Lal Masjid Update

Posted on June 30, 2007 by Thanos

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 →

Posted in Politics | 6 Comments

Tiger Tiger

Posted on June 29, 2007 by Thanos

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

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Why Does Britain Continue to Have Terrorist Attacks?

Posted on June 29, 2007 by Thanos

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

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UK Car Bomb Foiled

Posted on June 29, 2007 by Thanos

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?

Posted in Journalism, Politics | 1 Comment

Taliban Release Deminers

Posted on June 28, 2007 by Thanos

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.

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Brownback Voted for it…

Posted on June 28, 2007 by Thanos

You know the rest  — before he voted against it. Should he be running for President? Methinks not.

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Space War Power

Posted on June 28, 2007 by Thanos

Taylor Dinerman has an article that’s recommended reading here.

An Excerpt:
As long as we live in a world without an all-out major war, the most dangerous form of space power is non-military. The mullahs of Iran and, before them, the Afghan Taliban banned satellite dishes, for good reason. Commercial Western television is a subversive force of unmatched power. While pro-jihadi television such as al-Jazeera and al-Manar continues to have an immediate impact, the forces of western commercial culture, as well as dissident broadcasts relayed via satellite to the Middle East, are at least as destabilizing. At some point people get tired of ideology and long to be normal. It will probably take decades for this to have a decisive effect, but as long as the West maintains a steady stream of entertainment products flowing into the minds of young potential jihadis the outcome is predictable.

This is why Iran’s 2003 Cuba-based jamming of broadcasts from Persian exiles based in Southern California is so significant. They went after the Telstar 12 satellite in geosynchronous orbit because it was feeding the people of Iran with alternative ideas that originated from people whose basic culture and religion were identical to their own. Satellite television allows people who speak the same language and share the same culture to stay in touch and to maintain their identity even when living thousands of kilometers apart. For good or ill this is an inescapable aspect of what may be termed “soft” space power.

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Taliban Recruiting Drive Continues

Posted on June 28, 2007 by Thanos

No commentary needed here, story from the Frontier Post:

One of three boys kidnapped by Taliban earlier in the week has been slaughtered, alleges a district chief in the southern Kandahar province. Of the abducted teenaged trio, two youngsters were lucky enough to have a narrow escape from captivity but the third one had his throat slit, the Nawbahar districts administrative head said on Thursday. Mullah Zarif told Pajhwok Afghan News the 15-year-old – all too green to take sides in the ongoing insurgency – was killed on the ludicrous charge of spying for government forces. But Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, expressing ignorance about the teenagers execution, said he had not yet received any information in this regard.

Meanwhile, some who are willing Taliban show how inept and stupid they are:

Three militants died when a bomb they were planting on a road used by the Pakistan army detonated prematurely in a tribal area bordering Afghanistan. The three were killed at Datta Khel in Waziristan late on Wednesday “while planting an improvised explosive device

So, I guess no virgins for them… maybe they will get 72 devils to play with the pieces of their bodies instead, what do you think?

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China and Pakistan

Posted on June 28, 2007 by Thanos

The Editorial in the Daily times tonight is well worth reading, covering as it does the government of Pakistan’s failure to reign in the extremists in the Mosque. Is Musharraf running Pakistan, or is it Abdul Aziz and Ghazi?

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Shamnesty Bill Dies

Posted on June 28, 2007 by Thanos

Ding Dong The Bill is dead! The Bill is dead! Ding Dong the Wicked Bill is dead.

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