USS Neverdock

Who is really behind all these world wide terror attacks?

Well the deputy editor Abd Al-Wahhab 'Adas of Egyptian government daily Al-Gumhouriyya blames, not so surprisingly, the Jews. From MEMRI

"If you want to know the real perpetrator of every disaster or every act of terrorism, look for the Zionist Jews. They are behind all the violent and terror operations that have occurred everywhere in the world. [They do this] first of all in order to slap [the label of the attacks] on the Arabs and Muslims, and second to harm them, distort their image, and represent them to the world as terrorists who endanger innocents. What is even more dangerous is that after every terror operation they perpetrate, they leave a sign, clue, or traces meant to show that the perpetrators are Arab Muslims.

Now this is going to be a shock for one Egyptian. I mean this Egyptian is going to be really pissed off that the credit for all his hard work, planning and brilliant execution is given to the Jews. I mean his entire life as been devoted to their destruction. He has spent cold lonely nights in a tent in some far off mountains making intricate plans and spending millions of his hard cash to kill Jews everywhere. And now this Egyptian editor has the nerve the audacity to give all the credit to the Jews!

Who is this Egyptian I refer to? Who doesn't get credit where credit is do? Who is the weakest link?

Ayman al-Zawahri From The BBC

Ayman al-Zawahri, an eye surgeon who helped found the Egyptian Islamic Jihad militant group, is often referred to as Bin Laden's right hand man and the chief ideologue of al-Qaeda.

[...]

Born in Egypt in 1951, Ayman al-Zawahri, comes from a middle class family of doctors and scholars.

Man this guy has got to be pissed off. bin Laden gets all the credit for Al-Qaeda and now his own country gives the Jews all the credit for all the world wide terror! What is a terrorist mastermind to do? How does one prove conclusively that it is not the Jews behind all this terror and prove it is an Egyptian?

Poor al-Zawahri, he reminds me of the meeting between Billy Graham and the Pope.

One of the cardinals guarding the door of their private meeting couldn't stand it any longer and peeped through the keyhole. Billy was seated in the Pope's chair with the Pope standing in front of Billy, waving his arms is distress and proclaimed in a loud stern voice, "But Dr. Graham I am a Catholic!"

So, al-Zawahri yells at Abd Al-Wahhab 'Adas "Damnit I am a terrorist!"

Here is a picture of the North Korean train blast.

Would bin Laden be welcome in Sweden?

The answer might surprise you.

NewsMax has a good round up of the latest global sweep of terror cells. The article illustrates how countries around the world are cooperating to defeat terrorism. In all but one country it would seem.

"As long as someone doesn't do anything while they're here, they're fine," said Norell of the Swedish Defense Research Agency. "It's not illegal to be from another country or on a terror list."

Indeed, in Stockholm, the capital, the leadership of Indonesia's rebel Aceh group moves about freely. Indonesia has sought their deportation, but Sweden said there's no proof they're guiding the rebel movement from afar.

If I was a jihadist I know where I would hide out. Yeah, it's cold. But hey, it's home.

'Osama Captured' e-Mail is Malicious Trojan From Internetnews

Those "Osama Bin Laden Captured" e-mails hammering your in-box today will attempt to download a Trojan if the embedded URL is clicked, anti-virus experts warned Friday.

Be warned.

The Guardian doesn't even recognize its own reporter!

Does it get any funnier than this?

Claire Cozens writing in The Guardian about the BBC pulling some of its staff out of Iraq used this quote:

"This explains some of the poor coverage coming out of Iraq. Neither the BBC nor ITV has anyone in Falluja, but ITV has at least broadcast an interview with [aid worker] Jo Wilding from the city. The BBC should be giving the other side of the story," he said.

Notice the bracketed "aid worker"? This despite the fact that Ms Wilding is a well known anti-war activist and "journalist" who has written many articles for the Guardian. See my earlier post with links to some of her Guardian "reports".

Maybe Claire and Ms Wilding should "do lunch" sometime or get their nails done together. I'm sure Ms Wilding could teach Claire a thing or two about "journalism".

Anybody see or hear the ITV broadcast of the interview with Ms Wilding? If so, how did they identify her?

Blasts target Iraqi oil terminals From The BBC

Three boats have exploded in apparently co-ordinated suicide attacks near two Iraqi oil terminals in the Gulf, off the southern city of Basra.

I wrote about just such an attack on Grangemouth, Scotland, in a post on 6 April.

There was a strike at the Grangemouth terminal a few years ago that severely restricted petrol supplies. In my little town there were long lines and all but one station ran out of petrol. Imagine what would happen if this terminal was taken out completely.

The rail system in the UK would be unable to cope with the increased civilian and goods traffic. People would find it difficult to get to work or do their shopping. It would be difficult to even get the goods to the shops in the first place.

And then there is the terror value.

Many years ago just such an explosion at a Texas terminal killed hundreds. An explosion at Grangemouth could kill thousands.

UPDATE: The question is, does Al-Qaeda have the ships to do the job? Possibly.

From World Net Daily

While al-Qaida continues to hide from international authorities 15 ships it has purchased, there are growing warnings around the world the next dramatic terror attack is more likely to come at sea than in the air.

Al-Qaeda goes for decapitation

Remember my earlier post "Al-Qaeda attack soon and it will be chemical!"
here

In that article I said "Al-Qaeda's hallmark is large scale multiple attacks at once and they may be planning to hit the US and UK simultaneously."

So what did lawmakers in the US and the UK do this week? From Jihad Watch

In Washington, they discussed what to do if 100 or more members of Congress were killed. In London, there was a "specific threat" to the House of Commons. From The Telegraph, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

MI5 discovered a "specific threat" that terrorists were planning to use anthrax or ricin to launch a deadly attack in the Commons chamber, MPs were told yesterday. This helped to persuade them to vote in favour of spending £1.3 million on a permanent glass security barrier between the public gallery and rest of the chamber.

See, you don't have to destroy the buildings to destroy the government.

The 911 attacks were billed by some as the ingenious use of "low tech" by Al-Qaeda. After all, they didn't have their own missiles so they improvised and turned aircraft into missiles.

Another hallmark of Al-Qaeda is they learn their lessons well and they like to attack a target again using a new method. They learned their lesson with the first bombing of the World Trade Center and finished the job the second time. There were several years between those two attacks. It has been several years since 911.

Does Al-Qaeda have any "unfinished" jobs in the US?

Well information suggests that the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania was meant for the White House. Indeed, some Jihadist websites picture a burning Capitol Building. Some critisize these websites as being ignorant for making the common mistake of tourists; mistaking the Capitol Building for the White House.

I'd say based on what we are seeing here that the Jihadists are not mistaken, the Capitol Building is the real target. Think about it. Eliminate the President and maybe Cheney as well and what is the effect? Sure it is a crisis but our system of government is set up for just such an eventuality. Now eliminate a large majority of the Congress and what is the effect? How long would it take to put a functioning government in place? Think of the chaos and think of the propaganda value.

Having learned the lessons of previous attacks how would Al-Qaeda approach the task this time? More "low tech" probably. Any number of chemicals or gas will do and you really don't have to kill a lot of people. Contaminating the building would cause a major disruption of government.

What would the political fall out of that be? The President's opponents would size on the attack as proof positive that Bush is unable to protect the Capitol much less the whole country. Countries around the world would also wonder about America's ability to defend itself and its interests.

The image that Al-Qaeda is a bunch of tent living camel jockeys could be fatal.

Copy of an email I sent to Bill Oreilly at Fox News

Mr. Oreilly,

I am writing to you in regards to an outrageous article on the BBC's website wherein they accuse "US gunmen [of] firing at ambulances and civilians."

The article is here BBC

These comments only inflame anti-US sentiment and increases the danger of attack on US forces. What is worse, there is not one shred of evidence in this entire article.

"Humanitarian workers speak of US gunmen firing at ambulances and civilians."

The BBC does not name the agency in question, nor do they name the head of the agency even though the quote him thus:

"By who? The probability is by US snipers," he said." We therefore are unable to determine the background of the man or the agency.

We are given the name of the "humanitarian" worker, who makes the most damaging accusations, quoted in the article.

"British aid worker Jo Wilding said an ambulance she was in, with flashing lights, siren blaring and "ambulance" written on it in English, was hit as it drove to collect a woman in premature labour.

Ms Wilding is sure the shots came from American troops.

"You can tell the shape of US marine from a mujahideen - even if you can only see a silhouette, the helmet and flak jacket are quite distinctive. Also, we were in a US-controlled part of town," she told BBC News Online."

"British aid worker"? Jo Wilding is one of the most well known anti-war activists in the UK. She was arrested for attacking the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair. She regularly writes for the most anti-American newspaper in Britain - The Guardian.

A Google search of her name will reveal numerous anti-war writings and sites by Ms Wilder. The BBC is well aware of this and yet they publish such an outlandish article.

I wrote an analysis here USS Neverdock

The BBC is so well known around the world that most believe it speaks for all of Britain.

the American public and the world public need to know about the unrelenting anti-American campaign currently being waged by the BBC.

The BBC need to be held accountable for inciting violence against US forces in Iraq.

Thank you.

Marc Landers, CTTC, USN, Ret

Formal charges against the BBC

Formal charges should be brought against the BBC for aiding and abetting the enemy. They continue to systematically attack the United States with rigged polls and unbelievably biased news reporting. We are not talking about mere anti-American slants. We are talking about carefully constructed rigged polls and using anti-war activists disguised as aid workers and freelance journalists.

