There Will Come Soft Rains

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There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;

And frogs in the pools singing at night,
And wild plum trees in tremulous white;

Robins will wear their feathery fire,
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;

And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,
If mankind perished utterly;

And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn
Would scarcely know that we were gone.

— Sara Teasdale

Since the news has been a bit of gloom lately — just a reminder that whether the war takes ten years or twenty, some day it will be done.

Pakistan Update

Lal Masjid is issuing threats after Musharraf’s speech (see yesterday’s update,) and it appears that yet another kidnapping was foiled by police. The self-appointed “Ummahzons” are still rattling their canes, but ineffectively. Previous articles on the crow-hatchery here.

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Suicide Car Bomb Attempt at Glasgow Airport

Two stories from Britain tell of a Jeep Cherokee on fire that tried to ram through security barriers at Glasgow airport.

suicide-jeep-bomber.jpgTwo stories from Britain tell of a Jeep Cherokee on fire that tried to ram through security barriers at Glasgow airport. First story from from BBC news:

 Eyewitnesses have described a Jeep Cherokee being driven at speed towards the building with flames coming out from underneath.

They have also described seeing two Asian men, one of whom was on fire, who had been in the car.

The airport has been evacuated and all flights suspended following the incident at 1515 BST.
One eyewitness said: “I heard the sound of a car’s wheels spinning and smoke coming out.

Reports are confused and limited at this time, probably in an effort to keep panic down. The Telegraph witnesses interviewed say it was a Land Rover, not a Cherokee.

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Lal Masjid Update

He said the female students of the Lal Masjid’s adjoining madrassa were “prepared for suicide attacks” and up to 500 children “were being used as human shields” to stop the government from contemplating any operation

President Musharraf spoke and revealed some reasons why the government has not yet taken action against Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa. It turns out that there are suicide bombers from Jaish-e=Mohamed, an Al Qaeda aligned jihadist group, inside the madrassas. They are using the female students as human shields, and he wants to prevent unecessary deaths. Sounds reasonable, but I have to wonder at the opportunities that the government has had to grab both of the brothers who lead the mosque while they were outside with the press that went unused.

This however could be a situation like Beslan, or the school in Iraq, where the madrassa is wired with high explosives and most of the students are really hostage.

Continue reading “Lal Masjid Update”

Tiger Tiger

tiger.jpg

The Tiger

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Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder, and what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? and what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

— William Blake

Why Does Britain Continue to Have Terrorist Attacks?

Perhaps this video will give you a clue as to why Britain continues to be subject to home-grown terror attacks, watch and listen closely.

Perhaps this video will give you a clue as to why Britain continues to be subject to home-grown terror attacks, watch and listen closely.

 Here’s the Wikipedia entry for Dar al Harb:

Dar al-Islam (Arabic: ??? ??????? literally house of submission) is a term used to refer to those lands under Muslim government(s). In the conservative tradition of Islam the world is divided into two components: dar al-Islam, the house of peace and dar al-Harb, the house of war.

Dar al-Islam and its associated terms are not found in the two most basic works of Islam, the Qur’an and the Hadith. Some modern Muslim scholars maintain that the labeling of a country or place as dar al-Islam or dar al-harb revolves around the question of religious security. This means that if a Muslim practices Islam freely in his place of abode, then he will be considered as living in a dar al-Islam, even if he happens to live in a secular or non-Islamic country. Traditional definitions tend to focus on which religion holds ultimate authority.

Recently, some Western Muslims have challenged the dar al-Islam/dar al-Harb worldview, suggesting additional ‘houses’ (or ‘abodes’) to describe differing situations. These have been criticised as being in violation of Islamic law and definitions by others

UK Car Bomb Foiled

MPACUK, KOS, and the MSM seem to be downplaying it with the usual litany of “don’t worry be happy” salvos – it wouldn’t have worked, it’s a marketing scheme, it’s a CIA plot against Brown, the IDF did it, etc. Getting tired of the loons unable to cope with reality because the facts aren’t convenient for their political world-view

Little Green Footballs has the best ongoing coverage, short list of facts:

MPACUK, KOS, and the MSM seem to be downplaying it with the usual litany of “don’t worry be happy” salvos – it wouldn’t have worked, it’s a marketing scheme, it’s a CIA plot against Brown, the IDF did it, etc. Getting tired of the loons unable to cope with reality because the facts aren’t convenient for their political world-view.

Islamic forums have postings warning of this, but so far nobody’s clearly claimed credit

This could have been a suicide car bomb, or a remote control car bomb, two cars involved and one suspect fled.

UPDATE : 2nd Car bomb discovered, mutiple propane canisters, cans of gasoline, and packs of roofing nails, both car bombs very similar to the ones used to massacre crowds in Baghdad Markets. What’s next for AQ in the UK? Clorine truck bombs?

Taliban Release Deminers

The Taliban released the 18 kidnapped deminers, but kept the dogs (probably for death since dogs are considered unclean) and the equipment they use. This effectively disables them in doing their worthy task of clearing mines that kill Afghani children until their equipment can be replaced.

The Taliban released the 18 kidnapped deminers, but kept the dogs (probably for death since dogs are considered unclean) and the equipment they use. This effectively disables them in doing their worthy task of clearing mines that kill Afghani children until their equipment can be replaced.

Earlier story here.