Judeopundit

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

MENL: Egyptian Nukes

MENL is in must-read mode at the moment:

Officials said President Hosni Mubarak has ordered the start of the nuclear project over the next month. They said the program would focus on civilian projects, particularly nuclear energy and research.

"No one protests Egypt's peaceful, clear and transparent nuclear program," Egyptian Electricity Minister Hassan Yunis said.

On Monday, Yunis told the state-owned Al Akhbar daily that Egypt would construct nuclear power stations in a project approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The minister said this would be part of what he termed a "permanent and vast nuclear program."

Also at MENL:

"Libya seeks to become aerospace center"

"Hamas plans to expand force in the West Bank"

"Al Qaida plans for attacks in Kuwait"

Monday, October 23, 2006

CS Monitor: "Fallout of Hamas's rule spurs Palestinian desire to flee"

Interesting development:

. . . a growing number of Palestinians are openly saying they'd like to leave the West Bank and Gaza if given the chance, raising concern about the possibility of a Palestinian brain drain. The sentiment, which flouts the long-held Palestinian belief that Israeli occupation can only be resisted by staying put, is yet another indication of the deepening despair since Hamas was elected to run the government.

This desire to flee also comes amid ongoing violence in the Gaza Strip. On Monday, Israeli troops killed at least seven Palestinians in one of the deadliest days of fighting following the June 25 capture of an Israeli soldier.

Birzeit University pollster Nader Said, who has monitored emigration attitudes for 12 years, says the percentage of Palestinians willing to relocate once hovered just below 20 percent. When that figure jumped to 32 percent in a September survey, Mr. Said says he was shocked.

The catalyst, the pollster says, has been Palestinian disillusionment following Hamas's half-year in government. "What the Israelis were unable to do - try to push the Palestinian out of the country - the internal strife is achieving," he says.

Even more telling, adds Said, is that the percentage surges to 44 percent among Palestinians in their 20s and 30s. Among young men, it surges beyond 50 percent.

Muslim News (UK): "'Hizbullah rockets' for sale in Jiddah!"

This is credited to Arab News, and it is an interesting illustration of terrorist groups and leaders becoming trendy popular symbols:

Walking near the Bab Makkah area of Jeddah’s historic center during Ramadan this year, it is quite common to hear somebody offering to sell you some Hezbollah rockets.

“We’ve got Hezbollahs,” said one young man in a thick Yemeni accent to the passing crowds of Ramadan shoppers. “We’ve got it all. Good prices, too.”

If you happen to hear this, relax. The guy is just trying to sell you some meter-tall rockets — the kind you fire into the air in celebration rather than the other kind.

Thanks to this summer’s clashes in Southern Lebanon, “Hezbollah” has become the fashionable nickname for the largest and most expensive of the fireworks that you can buy in downtown Jeddah: One rocket costs SR150, and if the “Hezbollah” is a little too big or expensive, the firecracker pusher might also have some smaller “Bin Ladens” available.

While these toys aren’t weapons, they are quite formidable by firecracker standards. A meter-long stick of wood with an explosive charge the size of a stick of dynamite sounds pretty darn close to something you might hear in an actual battlefield when exploded.

“You stick the wood in the ground and light it here,” said an illegal firecracker dealer after escorting this reporter to his secret location, which felt like a den of ill repute. “It goes up, and then it goes boom with many colors.”

New York Magazine: Rachel Corrie play a bit flat

Here is the last paragraph of the review:

Corrie’s diaries are more valuable in describing a budding idealist’s growth than in bearing witness to the world’s knottiest conflict. Even here, though, unlovely notes intrude. More than once, Corrie takes an oddly detached view of Palestinian violence, doubting that it could have “any impact” on the Israelis—a surprisingly clinical tone for such a sensitive advocate of social justice, as if it’s the body count incurred in a bus bombing that matters. I didn’t pick the example at random. While Corrie was in Gaza, a suicide bomber destroyed a bus in Haifa, killing fifteen people—mainly children—including an American girl even younger than Corrie, one involved in a program to reconcile Arab and Jewish students. There’s something poignant in the ways these two sad stories parallel each other and diverge. I can even imagine a drama using their deaths to tell us something new about the conflict, or help us better understand its whole horrible complexity. This play doesn’t.