Here is a link to my earlier post about the rigged poll.

While not mentioning the BBC poll by name, bin Laden did mention that he was following opinion polls. Since the US and UK are his biggest enemies he would almost certainly pay attention to a BBC poll that had this headline 'US is bigger threat than terror.' Due to many complaints the headline now reads 'Globalization' instead of the 'US'. Even the Google cache version has been changed.

Not content to rig polls against the US, the BBC decides to report the following in Falluja"...US gunmen firing at ambulances and civilians." Words that are sure to inflame the situation in Falluja further and increase the danger to US forces.

While the US struggles to subdue terrorists in Falluja and end the siege peacefully and thereby save innocent lives, the BBC decides to incite violence against the US. This is a crime and formal charges should be brought against them.

The article I refer to is here. Who does the BBC use as the source for their story?

The head of mission of a European humanitarian agency with staff in Falluja told BBC News Online that, according to his staff, two of their ambulances had been shot at.

So just who is this "European humanitarian agency"? The BBC does not tell us. That's right. The supposed, world class news reporting organization, BBC did not even bother to tell it's readers the identity of the agency. What are they trying to hide?

And who is "the head" of the agency that they give the following quote to?

"By who? The probability is by US snipers," he said. "He said". Who is "he"?

Is the BBC so incompetent as to not get the name of "The head of mission of a European humanitarian agency" that accuses the US of shooting at ambulances in a war zone the entire world is watching? What are they trying to hide?

Well at least we get the names of the staff and now you will find out some of what the BBC are trying to hide. There are two staff members mentioned in the original article. That's right, the article has been edited, again, by the BBC. The original article told of these two staff members being kidnapped and released. The two staff members used for this story are Jo Wilding and Jenny Gaiawyn. You will not find Ms. Gaiawyn's name (she changed her name to the Celtic for earth-lover) in the article now. The kidnapping part has been edited out and you will find out why later.

Who is Ms. Wilding?

Here is a link to her personal page and here is what she has to say on Iraq.

Those politicians and corporations are sucking your blood and the media is lying to you about it.

By the way, did I mention she is also a circus clown? No joke! Follow the links on her site.

Her anti-war in Iraq page is here which says this

Now the bombing is over and the occupation and carve-up of Iraq are well underway, what's next for the anti-war movement?

And this "I went because I'd been campaigning against the sanctions for a while and felt that I had to actively break them and to see what was happening so I could speak from experience, not just reports. I was in court in March 2001 for throwing fruit at Tony Blair in an Iraq protest..." here.

Writing in the UN Observer she writes this

Iraq: Jo Wilding in Fallujah

2004-04-13 | US snipers in Falluja shoot unarmed man in the back, old woman with white flag, children fleeing their homes and the ambulance that we were going in to fetch a woman in premature labour.

And in an article for Indymedia
She gives us a little biographical data like this:

Jo wilding - journalist, lawyer and circus clown reports from the hospitals of Falluja

I don't know about the lawyer part but I know about the journalist part and so does the BBC because she has written for a British newspaper. Which one? Go on, guess. Give up?

The Guardian!

Nowhere is safe

Although the skies over Baghdad have cleared after the sandstorms, the view from the ground is one of mangled bodies and shattered lives, says Jo Wilding

And in The Guardian here.

Fear and fury in Baghdad

Human rights campaigner Jo Wilding on the mood in the Iraqi capital

There is no way the BBC did know who Ms Wilding is. This is not just some slight ommission on the part of the BBC. This is deliberate and calculated. By portraying her as a "humanitarian aid worker" when in fact she is well known to the British media, including the BBC, as an anti-war campigner the BBC deliberate mislead their readers. This is an outrage and journalism at its very worst. No wonder there is no credit given to the author of the story.

Now who is Jenny Gaiawyn?

First up we have this from The Yorkshire Post.

Jenny Gaiawyn was yesterday heading for safety in Jordan after her release and faces tough questions from her mother, who found out about her ordeal through the media.

The 25-year-old charity worker was with a friend, Jo Wilding, 29, in the stricken Iraqi town of Fallujah when they were snatched as they helped injured civilians.

They were released after 24 hours and Miss Wilding spoke to journalists in Iraq where she said guns and rockets had been pointed at them and they feared they would be burned to death.

Miss Gaiawyn's mother, Royanne Wilding, only found out about her daughter's ordeal when news crews turned up outside her North Yorkshire home asking how she felt about her release.

I wonder why the BBC dropped the kidnapping part from their orginal story? Maybe it didn't happen. They seemed to have had complete access to ambulances and hospitals in the town. Being kidnapped only adds another element of terror to their story.

Her mom adds this for us:

She added: "Jenny has always been like this, an active peace campaigner, working with disabled youngsters, it's just like her to go off and end up in Fallujah."

But how well known is Ms Gaiawyn? Well, Tommy Sheridan MSP knows here quite well. In fact he even made a MOTION TO THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT on her behalf. Link here.

Why would he do that you ask.

This Parliament condemns the disgraceful three-month prison sentence handed down to Jenny Gaiawyn on 29 November by Sheriff Morag Galbraith for a breach of the peace at the February blockade of Faslane nuclear base earlier this year; considers this sentence an outrageous attack on this young woman's human right to protest peacefully

Now if you really want to know why the BBC dropped their kidnap story, Richard Littlejohn writing in The Sun has the answer. Besure and visit the site, the cartoon is great.

THIS week's edition of You Couldn't Make It Up comes from Iraq, where two British women were kidnapped near the siege city of Fallujah.

Jenny Gaiawyn, 25, and Jo Wilding, 29, had travelled there to teach children circus tricks.

Like you do.

"We showed them how to make animals out of balloons and played a penny whistle, said Jo, a trainee solicitor.

"They liked the balloons but not the music. They said their Islamic code forbade it and it gave women sexual urges."

Jenny and Jo were released by their captors after 24 hours.

That's how long it took the gunmen to master the dachshund and the giraffe.

Now I know what the army meant when they said the balloon had gone up in Fallujah.

"trainee solicitor" Remember she claims to already be a lawyer.

The BBC knew full well who these people were when they ran the story. They used two well known anti-war activists, one who was jailed for an attack on Tony Blair and the other jailed for anti-nuclear protests. The BBC deliberately called Ms Wilding a "British aid worker" implying she was working for Britain. They deliberately did not tell its readers who the agency involved was nor the head of the agency even though they quoted him.

This article is just part of an ongoing anti-American campaign by the BBC. I encourage all of you to write or call them and demand a full retraction.

There is not one shred of evidence in this article and the BBC knows it. They should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

note: sorry for any spelling errors. It took me three hours to write this, I haven't had my breakfast and the spell checker isn't working. Oh, well.

UPDATE: I have emailed the BBC and demanded a full and immediate retraction.

Why the BBC is the most evil organization on the planet.

Copy of an email I sent my "news tip group" tonight. I am too pissed off to write about it.

It is late my time and I don't have time to write a post about this tonight but I wanted to give everyone a heads up on this one. This BBC article is just outrageous.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3653223.stm

BBC

Humanitarian workers speak of US gunmen firing at ambulances and civilians.

And who are these humanitarian workers?

The head of mission of a European humanitarian agency with staff in Falluja told BBC News Online that, according to his staff, two of their ambulances had been shot at.

and who are these "staff"

British aid worker Jo Wilding said an ambulance she was in, with flashing lights, siren blaring and "ambulance" written on it in English, was hit as it drove to collect a woman in premature labour.

Ms Wilding is sure the shots came from American troops.

And why is she "sure"

Google search results of Ms Wilding. Read who she is. You are not going to believe this.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=British+aid+worker+Jo+Wilding

Google

Sample: 1

Iraq: Jo Wilding in Fallujah

2004-04-13 | US snipers in Falluja shoot unarmed man in the back, old woman with white flag, children fleeing their homes and the ambulance that we were going in to fetch a woman in premature labour

Sample 2

Jo Wilding, 29, is a human rights campaigner and trainee lawyer from Bristol. She and two other foreign nationals have been inside Falluja for the past week, providing medical and humanitarian aid

"Human rights campaingeer and trainee laywer" - trying to make a career are we?

Sample 3

Jo Wilding is a British journalist, anti-war activist, and circus clown. She is working as a Red Crescent volunteer, ferrying the wounded to medical aid in Falluja. Here is her eyewitness journal from April 11, documenting a city under attack by United States Marines. It's a stunning and heart-wrenching account.

Did you catch that..."circus clown".. this is no joke! Anti-war activist - no axe to grind here!

Sample 4 ...this "fake kidnapping" idea is starting to take hold

TWO British women told last night how they were kidnapped and held by Iraqi gunmen after volunteering to help injured civilians in the besieged city of Fallujah.

Jenny Gaiawyn, 25, and Jo Wilding, 29, spent several days braving the guns of United States marines and insurgent fighters to help ferry injured locals to medical centres.

My My, Jo Wilding again.

How low can the BBC go? So much for a new direction for the BBC. I am so pissed off right now.

Scott Burgess please write about this.

Michael Morris please write about this.

Everyone call, write and complain to the BBC, Grade, the press complaints commission and anybody you can think of. This is the most outrageous thing the BBC have done since the rigged poll.

Listen to her

"You can tell the shape of US marine from a mujahideen - even if you can only see a silhouette, the helmet and flak jacket are quite distinctive. Also, we were in a US-controlled part of town," she told BBC News Online.

