of his death in either video. [See Threat Matrix reports, As Sahab releases video of Abu Yahya al Libi; Al Qaeda suggests Abu Yahya al Libi is alive, promises video; and Al Qaeda releases another tape from Abu Yahya al Libi.]
The US has carried out 28 strikes in Pakistan so far this year. Ten of the strikes have taken place since the beginning of June; Eight occurred in North Waziristan and two were in South Waziristan. [For data on the strikes, see LWJ reports, Charting the data for US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2012; and Senior al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2012.]
The drone program was scaled back dramatically from the end of March to the beginning of the fourth week in May. Between March 30 and May 22, the US conducted only three drones strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas as US officials attempted to renegotiate the reopening of NATO's supply lines, which were closed from the end of November 2011 until July 3. Pakistan closed the supply lines following the Mohmand incident in November 2011, in which US troops killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. The Pakistani soldiers were killed after they opened fire on US troops operating across the border in Kunar province, Afghanistan.
In addition to Abu Yahya, two other high-value targets have been killed in the strikes this year. A Jan. 11 strike in Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan, killed Aslam Awan, a deputy to the leader of al Qaeda's external operations network.
And on Feb. 8, the US killed Badr Mansoor, a senior Taliban and al Qaeda leader, in a strike in Miramshah's bazaar. Mansoor ran training camps in the area and sent fighters to battle NATO and Afghan forces across the border, and linked up members of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen with al Qaeda to fight in Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden described Mansoor as one of several commanders of al Qaeda's "companies" operating in the tribal areas. He was later promoted to lead al Qaeda's forces in the tribal areas.
The program has been scaled down from its peak in 2010, when the US conducted 117 strikes, according to data collected by The Long War Journal. In 2011, the US carried out just 64 strikes in Pakistan's border regions.
So far this year, the US has launched three more strikes in Pakistan (28) against al Qaeda and allied terror groups than it has in Yemen (25) against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. In 2011, however, the US launched only 10 airstrikes in Yemen, versus 64 in Pakistan.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Gaza Jihadis Showing Up In Syria
In case there's any doubt...jihadis smell blood in the sand in Syria and nothing attracts jihadis like fresh blood.
From The Long War Journal.
From The Long War Journal.
Army of Islam fighter from Gaza killed in Syria
A Palestinian from the Gaza strip who was a member of the al Qaeda-linked Army of Islam (Jaish al Islam) was killed during recent fighting in Syria, according to a martyrdom statement released by the terror group.
The death of Nidal al 'Ashi, who was also known as Abu Hureira al Maqdisi and Abu Omar al Shami, was announced yesterday by the by the Army of Islam in a statement that was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group. The Qabidun 'Ala al Jamr (Grippers of Embers) Media Foundation, the media arm of the Sinam al Islam forum, also announced his death, according to SITE. Informed Jihadist said that 'Ashi was killed during recent fighting in Aleppo, where the Syrian military is pounding rebel forces.
"We bring to you, brothers in monotheism and jihad, and mujahideen, everywhere, the news of the martyrdom of the lion Abu Hureira al Maqdisi, may Allah have mercy on him, one of the lions of the Army of Islam], as we consider him and we reckon none unto Allah, in the Levant..." a posting on the Sinam al Islam forum stated, according to SITE.
The Army of Islam statement said that 'Ashi became a Salafist and "rose as a mujahid against the Jews and Christians after he had been friendly with them before." He then was imprisoned by Hamas "after he had destroyed the tenets of Christian missionary work, including societies, churches, universities, and schools."
He fled to Syria "when his methods were restricted," and supported "his monotheist brothers in their war against the tyrants."
Jihadist groups emerging in Syria
The Army of Islam, which is one of four al Qaeda-linked terror groups that operate in Gaza, is the latest jihadist group that has emerged in Syria. Six other jihadist groups are known to operate inside Syria.
Al Qaeda in Iraq, which has long had a strong presence in Syria, with the assistance of the Assad regime. The terror group has used Syria to recruit, train, and arm fighters to wage jihad. Syria also has served as a transit point for foreign jihadists to enter Iraq.
The Al Nusrah Front, which has claimed credit for numerous suicide attacks, roadside bombings, ambushes, and complex assaults against security forces and government installations. Al Nusrah has been very active in Syria and has been linked to al Qaeda.
The Abdullah Azzam Brigades, which has a presence throughout the Middle East, including Syria, was formed at the behest of al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi and al Qaeda emir Osama bin Laden. At the end of June, Majid bin Muhammad al Majid, the group's emir, said that Syrians should support the uprising against the Assad regime, and that further rebellions against Muslim governments would follow.