(Hat Tip: Martin Kramer)

LA Jewish Journal: "American Jews are learned in everything -- except Jewish texts"

The illustration for the story is an image of the first page of Gemara Berachos. The caption reads "A page from the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a." That's correct, but why not point out that this is the first page of the whole Shas?

The American Jewish community is one of the most learned and sophisticated communities in Jewish history - in everything except Jewish texts. As Jews, we are illiterate.

This phenomenon has its roots in our history over the last 150 years. During that time, the Jewish people underwent five events, each one of which can be counted as a major upheaval. These are the emergence of the Jews from the ghetto into the modern world, the mass movement of Jews from Europe to the United States, the systematic suppression of religion in the Soviet Union, the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel.

These events went far in determining the nature of the Jewish world today and led to the fact that in the United States, we remain comfortable and sophisticated in the Western world and immature in our Jewish knowledge. The Jewish educational establishment has tried to remedy this problem and, to some extent, has succeeded. The number of day schools certainly has grown. Still, as a community, we remain undertaught and illiterate.

Consequently, when youngsters go off to a university armed with the Jewish education they received in religious schools, or even many of our day schools, they are unable, by and large, to integrate their Jewish knowledge into their much more sophisticated secular knowledge. Even more so, they are unable to have them in equal dialogue with one another.

The basis of good education does not rest on supplying you with facts but on teaching you how to read. In a university, you do not learn science as much as how to function within science or how to read literature or how to write poetry or solve a mathematical problem.

In Jewish texts, by those criteria, we are illiterate. We do not learn how to read Bible but only learn the stories in the Bible. Rabbinic texts that are central in classical Jewish literature remain foreign to most of us. We celebrate holidays, but know nothing of the theology behind them. We pray, sometimes, but know nothing about the theology of the prayer book. Jewish survival relies on loyalty and nostalgia and not on meaning and value . . .

Notice how this is written from a Jewishly illiterate standpoint for an illiterate audience? That means the author has a point, right? Someone lamenting poor educational achievement in secular learning would point out that graduates don't know any Shakespeare or that they don't know King Lear. They wouldn't refer to "masterpieces of post-classical literature which are foreign to most of us." What does the author recommend?

How can this be done? First, we have to set our goals higher. Teachers must know how to read the text. For example, the Bible has its own style, as do rabbinic and medieval texts. These styles must be taught and mastered. We should be cautious about separating between biblical story and midrash or rabbinical explanation.

We must also understand that the rabbis wrote in a very particular nonlinear style. Information was not given from beginning to end; their style was coded. The prayer book, which they composed, is a master composition, but in order to understand it, you have to know how biblical sections are chosen and put in different contexts and how the rabbis established specific forms of prayer.

The Jewish calendar is a complex theological statement and should be taught as such. Unlike the secular American calendar, all of the holidays are connected one to another.

All of this must be taught in connection to the other, secular education that these students are receiving. They should know the tremendous impact of the Bible on Western civilization and how the concept of history comes from it. They should understand Jewish theology in its many facets.

A good command of Shas and Poskim would cover most of this. I'd give this article a C+. That's a passing grade, but the wheel in question is an Orthodox education, and the author seems a bit misguided in calling for its reinvention as part of a grand Jewish-Western amalgam that would probably shortchange the Jewish part.

IRIB: "Gathering discusses fall of Zionism"

Does anyone still doubt that hostile Iranian rhetoric about Israel has military implications?

A Meeting on Islamic Resistance and the Downing of Zionism was held in Tehran Sunday in which several political officials and figures from I.R. of Iran and Palestine expressed views about the Palestinian developments.

Mostafa Joheir, the Palestinan charge d'affaires, Mohammad Termez, Lebanese Hezbollah delegate in Tehran, Abu Jahad, delegate of the Palestinan Islamic Jihad in Tehran, and Mostafa Rahmandoust, Secretary general of the Society in Defense of the Palestinian Nation (SDPN) were lecturers to the meeting, who underlined continued Palestinian resistance based on Islamic faith as key to put an end to life of Zionism.