ARRRRRRgh

Who joins the US military and why.

I've read some articles recently in the press and on the net regarding the type of people who join the US military.

Some would have you believe it is middle to lower class citizens who need a job or are trying to get a college education. They do not want to believe that patroitism and a belief in freedom plays a large part in mosts decision to join.

The following article from MSNBC will be called an exception by those same people. I spent 20 years on active duty and I tell you this is not an exception.

WASHINGTON - Pat Tillman, who gave up a lucrative NFL contract with the Arizona Cardinals to join the Army Rangers, was killed in action in Afghanistan, military officials said Friday.

In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Tillman decided to turn down a three-year, $3.6 million contract with the Cardinals to enlist in the Army.

It is almost prophetic that this article comes out when the vile spin machine The Guardian tries to make political points out of the Doonesbury comic strip. Here is the link to my post on Doonesbury's comic strip about wounded Americans.

Spin on it Guardian!

Islamic terrosim and Koffigate linked?

How?

In an earlier post I quoted from The Sunday Times:

The Sunday Times (available on oline), 4 April 2004, page 7, "Scotland is not exempt from threat of extremists" article, 3rd collumn, 3rd paragraph reads:

"Dundee has gained a reputation as a fertile breeding ground for Islamic fundamentalists.

Last year it emerged that Norien Sajeel, a Scottish primary school teacher in her twenties, born and raised in the city, was also leader of Pakistan's Sister Division, the women's branch of Al-Muhajiroun.

In the wake of the Bali bombing, which left more than 180 dead, one of the eight suspects was Shamsul Bahri Hussein, a graduate of Dundee University."

So what is the connection to Koffigate?

The British MP George Galloway, who is implicated in the scandal, comes from Dundee.

Sure it is a stretch but it's Friday and I'm off to the pub.

How are the British press covering Koffigate?

Scott Burgess at The Daily Ablution does a round up for you.

Here is the one I like.

Let's see, have I forgotten anyone? Oh yes, The Guardian:

Guardian Word Count: 0

Now tell me again who their poster boy is that is linked to Koffigate. Right! That would be Galloway.

Gee, maybe that is why they have nothing to say on the issue. What a pathetic bunch the Guardian are.

Here is my round up of what the left have to say on the issue.

What is really going on in Faluja? From Andrew Sullivan via Rantingprofs

EMAIL OF THE DAY: I can't verify this first-hand but it comes from a source I know and trust. It's from a military chaplain in Fallujah:

Here's some background on Al Faluja to keep in mind.

A) Why is it in the news almost every night? Because it is one of the FEW places in all of Iraq where trouble exists. Iraq has 25 million people and is the size of California. Faluja and surrounding towns total 500,000 people. Do the math: that's not a big percentage of Iraq. How many people were murdered last night in L.A.? Did it make headline news? Why not?

B) Saddam could not and did not control Faluja. He bought off those he could, killed those he couldn't and played all leaders against one another. It was and is a 'difficult' town. Nothing new about that. What is new is that outside people have come in to stir up unrest. How many are there is classified, but let me tell you this: there are more people in the northeast Minneapolis gangs than there are causing havoc in Faluja. Surprised?

Read the whole thing it puts things in focus.

Koffigate and UN weapons inspections.

If it is true that the UN, at the highest levels, was involved in the oil-for-food scandal, then the whole UN weapons inspection program gets called into question.

Why?

If WMDs had been found during an inspection then the oil scam would have been up and those involved would have been out billions.

It would have been easy for someone inside the UN to tip off the Iraqis about impending inspections. The Iraqis would not have even had to spy on the inspectors in Iraq.

While the WMDs have yet to be found the inspectors found many instances of "things" being moved just prior to a visit. I have read on some Iraqi blogs first hand accounts of this.

Since Koffi's own son is implicated he should take a leave of absence while the investigation is carried out. But then who do you appoint in his place and how can the UN be investigated impartially?

What does the left have to say about Koffigate?

Moderate Muslims claim that radical Muslims do not speak for Islam.

Then who does?

As my usual readers will know I have repeatedly called for moderate Muslims to speak out against bin Laden and others to no avail. They remain silent and let radicals speak for them.

Here is a case in point.

MUSLIM leader Sheikh Abu Hamza has told young British supporters that murder, bank robbery and looting are legitimate weapons against the enemies of Islam. From The Mirror

Now moderate Muslims will tell you that is not true and disavow Hamza's remarks. But then we find this:

Ask the Scholar From Islam on Line. via Harry's Place

Fatwa Question Details

Name Iyad - United Arab Emirates
Title Robbing Jewish Banks

Question What is the legal ruling on a Muslim robbing Jewish banks to help the Muslim fighters (who defend their countries and rights) all over the world?

Date 20/Apr/2004

Mufti
Sheikh Faysal Mawlawi

Answer

[...]

"Islam is Almighty Allah’s message to all humankind that aims at establishing right and justice among all people. Hence, it is not lawful to steal non-Muslims’ property. This may be lawful only in one case, that is when there is a war ongoing between Muslims and non-Muslims.

The question then is, are we at war with each other? Hamza and his followers think so. Silence from moderate Muslims make one wonder what they think.

The MP for Baghdad central faces renewed accusations.

George Galloway, the disgraced kicked out of the labor party and poster boy for the spin machine Guardian, faces renewed accusations over the Iraq oil-for-food program. From The Sun

Here is what Galloway had to say to his adoring spin machine The Guardian two years ago.

"... If you are asking did I support the Soviet Union, yes I did. Yes, I did support the Soviet Union, and I think the disappearance of the Soviet Union is the biggest catastrophe of my life. If there was a Soviet Union today, we would not be having this conversation about plunging into a new war in the Middle East, and the US would not be rampaging around the globe."

And who else is implicated as a big recipient in the Koffigate scandal? Russia.

Need I say more?

Spin 101 by The Guardian

Garry Trudeau, writing in the Doonesbury cartoon strip, tackles the tough and delicate subject of US wounded in Iraq.

Trudeau said he came up with the storyline because he wanted to illustrate the sacrifices that American soldiers were making.

So Trudeau is trying to take a negative, US wounded, and turn it into a positive, the sacrifices that are made during war.

Not to be out done, John Plunkett, writing in the greatest spinning machine of all time - The Guardian, takes a negative turned positive back into a negative. Did you follow that? Look what his headline reads:

Iraq cartoon challenge to Bush

The Doonesbury cartoon strip, long the scourge of US presidents, has caused more trouble for George Bush with a storyline that will leave an all-American hero seriously injured in Iraq.

Bush and all of America are all too painfully aware of the "nearly 4,000 [real] wounded troops in Iraq"; they are all heroes. This comic strip uses an all around American type guy, who through this injury, will "sacrifice" the ability to do the things he holds most dear; his athletic ability.

"Trudeau said the character he created 36 years ago would cope with the injury "probably the same way so many wounded vets seem to - with gratitude for having had one's life spared, empathy and respect for those who have suffered worse, and a grim sense of humor indispensable to fending off despair".

So where is the "challenge to Bush" , Mr. Plunkett? We already have 4,000 "real" wounded.

The only problem any of the newspapers voiced was this:

Newspaper editors have already expressed concern about the strip, not necessarily because of the storyline but because of its colorful language.

And what was that strong language?

US newspaper editors were divided over the use of the phrase "Son of a bitch!". "If you look down and suddenly part of your leg's been blown away, you're certainly not going to say, 'Goodness gracious!'" said Tampa Tribune editor and vice-president, Frank Denton. "In fact, 'Son of a bitch!' is fairly mild compared to what I'd say."

As I have said before, war is a horrible business and rightly so; otherwise we would practice it at the drop of a hat. No one wants to die or be maimed but the US has an all volunteer force. The ones in Iraq today were under no illusion when they joined that they may one day be put in harms way. After all the first gulf war was barely 10 years ago. Some of those serving in Iraq today were in that war, had a relative killed or injured in that war or knew someone who was killed in that war.

So why do they serve and risk death and injury? Because they believe in freedom and they believe freedom is worth the ultimate sacrifice.

Only a low life organization like The Guardain would try and spin this against Bush and by extension America.

How pervasive is anti-Americanism in the UK?

Most of my usual readers will have seen many of my posts documenting anti-Americanism in the British media, especially the BBC. I have also taken to task my local AM radio station for some of their "reporting". Their defense is that they use a news feed from Independent Radio Network. I don't know who they are but I will try and find out and post about them.

I was listening to this "news feed" on my AM station this morning and their first two articles were both anti-American. The first was very up front about it. This article condemned the screening of Diana's photograph by CBS in the US. Totally ignoring the fact that here in the UK the video of JFK getting the back of his head blown off is regularly screened.

The second was a bit more subtle. It involved videos showing homeless people beating each other up. I remember this happened in the US years ago. Seems some moron would pay to film these guys fighting and sell the videos which were then later shown on some local cable access channel.

Maybe a US reader could shed more light on this matter.

Anyway, it was the last sentence that got me mad. The sentence said "The craze is currently sweeping the US". Seems someone forgot to tell the Nielsen ratings folks. Just because some moron over here copies some moron over there does not make it the fault of the entire US!

No matter what the issue people just can't seem to resist a dig at the US.

But, hey, maybe I'm just a sensitive guy. Now where is my coffee?

BBC blames UK for Muslim extremism

I wonder if the BBC bosses read this story by By Dominic Casciani BBC News Online community affairs reporter.