The Al Baraa Ibn Malik Martyrdom Brigade, which is named after a suicide cell that joined al Qaeda in Iraq in 2005, said it had formed a martyrdom battalion and was prepared to carry out suicide attacks against Syrian forces.
The Liwa al Islam, or Brigade of Islam, which took credit for the attack that killed the top two Syrian defense officials and Assad's national security advisor. The Free Syrian Army also claimed credit for the attack, and both groups said it was carried out by a remotely detonated bomb, but the Syrian government maintained it was a suicide attack.
The Omar al Farouq Brigade includes Turkish "mujahideen" and is named after a prominent al Qaeda leader who was slain in Iraq in 2006. The group has implored Muslims to "fight together to save Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan."
The Army of Islam "subscribes to a Salafist ideology of global jihad together with the traditional model of armed Palestinian resistance," the US State Department said in a May 2011 press release that announced the group's designation as a terrorist entity. The terror group "has previously worked with Hamas and is attempting to develop closer al Qaeda contacts."
Mumtaz Dughmush is the leader of the Army of Islam. He was listed by the US State Department as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in August 2011.
The group has released propaganda that has expressed its affiliation and support for al Qaeda. On May 7, 2011, just five days after the death of Osama bin Laden, the Army of Islam released a statement eulogizing the al Qaeda leader. Also, in August 2008, Sheikh Abu Harith al Ansari, an Army of Islam leader, released a statement on jihadist forums that claimed bin Laden would seek to focus his attacks on "the Jews."
In addition to launching mortar and rocket attacks into Israel, the Army of Islam "has been responsible for numerous terrorist acts against the Governments of Israel and Egypt, as well as American, British and New Zealander citizens," the US State Department said. "The group is also responsible for early 2009 attacks on Egyptian civilians in Cairo and Heliopolis, which resulted in casualties and deaths." The Egyptian government accused the Army of Islam of executing the Jan. 1, 2011 bombing at a Coptic church in Alexandria that killed 21 people.
The terror group became known in 2006 after it captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and then turned him over to Hamas. Also in 2006, the Army of Islam kidnapped two Fox News journalists.
In 2007, a cell from the Army of Islam, led by Khattab al Maqdasi, kidnapped BBC reporter Alan Johnston. Maqdasi is said to have fought alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan. The group demanded Abu Qatada's release in exchange for Johnston.
The Israelis have targeted Army of Islam leaders and fighters in airstrikes in Gaza in late 2011. On Dec. 30, Muaman Abu Daf, an emir, was killed in a strike in the Zeitoun district in Gaza. Three other Army of Islam fighters involved in attacks along the Israeli-Gaza border were killed on Dec. 27 and Dec. 28.
There are four main Salafist groups that operate in the Gaza Strip. All four groups have expressed their support for al Qaeda. In addition to the Army of Islam, Jund Ansar Allah, Jaish al Ummah, and Jaish al Mu'minun all operate in Gaza. These groups have clashed with Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated terror group that rules Gaza and is supported by Iran and Syria. [See LWJ report, Israel kills 'Global Jihad affiliated-terrorists' in Gaza airstrikes, for summaries of the four terror groups.]
Muslims Invade Christian Funeral and Forcibly Bury Baby According to Islamic Rites
Muslims Invade Christian Funeral and Forcibly Bury Baby According to Islamic Rites
Is it me or are the stories just getting crazier and crazier? This one is from Breisach in Germany. A Christian funeral is being held for a baby. Two Muslims of Turkish origin then invade the funeral and subject the baby's corpse to Islamic burial rites.
Two men, 62 and 28, appeared in front of Breisach District Court (Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald) on 1 August charged with disruption of a funeral. During the entire ritual the two accused had violently driven back all guests who wanted to intervene, said a spokesperson for the court. The baby died of Sudden Infant Death syndrome.
The 28-year-old physical father of the child - who however never acknowledged paternity - and his 62-year-old father had taken the corpse out of the coffin, removed its clothes and washed it in a tub they brought with them. According to the spokesperson for the court, all funeral guests were then able to see the child's autopsy scars. After the washing, the child was wrapped in a cloth, placed in the coffin and very roughly buried by the two men.
Was All of the TSA Scanning Equipment For Not the Past Number of Months?
Okay, I'm just asking the question in the blogpost title above - I don't know if we can actually read that much into this story from DAWN but it appears to me that since the second underwear bombing plot by al Qaeda that the equipment we've had at many airports wasn't sufficient.
From the article:
US security officials are on the lookout for a new type of explosive, after analysis of an upgraded underwear bomb intercepted by a CIA operation in Yemen.
Transportation Security Administrator John Pistole told an audience at the Aspen Security Forum that the device smuggled out by a double-agent in an operation earlier this year was an upgrade from the underwear bomb carried by Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, to try to bring down a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas 2009.