The gathering was aimed to champion the idea of expansion of Palestinian resistance by taking example from the 33-day Lebanese resistance against the invading Zionist regime.

On the fringes of the meeting, an art workshop was staged in which student artists were creating their works in three main veriations of painting, image-making and caligraphy.

At the end of the meeting, a statement in 7 articles was published in which the participants warned that the occupying and racist Zionist regime has been formed to incite discord among Islamic governments and push Muslim capitals towards arms race instead of societal progress.

The statement underscores Zionist regime's backtrack from the so-called 'Nile to Euphrate' slogan.

The statement described Zionist regime's move to build up a colonial wall around Zionist settled areas as a sign that it is desperate.

The statement hails the irrefragable role of Imam Khomeini the Great and his Islamic Revolution in awakening Islamic nations and making Palestinian youth resistance to blossom into a full-fledged fight.The statement urges Islamic nations to assume role to thwart Zionism ominous goals and make Islamic governments to battle the regime until it falls apart.

The gathering was co-held by the Qods News Agency (Qodsna) and the Ilsamic Azad University.

Let's see, how did Juan Cole put it? "I am entirely aware that Ahmadinejad is hostile to Israel. The question is whether his intentions and capabilities would lead to a military attack, and whether therefore pre-emptive warfare is prescribed."

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Breathtakingly bad argument

In a HuffPo post entitled "'Disenfranchised'? When Words Lose Meaning," Alex Keyssar, "Stirling Professor of History and Social Policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard" no less, complains that right-wingers are using the term "disenfranchised" to describe the possible distortion of election returns by voter fraud:

. . . it is both interesting and disturbing that advocates of the new voter ID laws have begun to borrow the word "disenfranchisement" and deform its meaning. Again and again, defenders of these laws have claimed that legitimate voters would be "disenfranchised" if illegal voters were able to cast ballots. Disenfranchised? How so? If huge numbers of imposters voted and illegally changed the outcome of an election, legitimate voters would have been cheated, but not disenfranchised. The election would have been stolen, but no one would have lost their right to vote.

Let's paraphrase this argument: "If your vote was rendered meaningless in a rigged-election, you would still have the right to vote." If that is a good argument, why not argue that someone discouraged from voting by an ID requirement (what Keyssar is worried about) still has the franchise, the right to vote? Don't both arguments depend on making a distinction between thwarting the exercise of a right and removing the right itself?

Omaha becomes police state--citizens inform on neighbors

From WorldNetDaily:

Omaha's tough new anti-smoking ordinance banning the practice in nearly all public places comes with an even tougher enforcement policy.

The Nebraska city's elected leaders and police department are urging residents who see violations to call the 9-1-1 emergency system for an immediate response.

Omaha banned smoking in public Oct. 2. Penalties are $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second and $500 for the third and subsequent infractions.

Teresa Negron, sergeant in charge of public information for the police, explained the department encourages observers of infractions to pick up the phone to report the infraction – just like they would for any other crime they observe being committed.

Some citizens are still expressing reluctance to dial 9-1-1. One woman commented, "What if the person is really smoking a joint or some crack? I'll call 9-1-1 and he'll be arrested unjustly!" (Hat Tip: Drudge)

(North) Korean News: "Concession and Submission to Imperialism Mean Death: Rodong Sinmun"

These articles are like snowflakes:

To yield to the imperialists and opt for compromising with them would lead people to ruin with its sovereignty deprived of, says Rodong Sinmun Sunday in a signed article. Concession and submission to the imperialists is an expression of weakness and subservience and little short of abandoning the revolutionary principle, the article says, and goes on:

What is most important for those countries aspiring after independence to keep the revolutionary principle is to take a staunch anti-imperialist and anti-U.S. stand.

A biggest stumbling block in the way of achieving the human cause of independence and peace at present is the U.S. imperialists' aggression and war moves. All the progressive countries of the world should never allow the U.S. to infringe upon their sovereignty even a bit but seriously approach and resolutely reject its aggression against other countries, regarding it as an aggression against themselves.