Extremism among young Muslims in the UK is growing amid failure to combat alienation and "botched" handling of anti-terror laws, says a race watchdog.

Let me get this straight. We are talking about young Muslims born and bred in the UK where they attend UK schools, get medical treatment on the NHS, get state benefits and have access to UK television which airs all manner of Muslim related shows and current affairs programs. These young Muslims attend UK schools where they are taught religious tolerance in Religious Education (RE) classes. Many of these young Muslims parents were asylum seekers who were granted asylum by the UK and received benefits which allowed them to prosper.

Their "alienation" has more to do with Muslim terrorist like Hamza the Hook living the UK and spreading terrorism.

Note that I use the term terrorism while the BBC prefer "Radicalisation" when referring to terrorist. That is until the BBC refer to the UK government then it will use the word "terror". Such as in a comment like this:

But the government had to stop the "terror" unleashed on UK Muslims by the security powers which followed 9/11.

Neat, huh? They are radicals and the UK government are the terrorists. Now tell me again who is responsible for this "alienation".

[...]

"Most of these young people when they come to look at reality see they have no other choice than to be British.

What the hell is that all about? "No other choice"? "Sorry son we tried to make it a Muslim state and failed. You will just have to face up to it - your British" Is that what this guy is saying?

Look at this next paragraph.

"The Muslim community has to stand up and be counted as a British Muslim community and re-engage with young people who we have failed to engage for the last three decades.

Why not just a British community? No "alienation" in that.

[...]

However, he stressed wider society had to recognize the impact of anti-terrorism laws were having on law-abiding citizens.

The Muslim community has to recognize the impact of Muslim terrorism on wider society. I have yet to read, hear or see any Muslim leader denounce, by name, bin Laden, Al-Qaeda or any other Muslim terrorist. All they ever say is we condemn the killing of innocent people. The inference is that those killed were not innocent but legitimate targets. I have seen Muslims on television both here and in the US being pressed by an interviewer to condemn bin Laden and Al-Qaeda. They will not do it. The shuffle about, squirm, and say well you know this and you see that and then usually bring up the Palestinians.

I've said many times, the Muslim community is not doing enough to convince the British public that they are against terrorism. I have repeatedly made suggestions that they organize a peace march against bin Laden and all Muslim terrorist. We have seen many peace protests and rallies in the past against the war in Iraq and others. Why not a peace protest against this war on the west?

What a message that would send to bin Laden. What a message that would send to the British public.

Currently on my Amazon wish list.

Anti-Americanism by Jean-Francois Revel

Here are a few snipets from a review by John Parker in Asia Times

All across the globe, from Sydney to Siberia, from Quebec to Patagonia, there is one sporting obsession that unifies the entire human race. Young and old, male and female, black, white and every shade in between, there is one pleasurable activity that unifies them all.

I'm speaking, of course, about America-bashing.

[...]

... Still, the anti-American cult provides its legions of drooling adherents with the crucial element of any faith: the illusion of meaning in an otherwise meaningless existence. That priceless psychological salve, in this case, is the comforting delusion that, no matter how hypocritical, backward, bigoted, ignorant, corrupt or cowardly the cult's followers might otherwise be, at least they are better than those awful Americans.

[...]

... It was a step that the vast majority of this class, then and now, have been unwilling to take: they simply cherish their prejudice against Americans too greatly to face the possibility that real, live examples might not conform to it.

[...]

Examples of this psychopathology are almost endless, but the Iraq crisis has certainly provided a profusion of new cases. For example, during the 12 years after 1991, the anti-American press was filled with self-righteous hand-wringing over what was billed as the terrible suffering of the Iraqi people under UN sanctions. But when the administration of President George W Bush abandoned the sanctions policy (a policy that, incidentally, had been considered the cautious, moderate course of action when it was originally adopted) in favor of a policy of regime change by military force - which was obviously the only realistic way to end the sanctions - did these dyspeptic howler monkeys praise the United States for trying to alleviate Iraqis' suffering? No, of course not - instead, without batting an eyelash, they simply began criticizing the United States for the "terrible civilian casualties" caused by bombing.

[...]

A few examples will suffice: referring to anti-war banners that proclaimed "No to terrorism. No to war", Revel scoffs that this "is about as intelligent as 'No to illness. No to medicine'." Responding to the indictment of the United States as a "materialistic civilization", he says: "Everyone knows that the purest unselfishness reigns in Africa and Asia, especially in the Muslim nations, and that the universal corruption that is ravaging them is the expression of a high spirituality."

There is a whole lot more in the review - well worth a read.

UK accuses the US of being insensitive in showing Diana photograph.

I can see how some would feel that way and I personally would not watch the CBS show. But lets be careful how far we go in this name calling.

For instance, I have seen the assassination of President Kennedy on British television a number of times. The film is very graphic and I will not describe it here. Besides almost every American has seen these images. I don't know how soon after the event they were shown. I do know they were shown while his wife and children were still alive. Was that insensitive or historical?

Then there were the burnt bodies of the US contractors with Iraqis stomping on their heads shown on UK television. They were not identified at the time and besides they were not famous. Some would be outraged at the actions of the Iraqis while some, no doubt, cheered them on. Insensitive or news?

I'll leave it there because there are far better media pundits than me. I just think we need to keep things in focus.

Terrorist don't need to buy Russian nuclear material.

Here we were worried that terrorist might get their hands on some Russian nuclear material when all along they might be able to get it right in the US.

Vermont Nuke Plant Missing Fuel Rods From Fox News

MONTPELIER, Vt. — Two pieces of a highly radioactive fuel rod are missing from a Vermont nuclear plant, and engineers planned to search onsite for the nuclear material, officials said Wednesday.

[...]

"We do not think there is a threat to the public at this point. The great probability is this material is still somewhere in the pool," said Nuclear Regulatory Commission (search) spokesman Neil Sheehan.

But Sheehan said it was possible the spent fuel was mixed in with a shipment of low-level nuclear waste and ended up at a repository in South Carolina, or a facility in Washington state. He said it was also possible it was taken to a nuclear testing facility run by General Electric, which designed the plant.

This guy isn't very sure of anything is he?

[...]

In 2002 a Connecticut nuclear plant was fined $288,000 after a similar loss. That fuel was never accounted for.

Homer Simpson has it.

Things to think about.

It is 11:00 in Scotland just now and I am going to bed. My kids get up in about 7 hours so I need some sleep.

Since we do not all live in the same time zone I thought I'd share something with you.

I just heard the most amazing thing on my AM radio here in Scotland. It was a recording of John Wayne made many years ago. I found it strange because it was on an AM radio station here in Scotland and it was recorded so long ago. I found it very appropriate in this day and age. I can't host the mp3 on my site yet but here is a link to it and many other good words. The one I am talking about tonight though is number "7 John Wayne Hyphen (2.24MB)". If you have the time listen to it and some of the others.

Here is the link

The Internet now has a soul - The blogshpere

What can blogging do for you?

I ask myself why I do it sometimes. Correction my wife says, all the time more like it; for me it is addictive.

We all have our reasons why we do it and I don't want this to be about me. Blogging has grown much larger than all of us.

Take this article from USA Today

Iraqis enjoy new freedom of expression on Web journals

The article tells the story of some Iraqi bloggers; some pro and some anti-US. That is a good thing, we need both sides of the argument. I have some of these bloggers linked on my page and add others from time to time.

It is a really good article and I hope soon to read a similar article about bloggers from Iran, Egypt and others. There are a few of them and I have them linked on my site. If you haven't visited some of them you do not know what you are missing - history in the making.

The final paragraph kind of sums it up for me.

The brothers say they won't bow to the high-tech threats. They say their postwar access to the Internet has been a form of liberation. "I am not afraid," Ali says. "I was afraid all my life. I will not go back to living in fear."

Mainstream media has yet to take blogging seriously; that is sad and a mistake.

For me the Internet finally has a soul - The Blogsphere.

Koffigate

I prefer Koffigate to UNgate, it sounds better. Besides if Koffi's son is charged it will be more appropriate.

The UN oil-for-food scandal continues to grow and may turn out to be the biggest world wide scandal in history. I don't want to delve into it to much here because it is all over the net and press. Well, everywhere maybe except for the BBC.

There is one aspect that I follow with zeal.

British politician may face charges in oil-for-food 'fraud' From The Scotsman

[...]

Full story: HUNDREDS of businessmen, politicians and United Nations officials could face jail as a result of the inquiry into Iraqs oil-for-food programme, its chief investigator said last night.

Claude Hankes-Drielsma, the British adviser leading the investigation, said that those who "defrauded the system" of up to $10 billion (£5.6 billion) could expect criminal prosecution, as well as civil action to recoup the missing cash.

Mr Hankes-Drielsma spoke to The Scotsman last night ahead of testifying today at a United States congressional hearing into claims that the UN allowed widespread abuse of the programme by Saddam Husseins regime.

As well as UN officials, the corruption allegedly involved prominent politicians from Britain and France, hundreds of foreign businessmen, and figures from the world of international organised crime.

Now I'm not saying it is him but the member from Baghdad Central might want to consider his position. If he goes down that will be another of those raoccasionsons when I pop a bottle of the bubbly.

Lifting the veil on Muslim hypocrisy

I'm getting a little fed up with the Muslim community crying we are not all "fundamentalists" and then condemning authorities when they take action against "fundamentalists". They point to the fundamentalists culprit and say that is not us we are not like that.

Let's look at a couple of cases in point.