”We found in the Underwear Plot, Part 2…that a different type of explosive had been used than the previous one,” Pistole said, ”so we have gone back and recalibrated all the equipment and we have been working with our canine to detect this different type of explosive.”
The CIA intercepted the device earlier this year, thwarting an ambitious plot by al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen to destroy a US-bound airliner around the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden.
As I've said many times here and at The Awakening, the terrorists at al Qaeda are usually a couple of steps ahead of our security efforts - they have to be since when a security force has all of the goods on the terrorist force, the terrorists never succeed. And we all know that the terrorists do continue to succeed.
Al Qaeda altered underwear bomb formula: US
ASPEN: US security officials are on the lookout for a new type of explosive, after analysis of an upgraded underwear bomb intercepted by a CIA operation in Yemen.
Transportation Security Administrator John Pistole told an audience at the Aspen Security Forum that the device smuggled out by a double-agent in an operation earlier this year was an upgrade from the underwear bomb carried by Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, to try to bring down a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas 2009.
”We found in the Underwear Plot, Part 2…that a different type of explosive had been used than the previous one,” Pistole said, ”so we have gone back and recalibrated all the equipment and we have been working with our canine to detect this different type of explosive.”
The CIA intercepted the device earlier this year, thwarting an ambitious plot by al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen to destroy a US-bound airliner around the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden.
The new model also had a more sophisticated trigger mechanism, an apparent attempt to fix the defective trigger that burned the bomber but failed to ignite the bomb in the Christmas attack.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Syrian Troops Shoot Dead a Six Year Old Boy Trying To Flee To Jordan
A relative holds the body of 6-year-old Syrian boy Bilal El-Lababidi during his funeral in Ramtha, Jordan Photo: AP
The above photograph isn't exactly a great campaign poster for Bashir Assad in the court of World Opinion at the moment.
The atrocities in Syria have been pretty widespread but this is a war and war is ugly. This is still no reason for any Western force to enter the fray - let these sand roaches kill themselves twice over.
The story comes from The Telegraph.
Syria: Six-year-old Syrian boy shot dead fleeing to Jordan
The family was making a desperate run across the border when Syrian troops opened fire. Bullets whizzed around them. The 6-year-old boy, holding his mother's hand, broke away and ran ahead. He was nearly at the border when he fell dead, a bullet in his neck, witnesses say.
The boy, killed in the early hours Friday, was the first Syrian trying to escape into Jordan to be shot to death by border guards, Jordanian officials and a Syrian rebel commander said.
Bilal el-Lababidi and his parents were in a group of around a dozen Syrians trying to sneak into Jordan just after midnight, the latest of more than 140,000 who have taken refuge in the neighboring kingdom from the Syrian regime's fierce crackdown on the rebellion against President Bashar Assad.
"He is a martyr, who is now in a better place. I'm sure he is in heaven," said el-Lababidi's mother before the boy's burial later Friday at a cemetery in the northern Jordanian city of Ramtha. She would only identify herself as Umm Bilal, or "mother of Bilal," as conservative women often do in public rather than using their real names.
"The criminal Bashar is the reason," she said, slapping her face with her fists as she wept. She wore a veil over her face and a traditional Muslim head-to-toe robe. "Bashar is killing his people and the whole world is watching and doing nothing."
Jordan's Information Minister Sameeh Maaytah, in Amman, initially identified the boy by the last name el-Labloubi and said he was three years old. But a member of the Syrian rebel Free Syrian Army who was now hosting Umm Bilal and her two younger, surviving sons at a house in northern Jordan corrected that. He said the boy was six with the last name el-Lababidi. The FSA member spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the group's presence in Jordan.
The family - Bilal's father, mother, Bilal and his two younger brothers - had been fleeing from the southern Syrian town of Daraa, which was where their country's uprising began 17 months ago and which has continued to be a major battleground between rebels and regime forces. Bilal's father is a corporal in the regime military but had decided to defect, the mother said.
They and the others in the group were slipping across farmland and olive groves between the Syrian town of Tal Shihab and the Jordanian border village of Turrah.
As their group neared the border, however, Syrian border troops opened fire and the refugees ran, Umm Bilal said. The soldiers sprayed the area with bullets, according to a Jordanian border officer and a relative of Bilal who made it into Jordan with his mother. Jordanian guards fired in the air to try to scare off the Syrian troops, the Jordanian officer said.
"Bullets were coming from all directions. It was scary. I didn't know if one hit me and I couldn't look back to see if the others were wounded," said the relative, a frail man who sported a long beard who spoke on condition he not be identified for fear of retaliation against the family in Syria.