They should have no slightest illusion about the imperialists. The Illusion would lead them to compromise and concession.

If they are afraid of the U.S., they will read its face and curry its favor, unable to say and do what they should, bereft of independence and Juche character. A way for a country and nation to defend its destiny is to respond to the U.S. use of force with force and with merciless punishment. To this end it is imperative to build military force with a correct viewpoint of enemies and war.

To increase self-reliant national defence capacity would guarantee sovereignty, peace and victory in the anti-imperialist and anti-U.S. struggle.

The present stand-off between the DPRK and the U.S. represents the most serious and fiercest confrontation between the progressive and the reactionary, between peace forces and aggression forces. The U.S. imperialists are desperately trying to ignite a new war on the Korean Peninsula, having designated the DPRK as a major target of attack. An important lesson the Korean people have drawn from confrontation with the U.S. is that they will emerge victors only when they wage a staunch struggle without concession and submission in showdown with the enemy. The Korean people will wage a dynamic struggle for independence and socialism against imperialism under the uplifted banner of Songun.

I suppose there is a dim reflection of the issue of North Korea's nuclear tests in this article. Who knows.

The Veil Controversy

The controversy over the Niqab, the veil worn by some Muslim women, is turning out to be the latest development in the clash of civilizations. The whole question is very interesting to me because, as a religious Jew whose wife covers her hair, I see the Muslims' point to a certain extent. Modest dress is indeed preferable to immodest dress, and it is quite easy to point to the crassness of modern society, the demeaning aspects of beauty contests, women with poor body-images, the family in a shambles, etc. The question seems to be, however, how far this argument goes. What if a woman's appearance is obscured to the point that family portraits become pointless?

One writer to weigh in in favor of veils is one of our favorite providers of blog-fodder, Yvonne Ridley, who appears in the Washington Post. (I wonder if they will print her "I'm not an anti-Semite--my hairdresser is Jewish" essay?). Here is one of her arguments:

I didn't know whether to scream or laugh when Italy's Prodi joined the debate last week by declaring that it is "common sense" not to wear the nikab because it makes social relations "more difficult." Nonsense. If this is the case, then why are cellphones, landlines, e-mail, text messaging and fax machines in daily use? And no one switches off the radio because they can't see the presenter's face.

Again, one wonders how far these arguments go. Does her inclusion of fax machines and text messages mean that she would defend a culture that required women to write their communications on little notepads instead of speaking?

In contrast to Ridley, who tries to picture the Niqab as just another form of liberating, voluntarily assumed modesty, Egyptian blogger Big Pharaoh is critical:

So why do so many Muslim women decide to wear such a repressive attire. There are three reasons. One, the culture that the woman was raised in. Saudi Arabia is a good example. Many Saudi women wear the niqab just because every female member in the family does so. Two, orders from family and husbands. Three, conviction, the "thus said the Lord" rule. These women are told by ultra ultra radical Muslim preachers that God orders her to cover her face or that she will earn extra points (above the ones she'll get if she covered her hair) if she buried herself inside a niqab. And as you all know, nothing is as powerful as the words "God said so".

Muslim Blogger Indigo Jo provides an account of a panel discussion and a lengthy rebuttal of Melanie Phillips here.

Phillips insists on the political dimension of the veil:

On the Moral Maze last night, which discussed the place of religious symbols such as the Muslim veil and the Christian cross in public life, one of our witnesses was Nai’ma B Robert, a convert to Islam who wore the niqab or full-face veil. She spoke well, although I thought naively, about how she chose to wear the niqab as an ‘act of worship’ — naively because she was unwilling to face up to the political purpose of the veil and its role as a symbol of the jihad which is used to recruit more people to the cause of Islamising society and to demoralise and intimidate its victims. That is why not just the niqab but also the hijab has been banned from public places in Turkey and Tunisia. Talking to her brought something else home to me: the radical imbalance of power in the encounter, due to the fact that while she could see my face I could not see hers. The situation was, in short, utterly preposterous, made all the worse by the fact that we are all currently sitting around solemnly discussing whether it might be wrong to object — and that some of my fellow panellists thought it was. Truly, this is where liberalism disappears up its own fundament.