French eject 'pro-beating' imam From The BBC

A Muslim cleric who advocated the beating of women has been expelled from France, officials have announced.
Algerian-born Abdelkader Bouziane was detained on Tuesday after telling a magazine the Koran backed the beating and stoning of adulterous wives.

Mr Bouziane also expressed hopes that "the entire world becomes Muslim".

The remarks caused an immediate outcry in France, which hosts Western Europe's largest Muslim community - about five million people, mainly of north African origin.

Muslim leaders in France also condemned the imam's remarks, saying Islam did not condone domestic violence.

But presumably saying he hopes "the entire world becomes Muslim" is ok.

However, the leader of France's National Council of Muslims warned the French media not to seek to portray all Muslims in the West as fundamentalists, or to stir up anti-Islamic sentiment by seeking out extremist opinion.

Well, FNCM, it is kind of hard not to when you don't condemn remarks like these.

He was also quoted as saying he favoured an Islamic republic in France.

"But not just for France. I want the whole world to become Muslim."

So which is it? Does Islam and the Koran allow for wife beating? Why not pay a visit to Saudi Arabia and see how they handle things.

Saudi TV Host Tackles Abuse Against Women From The Daily Comet

A popular Saudi television host publicly showed her bruised and bloodied face and has shocked her compatriots into openly talking about one of the kingdom's long-hidden problems: violence against women.

Rania al-Baz has been hailed as a hero for letting newspaper photographers snap pictures of her face and for frankly discussing her case after she said a beating by her husband earlier this month left her unconscious.

Her story has been widely reported in the Saudi media. A Saudi princess stepped forward to pay al-Baz's medical bills. Representatives of the new Saudi National Human Rights Association visited her in the hospital.

At least it is being widely reported in the Saudi media.

[...]

Although Islam prohibits violence against women, many believe spousal abuse is common in the almost entirely Muslim Saudi Arabia.

There are no statistics available on wife abuse in the kingdom, but husbands rarely meet disapproval for "reforming" spouses deemed "disobedient" by hitting them.

[...]

Bashatah pointed out that Saudi women need to be accompanied by a male guardian even if they want to go to the police to report abuse.

Saudi law requires a woman to be accompanied by a male guardian - her husband, or, for unmarried women, her father, brother or son - on almost any public chore. Saudi women also are not allowed to drive.

So tell me again how you guys are not fundamentalist and how Islam is a religion of peace. Your words and actions betray you.

Terrorism creates strange bedfellows.

Just over three years ago US-Chinese relations were strained over the crash of a Chinese fighter jet and the emergency landing of a US EP-3 spy plane on the Chinese island of Hainan.

Al-Qaeda have inadvertently pushed the US and China somewhat closer according to Reuters.

U.S. intelligence sharing with China had proved necessary to preventing terror attacks, said Mueller, who met public and state security, justice and procuratorial officials during two days in Beijing.

[...]

The FBI opened a small legal attache office in Beijing in 2002, an outgrowth of Sino-U.S. cooperation on terror after the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

Strange days indeed.

More terrorist killed in Jordan From The Bahrain Tribune

AMMAN: Police yesterday shot dead three suspected Al Qaeda-linked terrorists who are believed to have planned to detonate a bomb that would have flattened a large part of Jordan’s capital, security officials said.

A security official said those killed were believed to belong to an Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group that had plotted to attack the prime minister’s office and Jordan’s secret service with a powerful chemical bomb.

Jordan has been either very lucky or had very good intelligence lately.

This is encouraging.

Following a tip off, police stormed the suspects’ hide-out in east Amman, the police said in a statement carried by the official Petra news agency.

“Information made available to security authorities pointed to the presence of an armed group which had plotted to carry out terror attacks,” the statement added.

And this.

Joyful women on balconies of nearby buildings ululated and boys clapped and whistled as police took the men away.

If I'm not mistaken the car bombs recently found in Saudi Arabia were found as a result of a tip off.

A parent should not have to bury their children

I have three children, ages 7, 8 and 14 and we love them dearly. That is why an article like this from The BBC is heart wrenching.

Three explosions have hit police stations in Iraq's second city of Basra with many dead and injured including pre-school children.

Reuters news agency quoted police and witnesses as saying a car carrying children to kindergarten had been caught in one of the blasts.

Our thoughts go out to the parents of those children. I cannot begin to imagine the pain and grief they are feeling now.

Those children were Iraq's future; a free Iraq. Now some muderous scum of the earth has tried to end that future.

To those that perpetrated this terrible crime I say rot in hell. Your day is coming soon and I hope you are shown no mercy.

To those that want the coalition to pull out of Iraq I say go to hell. Why do you want to abandon the Iraqi people in their hour of need with freedom just in sight? Do not dare tell me that the attack happened because we are there and it is our fault. Saddam and his murderous thugs were killing thousands of innocent men, women and children. Thankfully, because of the coalition sacrifices in human costs, that reign of terror has ended.

To those pulling out of Iraq I say shame on you. You turn your backs on the Iraqi people when their long sought freedom is just in sight. Now is not the time to turn tail and run; now is the time to stand firm. Now is the time for you to show that the word freedom actually means something in your country; something worth dying for. For without it you might as well be dead. If you run now the peoples of the world to whom you preach freedom is the dearest thing in the world, will laugh at you and heap scorn on you. And rightfully so. Freedom obviously means very little in you country.

To those not sending troops to Iraq I say shame on you and see above. Once again it serves your own ends to let America and her allies carry the heavy burden while you sit idly by and use their suffering for you political ends. While at the same time continuing to allow innocent Iraqis to be murdered. What kind of people are you?

To Spain I say shame on you. You have given in to the blackmailer and you will continue to pay him for some time to come. You have listened to his demands and changed your government and he now controls your military. Your very liberties will be next because he now knows just how little freedom really means to you.

To all of the above I say look at your own children and look at the children playing nearby. Are those children somehow worth more than Iraqi children? If those children were under attach would you not do all in your power to protect them? Then do your duty as a human being and help protect the Iraqi children.

It is 6:30 am now and my children are just starting to arise. I will hold them a little closer this morning. I will tell them what has happened in Iraq. I will tell them about the brave people who give their life, dying in a foreign land, saving children just like them.

Terrorism in Saudi Arabia

Does this US Orders Staff Out Of Saudi Arabia

have anything to do with this

More Truck Bombs Found


Hat tip to The Religious Policeman

Welcome to the first Saudi blogger.

As far as I know this is the first english speaking Saudi blog or maybe even the first Saudi blog.

Welcom to The Religious Policeman

Here is one of his first posts.

We're finding even more trucks...
....laden with explosive

More Truck Bombs Found

....but still having trouble finding people.

However those terrorists to the north-west of Riyadh are still "surrounded", so they can't get away. But the "Holy Warriors" are not going in after them yet. There's no point in rushing these things.

Hopefully we can get some first hand information from Saudi now.

Note: This site may not be for the faint hearted. Evidently they still do beheadings in Saudi and there is a picture of one.

Bias and the BBC - a natural mix

I've never been inside the BBC offices but I imagine there must be a sign in every office that reads "No matter the subject of the story, add bias and make it Americas fault."

I'll need some help from the historians out there to unspin this article by Paul Reynolds, BBC News Online world affairs correspondent, writing Oil and conflict - a natural mix

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had its origins, at least in part, in a decision by the United States to limit oil exports to Japan in 1941 in response to the Japanese invasion of China.

So, Mr. Reynolds feels the US was responsible for Pearl Harbor. Nice one!

Now if my history serves me correctly, Japan had been involved in the biggest empire building exercise in the history of world, long before Peal Harbor. Oil or no Oil Japan's expansion was bound to run into US territory at some point.

Oh, well, the British were involved in WWII. Wonder what Mr. Reynolds has to say about their involvement in all this?

Britain first became interested in the Gulf because of its maritime interests, long before oil was discovered.

Yep, clean hands, this oil and violence thing; nothing to do with us. We were just happy sailors looking for more rum when the US caused this Pearl Harbor thing.

So, why throw that little remark in there Mr. Reynolds?

Let me see, bad comment about the US, then good comment about the UK, and then...

Other powers began to get interested, especially the United States. The West was determined to secure the Gulf as a main source of its energy.

...bad comment about the US. Am I getting a pattern here Mr. Reynolds? Notice the "especially the United States" .


Oil played its part in a 1953 coup in Iran - organized by the US and Britain. They managed to overthrow an elected prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh, and installed Shah Reza Pahlavi whose reign came to an inglorious end at the hands of Islamic fundamentalists in 1979.

I'm not so sure it was quite that simple Mr. Reynolds. From Wikipedia

By 1944 Reza Pahlavi had abdicated, and Mossadegh was once again elected to parliament. This time he ran as a member of the National Front Party, a nationalist organization with socialist leanings that aimed to end the foreign presence that had established itself in Iran following the Second World War, especially regarding the exploitation of Iran's rich oil resources.

After negotiations for higher oil royalties failed, on March 15, 1951 the Iran parliament (the Majlis) voted to nationalize Iran's oil industry, and seize control of the British-owned and operated Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Prime minister General Ali Razmara, elected in June 1950, had opposed the nationalization bill on technical grounds. He was assassinated on March 7, 1951 by Khalil Tahmasebi, a member of the militant fundamentalist group Fadayan-e Islam. After street protests and under pressure from the Majlis, the Shah appointed Mossadegh, a prominent supporter of oil nationalization, as new prime minister.

And what about this Mr. Reynolds?

Mossadegh's main sin was to have nationalised the British-owned Anglo Iranian oil company.