Bilal was running with his mother, the relative said, toward the border, which in that area is marked by remnants of an old barbed wire-lined ditch. The barbed wire is old, with gaps, and is more of a marker than a barrier.
But then Bilal "slipped from his mother's hand" and went ahead and was shot just meters (yards) from the border, he said.
Umm Bilal said the Jordanians took her son in and tried to save him, "but he was already dead."
Bilal's father and most of the others in the group ran back into Syria amid the gunfire, Umm Bilal said.
The Jordanian border official said he believed that amid the firing, the boy was specifically targeted because he was closest the fence. "It looks like a sniper targeted him to scare the others," the official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.
Syrian army troops frequently open fire at those trying to cross the border to stop them, but not always - it depends on whether they are busy with quelling protests or rebels in nearby towns, the official said. Around 700 Syrians crossed on Thursday with no shots fired at them.
Last November, one woman was shot in the leg. In April, troops fired at a large group of around 900 refugees, wounding dozens, many of whom - including women were then arrested and taken back into Syria.
But el-Lababidi is the first person to be killed, the border official and other Jordanian officials said. An FSA commander based in Turkey who monitors the border movements into Jordan, Ahmed Kassem, also said the boy was the first killed.
French Police Attacked For Checking ID of Muslim Woman In Burqa
Wake the hell up everyone.
From Islam Versus Europe via The Religion of Peace.
Muslim Mob Rule in Marseilles: Police Attacked While Doing Burka Check, Attackers Released Without Charge
There have been a few attacks on police in France and Belgium while they were conducting burka checks. But this is the first time the state has taken the side of the attackers. With a 40% Muslim demographic in Marseilles and 93% of Muslims voting Socialist, the police can expect a lot more betrayal from Socialist politicians, including the new Hollande government.
In the restive port city of Marseille, police fear that the release of four people arrested for allegedly attacking officers during an ID check on a woman wearing an Islamic veil will undermine their fight against violent crime in the city.
By FRANCE 24 (text)
Marseille police say three of its officers were injured in the early hours of July 25 when a mob of some 50 people tried to prevent them from checking the identity of a woman who was wearing a full Islamic veil.
Under a controversial law passed in 2010, wearing a full veil or covering one’s face in a public place is illegal in France and offenders must submit to ID checks.
According to the police, the woman was stopped just after midnight near a city mosque and refused to cooperate with the officers.
A man accompanying her as well as a large group of bystanders came to her aid and three officers were “lightly injured” in a scuffle.
After police reinforcements arrived, four people, including the 18-year-old woman named only as “Louise-Marie”, were arrested for allegedly assaulting the officers – but were promptly released with a warning on the orders of the city prosecutor.
According to an AFP source, the decision was “a gesture of appeasement during the holy [Islamic] month of Ramadan.”
‘Astonished’
“What kind of message does this send out?” asked David-Olivier Reverdy, head of the Alliance police union. “We are absolutely astonished.”
He told FRANCE 24 the prosecutor’s decision would have “heavy consequences” in a city where “gun crime and ultra-violence is common” and where relations between city residents and local law enforcement are “particularly tense”.
“The prosecutor has given carte blanche to criminals in Marseille,” he said. “The message is that they can behave with impunity. It is extremely worrying.”
FRANCE 24 contacted the Marseille prosecutor but he was unavailable to comment when this article was published.
Marseille has a long history of criminality associated with its status as a port city.
Particularly worrying for law enforcement authorities has been the proliferation of firearms which has given Marseille the dubious distinction of being the Kalashnikov capital of France.
The police have been fighting back, and in the first five months of 2012 seized 261 firearms in the city, compared to a total of 309 for the whole of 2011.
Reverdy said the efforts had reduced the number of armed robberies in the city by 25% - a reduction of around 100 in the first half of 2012.
‘The law of the Republic’
He told FRANCE 24 that he and his fellow officer believed leniency after an alleged attack on policemen risked undermining recent progress.
“It is the law of the Republic [that ID checks are made on people wearing veils] and whether we like it or not we have to be seen to be enforcing it,” he said.
Reverdy’s feelings were backed up by Marseille’s deputy mayor Nora Présozi.
“If we want to avoid an explosive situation the police must be allowed to apply the law,” she told weekly news magazine Le Point. “Every citizen is obliged to submit to identity checks when required, as was the case in this disgraceful incident.”
The 2010 law, which came into effect in April 2011, bans the wearing of any garment that prevents easy identification of an individual by police in a public place.
As well as ski masks and balaclavas, the law also applies to Islamic “niqab” and “burka” veils.
Refusal to remove veils in public or to comply with ID checks is punishable by a 150 euro fine, while people who force others to cover their faces in public face fines of 30,000 euros and a year in prison.
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