This is all probably bad news for the Jews. Anti-Semitism is probably more rampant among the Niqab-wearing Muslims than among the Muslim population in general. Tzniuskeit--modesty in dress--is indeed a beautiful thing. It will be a great pity if if becomes associated in the public mind with anti-Western fanaticism.

New developments.

Cathy Young weighs in.

Juche Sentence of the Day 10/22/06

This is actually from yesterday's IRIB, but such a Juche sentence! First some context:

A large group of veteran commanders and soldiers of the eight-year Sacred Defense (1980-1988) against the then Western-backed Iraqi invaders, each had spent 50 to 100 months in the war zone, were special guests of the Islamic Revolution Leader Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei Saturday.

During the cordial meeting, several candidates told their memoirs of those days of blood and epic.

Then, Ayatollah Khamenei in some remarks confirmed that the Sacred Defense time was entirely abundant in pride and epic, adding the Iranian nation showed in its eight year defense that it is never inclined to aggress against any other country, but should it have to defend its national identity and holy aspirations, it will teach lessons to the world by its resistance.

Ayatollah Khamenei described the eight year war as defensive in nature though not evenly balanced as well, adding, "During the eight year Scared Defense all international folds of power either in West or in East deployed forces against the Iranian nation in political, military, economic and propaganda lines so that the war was actually between international powers on the one side and the Islamic Republic of Iran on the other.

The Islamic Revolution Leader honored the manner in which the Sacred Defense came to an end. In this regard, Ayatollah Khamenei was critical of certain unfounded debates about the end of war, saying, "The absolute victory of the Islamic Republic of Iran at the end of the eight year imposed war was irrefragable, because Saddam Baathist regime which first invaded the Iranian soil with international all-backing to topple the Islamic System and dismember the country was at the end repelled out with its hands empty having sustained a large fatalities number and heavy damage while on the other side the Iranian nation blossomed to an unimaginable source of capabilities.

Ayatollah Khamenei then pointed to present art and literary works that tell the story of Sacred Defense memories, delicate moments and bright time and described the volume of these works as pale, because, "the war time remains to be a sensitive and instructive moment in the history of nations and for the same reason the memories of the Sacred Defense era must be collected from all those who have some point to speak about by a professional, art-inspired, and intellectual set of procedures."

IRIB Radio: "the legendry anti-terrorist movement, the Hezbollah of Lebanon"

"Legendry" indeed. IRIB Radio never lets me down:

Following Israel’s devastating defeat at the hands of the legendry anti-terrorist movement, the Hezbollah of Lebanon, the Zionist entity’s intelligence and army sources have begun to claim that Tel Aviv had no plans when launching its 33-day invasion of Lebanon.

The London-based Arabic daily ash-Sharq al-Owsat quoting Zionist sources wrote that while Zionist forces were getting ready to invade Lebanon, a section of the army's intelligence organization had voiced doubt about the army's ability in reaching its goals.

On this basis Israeli foreign ministry sources had stressed that intense bombings and ground attacks on southern Lebanon could not destroy Hezbollah and would not lead to the liberation of the detained Israeli soldiers either.

Saturday, October 21, 2006

There really is a Ministry of Silly Walks!

From the Daily Mail:

Young asylum seekers and refugees are to be given free clowning lessons at taxpayers' expense to help them adapt to life in Britain, it emerged.

The youngsters aged 12 to 25 will learn slapstick routines, how to tumble, silly walks and how to fall over during a course of nine theatre workshops estimated to cost up to a total of £2,000.

Organisers at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry say the classes, which will also teach clown face make-up and mime, are designed to boost the self-confidence of the youngsters.

But Bob Spink, Tory MP for Castle Point, branded the course a waste of public money and warned that such schemes risk triggering resentment.

(Hat Tip: Hot Air)

IRNA: "Anti-Zionist Jewish rabbi slams Germany for supporting Zionist regime"

You might want to put in one of those teeth-grinding guards before reading this:

A leading anti-Zionist Jewish rabbi here Saturday lashed out at Germany for supporting the Zionist regime, branding it a 'shame'.