Again, not quite so simple, Mr. Reynolds.

Taking advantage of his atmosphere of popularity, Mossadegh convinced the parliament to grant him increased powers and appointed Ayatollah Kashani as house speaker. Kashani's radical Muslims, as well as the Iranian Communist Party, proved to be two of Mossadegh's key political allies, although both relationships were often strained.

In October of 1952, Mossadegh declared that Britain was "an enemy", and cut all diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom. In November and December 1952, British intelligence officials suggested to American intelligence that the prime minister should be ousted. The new US administration under Dwight Eisenhower and the British government under Winston Churchill agreed to work together toward Mossadegh's removal.

Now, where are in this bad guy good guy cycle, I forgot. Oh, yeah bad guy America's turn.

One recent study paper by an American military analyst even suggests that one day the United States and Europe might be in conflict over dwindling Middle East oil supplies.

Seems like that day came when France, Germany and Russia stood against the US in the UN over Iraq. Now with the Koffigate (oil-for-food) scandal unfolding we know why. Or are you implying, Mr. Reynolds, that the US would deny Britain oil supplies?

Mr. Reynolds is done with the good guy, bad guy, routine; it's all bad guy now.

The intervention by the United States and its allies over Kuwait in 1991 was in large part motivated by a need to secure oil and also to prevent Saddam Hussein from expanding his access to it.

Excuse me? I seem to remember that the UN was somewhat involved in that little war. UN including France, Germany, Russia and the rest. And if memory serves me correct the mandate was to kick Saddam out of Kuwait and give it back, including all it's oil, to the Kuwaitis. Something that actually happened.

And, although the more recent war with Iraq had other motives as well, oil was a factor as the US Vice President Dick Cheney, warning of Iraq's ambitions, said in August 2002: "Saddam Hussein could then be expected to seek domination of the entire Middle East [and] take control of a great proportion of the world's energy supplies..."

What would those "other motives as well" be, Mr. Reynolds? To save a nation from a ruthless dictator? To free the Iraqi people from 35 years of total oppression? To stop him from developing, using and spreading weapons of mass destruction?

A huge portion of the worlds oil reserves would be a powerful weapon in the hands of a madman like Saddam. Stopping that in addition to all the above seems a good thing not a bad thing to me, Mr. Reynolds.

No doubt many historians will have different takes on all of this.

What bothers me is the BBC continuing its attacks on the US. They take every story and write it so it shows America in the worst possible light. A reader of this article would be left with the impression that all the worlds conflicts are the result of America's desire to control the worlds oil.

Mr. Reynolds, it is not that simple and it is not true.

More terrorist arrests in UK

Hot on the heels of my post yesterday regarding Al-Qaeda plots in the UK we get this report from The BBC.

Police are continuing to question 10 people arrested following a series of anti-terror raids.
Six men and one woman were held in Manchester and three others elsewhere.

"This is working against the background that we've never had a such a high level of threat from terrorism in the United Kingdom since some time before Christmas," ACC Whatton said.

Details are pretty sparse but one thing that caught my eye was one of the business under investigation is a mobile phone shop. The Madrid bombers were traced to a mobile phone shop based on a mobile phone found in one of the unexploded backpacks. Which by the way had been mistakenly taken to a police station when the police thought it was one of the victims bag. Lucky escape.

The BBC seem to be not giving this story much attention. It is not their lead article on their website. Their article is listed third down on the right sidebar as of this writing.

The Sun Newspaper in their online version give the arrests far more attention. Bear in mind The Sun is a tabloid newspaper and anything football (soccer in the US) is big news to them.

Here is some of what the Sun is reporting.

A SUICIDE bomb plot to kill thousands of soccer fans at Saturdays Manchester United-Liverpool match was dramatically foiled yesterday.

Armed cops seized ten terror suspects in dawn raids.

Intelligence chiefs believe al-Qaeda fanatics planned to blow themselves up amid 67,000 unsuspecting supporters. A source said: The target was Old Trafford.

They had already bought the tickets for various positions in the stadium, cops revealed last night.

More than 400 police swooped yesterday after a major terrorist figure under surveillance moved to Manchester. Police and intelligorganizationstions believe he came to direct the massacre, which would have been the first al-Qaeda-style outrage in Britain.

I don't know where they get it or how accurate the Sun's information is but there is more on their website. Some radio news is now carrying the Manchester football connection.

Meanwhile over in the US Ridge Forms New Terrorism Task Force according to Fox News.

Beginning with the dedication of the World War II Memorial in Washington over Memorial Day weekend, a series of high-profile public events this year might make attractive targets for Al Qaeda (search) and like-minded terrorist groups, Ridge said during a speech to the Radio Television News Directors Association and Foundation in Las Vegas.

Be vigilant, be safe.

Lite blogging

Having problems with Blogger, again! Keeps eating my posts. GRRRR

I'll post when I can.

BBC coverage of Abdel Aziz Rantissi funeral.

I wasn't going to comment on the biased BBC coverage of this event. Really no point in doing so. All you ever get is their bleeding heart reporting on terrorists without calling them terrorist; militant will do for the BBC.

However, there was a paragraph in this report that caught my eye.

Abdel Aziz Rantissi was a devout Muslim and hard-line political figure who firmly believed that Palestinians were justified in fighting to defeat the Israeli government in order achieve their political goals.

Sounds like Wyre Davies, author of the article, is praising Rantissi.

Rantissi was the leader of a terrorist organizations that murdered over 377 Israeli men, women and children and vowed to kill all Jews. Is that Davies definition of a devout Muslim? He wasn't a "hard-line political figure" he was a terrorist leader of an organization that was terrorizing not "fighting" the Israeli people not the "government".

Just about what you would expect from the BBC.

Al-Qaeda attack soon and it will be chemical!

The clock is ticking here in the UK and in the US for a chemical attack by Al-Qaeda.

The US elections are barely seven months away and UK elections in about twelve months time. Al-Qaeda will want to be quick to capitalize on their success in influencing the Spanish election.

The Spanish election victory coupled with this announcement that Spain's new prime minister confirmed on Sunday that he wanted Spain's troops out of Iraq "as soon as possible", have given Al-Qaeda a major confidence boost.

Bin Laden knew his recent "truce" offer would be rejected out of hand. The truce was more likely a message for autonomous groups to stand down so as not to inadvertently draw attention to on going Al-Qaeda plots.

Where is the proof for these planned attacks and how do we know they will be chemical in nature?

First we have this Financial Times article detailing how far and how sophisticated terrorists have become in developing chemical weapons and methods. The link is to an earlier post of mine quoting the FT since the FT is now a subscription site.

Small groups of chemicals experts have been detected in several European countries and have developed ways of communicating with each other that allowed them to avoid being exposed.

In January French anti-terrorist police arrested five people in the Lyons suburb of Venisseux - three of them from the same family - on suspicion of involvement in planning terrorist attacks. Nicolas Sarkozy, then interior minister, said that one of the detainees, Menad Benchallali, "was trained to produce chemical substances".

Two of the detainees admitted a plan had been devised to attack Russian targets in France using ricin poison and botulinum bacteria. French officials say Mr Benchellali received chemical weapons training in Georgia's Pankisi Gorge, a haven for Chechen fighters.

"The Pakistani element [in developing these weapons] was also totally underestimated, as was the experience developed in Chechnya," said the French official. He added that militants within the Pakistani Islamist group Lashkar-i-Toiba, which has close links to al-Qaeda, had helped develop chemical weapons skills now dispersed to several parts of the al-Qaeda network.

"The thing that is most clear is that the people with the knowledge of chemicals are very organised," the French official said. "There are links between the groups that have chemical expertise. These groups are not present everywhere, though Chechnya is where they learned this skill."

According to this report in USA Today, Britain recently foiled just such an attack.

British and U.S. intelligence agencies and police foiled a plot to create a chemical vapor bomb in Britain, the British Broadcasting Corp. said on Tuesday.

The alleged plot involved osmium tetroxide, a catalyst used in industry, but there was no indication that the suspected plotters had obtained any of the substance, the BBC said, citing security sources.

And then we get a report from The BBC that Jordan 'was chemical bomb target'.

Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists planned a chemical attack on Jordan's spy headquarters that could have killed 20,000 people, officials have said.

Earlier this week King Abdullah said a massive attack had been thwarted by a series of arrests, but named no target.

Now unnamed officials say the suspects have confessed to plotting to detonate a chemical bomb on the Amman HQ of the Intelligence Services.

Today World Net Daily is reporting Dirty bomb plot on Sears Tower - British discover plan to use deadly chemical in attacks

A plot by terrorists to use dirty bombs laced with the deadly chemical osmium tetroxide to attack U.S. targets including the Sears Tower in Chicago was uncovered by British intelligence and law enforcement authorities, according to a report in Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

British police and military bomb experts passed on information to their U.S. counterparts.

Traces of the chemical, as well as manuals for its use, were discovered by the British intelligence community during raids following the March Madrid attack.

Finally, we are getting reports of imminent attacks both in the US and the UK.

ABC is reporting Report Suggests Terror Operatives In Place, Possibly in America

The intelligence, received a week ago but secret until now, is from known Muslim extremists who suggested an attack possibly in the U.S. was imminent, and that operatives were already "in place," sources tell ABCNEWS.

On Friday, April 9, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security held a rare secure conference call with police in dozens of major cities.

By Saturday, April 10, a classified bulletin was sent out warning that groups affiliated with al Qaeda might be planning attacks in the U.S. on the scale seen in Madrid last month.

Al-Qaeda's hallmark is large scale multiple attacks at once and they may be planning to hit the US and UK simultaneously. The The Sydney Morning Hearld is reporting today that Various groups sympathetic to al-Qaeda are preparing large-scale attacks against London, the leader of an Islamic group suspected of having ties to the extremist network said in remarks published in Portugal.

Sheik Omar Bakri Mohammed, the head of the London-based group al-Muhajiroun, added in an interview with the Portuguese daily Publico on Sunday that last month's deadly Madrid train bombings were carried out by a group of independent actors who back Osama bin Laden's organisation.

This report suggest groups independent of Al-Qaeda are planning attacks on London but Al-Qaeda could easily order the attack at a time of their choosing. Possibly a time to coincide with an attack on the US. Such a "global" attack would increase Al-Qaeda's standing in the Muslim world immensely.

There is no doubt that Al-Qaeda's next attack will be chemical and soon. It has to be. Why?

The US election is very close maybe even a dead heat. In order to have an effect on US elections an attack would have to be on a scale similar to 911. America is a much larger country, in terms of population, than Spain and while several hundred dead would be horrible, it might not be enough to swing the election. Another 911 on Bush's watch most certainly would.

Likewise in the UK the attack will have to be on a 911 scale. While the 311 attack happened in Spain it was close enough to the UK to be felt on a personal level. Spain is the UK's number one tourist destination and many Brits retire there. The UK has also lived through the IRA bombings; something the US has never experienced. Again, several hundred dead would be horrible but might not be enough to bring down Tony Blair. An attack similar to 911 or at least chemical in nature probably would.

Some would suggest that we have had these warnings before, that the information is too vague.

The foiled attack in Britain was real. The foiled attack in Jordan was real. Both were chemical.

What do you think Yassin and Rantissi have to say to each other now?

Check it out over at UN Special Commissioner

Funny or what?

"Independent" confirmation of US killing civilians in Falluja!

The folks at Common Dreams, which bills itself as a progressive newswire, say they have confirmation of the killing by US forces of 100s of civilians in Falluja.

According to them you should be believing Al Jazeera and not CNN. Why? Because "... Qatar-based Al Jazeera has been one of the only news networks broadcasting from the inside, relaying images of destruction and civilian victims-- including women and children.

Gee, wonder who the other news networks are? Why haven't we seen their pictures to back up Al-Jazeera. Well, never mind I'm sure Common Dreams will clear things up for us.

And Al Jazeera is not alone in reporting a reality very different from the one U.S. officials describe. According to Common Dreams this is despite "Authorities have been able to keep a tight rein on the information flow from Fallujah"

Ok, I'll be patient, I'm sure Common Dreams is going to let us in on who else is reporting what Al-Jazeera is saying.

But independent journalists reporting from Fallujah have described a scene consistent with the one broadcast by Al Jazeera. Rahul Mahajan, a U.S. journalist in Fallujah, estimated that of the 600 Iraqis killed in Fallujah, 200 were women and 100 young children, with many of the adult male casualties also non-combatants.

Ahh, ok, now we're getting somewhere "independent Journalists" reporting, ha ha, in spite of the "Authorities have been able to keep a tight rein on the information flow from Fallujah". You see you can't keep the truth from all the people all the time.

Now who is this "independent journalist, Rahul Mahajan?

Hey, wait a minute! I want my quarter back! Check out this "independent journalist" bio out here.

Here is a sample and I mean a small sample of the so called "independent journalist's bio.

He has been a campus and community activist in Austin ever since 1994. He has worked on a wide variety of issues, including alternative media, South Asia, affirmative action on the UT campus, and Enron, but has concentrated on antiwar and anti-corporate-globalization work. The sanctions on Iraq, the relations between Israel and the Palestinians, and U.S. Middle East policy have been his main specialty for the past five years -- and since 9/11 he has worked extensively on U.S. policy toward Afghanistan, Central Asia, and South Asia.

He has also done organizing at the national level. He serves on the National Board of Peace Action, the nation's largest grassroots peace organization and served on the Coordinating Committee of the National Network to End the War on Iraq for its first year. He runs Iraq Update, the nation's largest email list sending out news and analysis about Iraq.

His website has this as a four foot high banner "Rahul Mahajan, Author and Antiwar Activist". I will not even provide the link to his site.

So, imagine that, Al-Jazeera's reporting and this guys reporting are "consistent". Who would have thought it possible.

Common Dreams, more like Common Bullshit!

How effective is Israel's policy of killing Hamas leaders?

The policy has been so effective that the successor to Rantissi is being kept secret.

Faced with an Israeli threat to kill all leaders and operatives of Hamas, the movement has decided to keep the name of Rantissi's successor secret, a Hamas source said. From ABC News

I doubt it will make much difference; the Israelis already know the likely candidates.

Palestinian sources speculated that possible successors could be Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas leader who escaped an Israeli assassination attempt last year, or Ismail Haniyah, Yassin's former right-hand-man.

If I was either of these guys I would be afraid, very afraid. You guys might want to try and think out of the box and maybe try peace.

Peng Dingkang, now there is a name you don't hear every day.

Do you know who he is? No? Ok, a few hints then.

He used to work for the Conservative Party; started in 1966 and was an MP from 1979-1992. Still don't know?

Ok last hint. He was Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1990 until 1992.

Right - Peng Dingkang is Chris Paten! He was given an official Chinese name Peng Dingkang for his governorship of Hong Kong.

Currently he is EU Commissioner for External Affairs.

We haven't heard from ole Chris in a while; wonder what's on his mind? From The Scotsman

The Iraq conflict has become "much more serious" than the Vietnam war, EU Commissioner for External Affairs Chris Patten has said.

Speaking at a conference of EU foreign ministers in Tullamore, Co Offaly in the Irish Republic, Mr Patten said: "The comparison that Iraq could become as difficult an issue as Vietnam is misplaced because I think it is arguably much more serious.


Oh, for heaven sake Chris, get a grip man. America's losses alone in Viet Nam were 55,000; I don't think they have reached even 1000 in Iraq yet. Tragic losses to be sure but not even close to Viet Nam. The politics are all different as well. Too many posts on this Viet Nam smokescreen already and I have better things to do.

Sounds like ole Chris and the EU are not getting enough say in this Iraq thingy and are shaking their rattle.

Seems they had too much wine at this conference. Brian Cowen, Irish minister for foreign affairs, said the UN's participation in the political transition process was essential.

What is going to happen to these UN boys when they get to Iraq and meet up with some Iraqis that want their oil money back? Hey, you never know, they might want a cup of Koffi.

Does Jack Straw mean what he says or is he just being polite?

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw says Britain condemns killing of Rantissi; from Reuters

Here is Jack Straw's quote:

"The British government has made it repeatedly clear that so-called 'targeted assassinations' of this kind are unlawful, unjustified and counter-productive," Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said in a statement.

Sorry Jack, I disagree. When you read things like:

Rantissi is the leader in the Gaza strip. The chief of the organization responsible for the deaths of 377 Israeli civilians, calling for an "open war" on Jews, he had just moved to the top of Israel’s hit list.
Link

Now Jack, if this guy killed 377 British civilians and called for open war on British citizens, would you then be lawful and justified in killing him? Damn right you would!

As for counter productive, Jack, dear boy, have you been neglecting to read my posts? Tch, Tch, Tch. If you had you would have read this:

The big questions is - is Israel's policy of killing Palestinian terrorist leaders working?

Here are some thoughts from the Middle East Forum

As a result, the nature of Palestinian terror organizations is that they are secretive and compartmentalized. People hardly know each other. There are no headquarters, files, computers, radio equipment, or organizational memory. Removing one activist can handicap or destroy an entire cell, but removal of one cell does not necessarily bring down the entire organization.

Despite defiant Palestinian rhetoric, Palestinian activists' fear of being on Israel's target list is paralyzing, and that is exactly what Israel wants. Explained Sharon:

The plan is to place the terrorists in varying situations every day and knock them off balance so that they will be busy protecting themselves.[22]

The whole article here is worth a read Jack.

And then you get the usual Hamas issued an immediate vow of revenge. Just like when Yassin got his they said "the Hamas leadership said Ariel Sharon had "opened the gates of hell."

Yeah, I'd say that is about right and they shoved Yassin and Rantissi in; to which Satan said "welcome home boys".

More bad news for the bad guys. Some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed.

Saudi Authorities Seize Car Packed with Explosives

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi police on Saturday seized a car packed with explosives that they have been searching for since February, an Interior Ministry official said.

This is April! You got to do better than this guys. See Jordan for some assistance.

I wonder if this had anything to do with it:

Haram Imam Urges Muslims to Foil Attacks by Terrorists

Fox News has a prophetic article on Abdel Aziz Rantissi

Reporter's Notebook: Dead Man Talking
Monday, March 29, 2004
By Mike Tobin

Note the date.

Two years ago I wanted to interview Rantissi, so I went to his house in Gaza City. Now he lives on the move, in secret, and doesn’t answer a phone for fear the Israeli Air force can use the telephone signal to track him and kill him. My best bet was to bump into him.

Seems if Israel's plan is working. Keep them moving, off the phone and in fear.

Later that evening Hamas would make the announcement official. Rantissi is the leader in the Gaza strip. The chief of the organization responsible for the deaths of 377 Israeli civilians, calling for an "open war" on Jews, he had just moved to the top of Israel’s hit list.