Speaking at a Qods Day rally in Berlin, Rabbi Moishe Arye Friedmann said, "Germany has become the biggest ally of the Zionist regime after World War II and thus has become a partner in the warmongering policies of the Zionist regime."

Friedmann who is the chief rabbi for the anti-Zionist orthodox Jewish community in Vienna, Austria, added, "If Germany really wants to make amends for its World War II crimes, it should support the Palestinians and not the Zionist regime."

The rabbi called the Palestinians the 'real victims of the World War II'.

Friedmann accused the Zionists of 'instrumentalizing the suffering of Jews in World War II in order to pursue their own objectives'.

He termed 'Zionism as the great catastrophe for the Jewish religion'.

HuffPo offers "satrical obituary" of Bill O'Reilly

If "satirical" is supposed to mean funny--I don't think they mean "satirical" in the classical sense--then the following paragraphs are about as close as this gets:

Other speculative factors of death experts surmise that he may have died of natural causes due to his ever-expanding sense of self as Mr. O'Reilly's inability to control his I am always right politics (he was an independent, you know) nor the size of his ego, would have had to sooner or later lead to his passing .

"When one's view of his own worth to society far exceeds the body's physical perimeter and capacity to support what we call id girth, a self-combustion, much like explosive diarrhea, will likely occur," said death-causation authority, Dr. Mort Ality. "Most likely, Mr. O'Reilly's near uninterrupted six-month, 24/7 promotion of his new book, combined with his tough, hardnose, take no prisoners, interview with President Bush - where he thankfully found time to promote his new book - proved fatal. Of course, he could have died just from his body's inability to withstand the strain brought about by the unnatural physical contortion from excessive patting of one's self on the back," said Dr. Ality. "It's like when people say they'll 'bend over backwards' for you. Sooner or later, something breaks."

The HuffPo bio gushes as follows about the author:

As talk show host, non-fiction author and novelist, weekly oped-columnist, award-winning television writer and filmmaker, Steve Young just may be one of America's busiest and most versatile talents.

MPAC-UK: "Exposed: Zionists Blocking Muslim Groups Who Tackle Terror"

The MPAC-UK website has received some prior attention here. One hopes that its claim to be the "most visited Muslim website in Britain" is not true since its content is generally dominated by breathlessly hysterical condemnation of Israel accompanied by pictures of dead children. The present item offers a rather incredible combination of the usual hysteria and pure vagueness: Who was the Muslim group? Who were the "pro Israel goups"? What reasons were given for not trusting the Muslim group? Does MPAC have more to go on than somebody's claim?

MPACUK is now the most visited Muslim website in Britain, so it’s only right those who visit us have their say!

We aim to really express the real thoughts and feelings of the Muslim public, on many of our unspoken fears and hopes within Britain.

One of the hot topics that Muslim groups are secretly talking about in hushed phone calls to each other is how Zionist groups are dictating which Muslim groups should be engaged with. So we thought, "hey why not let the public have their say on the matter...?"

I think Muslims nearly choked on our tea and kebabs when we heard Ruth Kelly actually link government funding to tackle terrorism with “attending the Holocaust memorial day” – now what’s that got to do with stopping terrorism?

It was a veiled threat to Britain’s most powerful Muslim group, the MCB. In short, it said: “Mess with Israeli lobby within the Labour party and see if we don’t sideline you!”

Apart from proving that if Muslims were not involved in political parties, those who opposed us would be, it also showed the power of the lobby within Labour.

But how could the British Government, tasked to protect the lives of British citizens, allow a pro Israeli lobby to jeopardise efforts to save peoples' lives just because they didn’t like the groups' stand on HMD?

That’s not the only group they have tried to sideline.

Another anonymous Muslim group was also making the Muslim group rounds with their tale of how they recently went to help the police in a bid to help them stop terrorism within Britain. One would have thought the police would have jumped at the chance, considering how little penetration they have had within the Muslim community.

Lo and behold this Muslim group was thwarted from offering its services to Britain. It transpired that pro Israel groups had sent secret dossiers to the police asking them not to deal with certain Muslim groups. In short it was a secret black list compiled and sent around telling the police who they could and could not deal with – created by Israel’s powerful lobbies within Britain. The police had lost another ally in the battle against terror.

But does the Muslim public decide who the authorities speak too or those who oppose us? Can Muslim be held responsible for any terrorist outrage when the very groups who are at the forefront of tackling it are not engaged with, and are sidelined by anti Muslim lobby groups?

If the Zionists are the “official voice of the Muslims” then maybe they should deal with the problem themselves and no one should point the finger if another fifty plus innocent people are killed in some subway.

Can we at least blame the bombers?

For Zionists to use such underhanded dirty tactics to stifle British Muslim groups from protecting British lives they should be ashamed of themselves. How could they put their love for Israel over the lives of Brits?

If there is any group that has been sidelined or stopped from tacking an active role against terrorism then please email us or write in and we will expose it for the people of Britain to decide who is helping and who is hindering the battle to stop the next outrage.

After that we will hold the Police and Government accountable for any future terrorist action - we the Muslim community did what we could; no one can now say we didnt try.

MENL: "Kuwait Finds Iranian Sleeper Cells"

Middle East Newsline is always worth checking:

Kuwait has determined that Iran has been financing sleeper cells in the sheikdom.

Officials said Iranian agents have established sleeper cells within Kuwait's huge Shi'ite community, estimated to comprise nearly half of the sheikdom's population. They said the agents have been quietly providing financing and instructions to Kuwaiti Shi'ites, some of whom were brought to Iran for indoctrination.

"It's not a new phenomenon," a Western diplomatic source said. "Kuwait has been increasingly concerned by Iranian infiltration of the Shi'ite community."

The Kuwaiti daily Al Watan reported that security forces have increased monitoring of what the newspaper termed "non-Al Qaida sleeping cells." The newspaper said Kuwait has received assistance from the United States and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Friday, October 20, 2006

Mahmoud and his pals

Open letter to Nasrallah

Dear Mr. Nasrallah,

Courtesy of business opportunity, I take liberty anchored on strong desire to solicit for your assistance on this mutual beneficiary and risk free transaction with you, which I hope you give urgent attention.

I am the son of Fred McBoeing, a very successful defense-industry CEO. I recently discovered that my deceased father's company possesses an abandoned warehouse of very high-quality ICBM's. We have been unable to determine what country sought to purchase these ICBM's. The defense law and procedures herein stipulates that any warehouses abandoned or dormant for a period of some years are subject to be closed and all abandoned weapons contained therein will be forfeited to the government weapons stocks.

I therefore seek your assistance to allow the remittance of these weapons to be made to your terrorist group's warehouse. We have agreed that 30% of the total weapons will be given to you and 70% will be for me and my colleagues after the successful transference of the weapons to your warehouse.

To enable these weapons to be successfully transferred to your stockpile, you will also have to provide the following information:

1. The location of all your weapons storage facilities.

2. The locations of all your rocket launchers.

3. The locations of all your command bunkers.

More information about the remittance of the weapons to your warehouse will be sent to you when I receive your response (care of this weblog). We also wish to discuss military strategy with you. We have the plan of investing part of our fund in military installations with your assistance in your country. Please treat this information as confidential.

Sincerely yours,

Irving McBoeing

Koran Desecration Threat Level Raised: Code Red

Authorities warned Thurston County, Washington residents today that the threat of a Koran desecration incident is considered to be very high. The threat level was raised after a male suspect in his early twenties was observed buying a copy of Mohammed Pickthall's Koran translation "The Meaning of the Glorious Koran" in a Borders Bookstore near Evergreen State College.

The authorities became extremely concerned after it was reported that the suspect was wearing gloves at the time of the purchase, prompting police to suspect that he wants to throw the book into a toilet without leaving fingerprints.

In anticipation of an attempted Koran desecration, security has been increased in all public bathrooms on the Evergreen College campus.

In a related story, the State of California is contemplating a proposed mesure which would ban toilet openings large enough to accomodate Quarto-sized Korans. CAIR has issued a statement urging that the new law require that toilet opening sizes be kept small enough to prevent desecration of Octavo-sized Korans.