Got him!

As I said in my earlier post; NEXT! "Now serving number 1"

The BBC just can not bring itself to say the word terrorist.

I bet if you could peek inside a dictionary in the BBC offices the word terrorist would be blotted out. They are just incapable of using the word no matter how appropriate the occasion to use it.

First from The BBC we get this report.

A Palestinian suicide bomber has blown himself up at a crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army has said.
An Israeli border policeman was killed and three others were injured in the explosion at a terminal leading to the Erez industrial zone.


Read terrorist here.

The militant Hamas group and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed joint responsibility for the latest attack.

Read terrorist here.

They identified the bomber as Fadi Al-Amoudi, 22, from nearby Beit Lahiya.

Read terrorist here. Only 22; tell me she wasn't brainwashed.

And then there is this story.

Hamas boss 'killed in air strike'

The head of the militant Islamic movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Abdul Aziz Rantissi, has been killed in an attack on his vehicle.

Read Islamic terrorist movement.

The attack came hours after a suicide bomber killed himself and an Israeli soldier at the Erez checkpoint just north of the city.

Read terrorist here.

"It is evident now to the world that the Palestinian people need international protection more than ever," Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat told Reuters.

You must be out of your mind fella. How about some protection from your terrorists Mr. Arafat?

Mr Rantissi was one of the most forceful spokesmen against compromise with Israel.

He described himself as one of seven founders of Hamas and was considered second in importance only to Sheikh Yassin


So, Mr. Arafat, you send terrorist bombers to Israel and you don't want to compromise with Israel and so Israel keeps killing Hamas leaders; one after the other. Next!

Breaking news - Hamas leader killed in blast from CNN

GAZA CITY, GAZA (CNN) -- Abdel Aziz Rantisi, the leader of the militant group Hamas in Gaza, was killed on Saturday in Gaza City when his car exploded, hospital officials said.

It is not clear if his car was attacked or was booby-trapped in the explosion

Rantisi was rushed to a hospital after the blast, where officials declared him dead.

He was appointed to head Hamas in Gaza after Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was killed in an Israeli missile strike in Gaza City.

The Israeli army is not commenting on the development.

Suicide attack
The move comes hours after a Palestinian suicide bomber launched an attack in the Erez industrial zone Saturday, killing a border police officer and wounding three others.

Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and Hamas claimed responsibility for that attack.


Bad day at big rock for the bad guys.

The bomber -- who was a mother of two -- staged the attack.

Does it get any sicker.

Did a recent anti-American poll by the biased BBC prompt bin Laden's truce offer?

The American Thinker thinks so.

Solid evidence has emerged to suggest that a recent poll by the BBC’s World Service, was not only systematically rigged, but that bin Laden’s offer of a truce with Europe a mere six days after the survey’s results were published, may indicate that the BBC’s anti-American propaganda is aiding, abetting and encouraging bin Laden’s strategy to divide America and Europe.

The BBC reported the poll’s results in a web article on the 9th of April 2004, titled: 'US is bigger threat than terror.' According to the BBC, the 1500 respondents of the survey were all viewers of its news and international channel.

Powerful stuff! Note howerver, the original title has been changed to: Globalisation 'bigger threat than terror'
But thanks to The Daily Ablution you can find the Google cache version
here

There's more

The following is part of a BBC document which proves how the “smoking gun” question making “globalization” and America synonymous was put to the poll’s respondents:

Global superpower/globalisation (power of USA and corporations) 52.3%
Corruption 51.7%
Conflicts (wars, terrorism) 50%
Hunger 49%
Climate change (global warming) 44%

Why didn’t they separate the “Global superpower”, which conveniently could only mean the US, and “globalization” as two different choices for respondents? The BBC would have been well aware that “globalization” is not an issue exclusive to American corporations. All international companies and organizations, publicly or privately owned - including the media - are responsible for “globalization”.

In fact, the BBC is an excellent example of “globalization” in practice. If anything, they pioneered the spirit of “globalization” decades ago with the roll-out of the BBC World Service, which ironically, happens to be the same BBC division responsible for this rigged poll.


Read the whole article to find out the answer to this:

That this poll was rigged is an open and shut case, but where does Bin Laden fit into all this?

Breaking news!

Jordan 'was chemical bomb target' from The BBC

Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists planned a chemical attack on Jordan's spy headquarters that could have killed 20,000 people, officials have said.

Earlier this week King Abdullah said a massive attack had been thwarted by a series of arrests, but named no target.

Now unnamed officials say the suspects have confessed to plotting to detonate a chemical bomb on the Amman HQ of the Intelligence Services.

The plot was reportedly hatched by al-Qaeda suspect Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi.


I wish they would name the chemical they were going to use. It might help tie some things together. Hopefully we will get more information soon.

It is only a matter of time before they succeed.

Update: Jordan 'was chemical bomb target' Update

News Max is carrying the story.

As is Middle East Newsline

And AFP but what does this mean? "and a "primary material to make a chemical bomb.""

Now Channel News Asia

Nothing from CNN, Fox or even Drudge.

An Egyptian blog in english; the first and only?

If you haven't been to Big Pharaoh, an Egyptian blog in English you should pay them a visit. It's a new site and not much posted yet but judging form the comments this will be a busy site. I don't know who is behind it yet; hopefully we will know more soon. In the mean time, pay a visit and post some questions, they seem eager to please!

Are Muslims starting to get the message to speak out against Islamic terrorists?

Maybe, but they are still not going far enough in my opinion.

Here is an interesting item from Arab News via The Agonist

Haram Imam Urges Muslims to Foil Attacks by Terrorists
Staff Writer

RIYADH, 17 April 2004 — The imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah told Muslims yesterday it was their duty to foil terror attacks as the Kingdom battles Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists.

Describing the terrorists as “deviants” and “outcasts”, the imam, Sheikh Saleh Bin-Humaid, told thousands of worshipers who thronged the Grand Mosque to inform authorities about “this misguided lot whose ignorance of their faith made them kill fellow Muslims in the name of Islam”.

“What is happening these days in this holy land is a rash act of aggression,” Bin-Humaid said in the sermon aired live on television.

Er, no, Mr. Humaid, this is not a "rash act of aggression"; it is an all out war. A war in which moderate Muslims continue to sit on the sidelines in silence. This is an all to rare instance of a Muslim leader telling worshipers to "inform authorities" of terrorists. You and other Muslim leaders, need to go further and denounce, by name, bin Laden, Al-Qaeda and the rest. The Muslim community need to brand bin Laden and members of Al-Qaeda as "outcasts" and "non-Muslims" in order for us to start believing you.

Our Multi-cultural society at work.

Seems it's ok with the Norwich police for a gang of Asians to beat up and use racial remarks against a white British man but arrest the white guy for racial remarks. The thing is the court didn't see it that way. From
Evening News 24

A COURT has cleared a man of racist behaviour although he shouted "you f*****g Iraqi b******s in a busy city street.

Jamie Knott, 29, of Earlham West Centre, had been drinking heavily in the Light Bar on Prince of Wales Road, Norwich, last Saturday, November 29.

As he left the club at 2am, he said he was attacked by two Asian men, who punched him in the face.

The men, who were part of a group of five, also chanted "English s**t, English s**t".

Knott told police officers patrolling the street, which was packed with revellers pouring out of nightclubs.

He pointed out the men who he said had attacked him, but claimed nothing was done by police to detain them.


When nobody was questioned for the attack, Knott became angry and shouted at police. He was warned to calm down or face arrest.

He maintained he was simply trying to prove a point that nothing was being done because he was a white victim of assault by Asian men.

PC Ismael Najjar told Norwich magistrates: "He started shouting and swearing at the Asian men, who were standing about 10 feet away.

Knott, who was bleeding from the assault, was arrested for racially aggravated behaviour and taken to Bethel Street police station.

Afterwards, Anne Matin, director of Norwich and Norfolk Racial Equality Council, said: "I really think there should be an appeal on this decision.

He shouln't have made the remarks but maybe if the Police had done their job in the first place he wouldn't have made them. And then, maybe PC Najjar was a little more sensitive to the remarks and not to a bleeding white citizen.

So, how is the war in Iraq playing over in "we are not worried about terrorist", Canada?

Canada opposed the war in Iraq and did not send any troops but that doesn't stop them from "shooting" at America from the safety of their home land.

From The Toronto Star we get this nice little article. I've seen this making the rounds on the net but this is the first time I've seen it in this edited version from Canada. With a subtle bayonet, The Star stabs the Marines in the back.

First up with the headline we get this,

Hostility takes hold of Marines in Falluja
Expecting to be welcomed, they were vilified and hunted


I've never met a "non" hostile Marine in a firefight, have you?

"Expecting to be welcomed...", excuse me? Let me get this straight. The Marines are fighting men; not peace keepers. They are sent in when diplomacy has failed with the mission to subdue, read kill, the enemy or take territory. In this case they were sent to Falluja in response to the murder and mutilation of four Americans by Sadr's thugs. In addition, Falluja is where Saddams old regime elements live - the ones these same Marines killed and drove from power. Given all of that, how in the hell can you write a headline with "Expecting to be welcomed..."?

Look at this, we haven't even gotten past the headline yet.

FALLUJA - On a rooftop overlooking Falluja's industrial wasteland, Lance Cpl. Tom Browne pokes his machine-gun muzzle out of a hole in a barrier wall, singing to himself to pass the time.

Another bayonet thrust; implying the guy is happy with his "work". Some people sing or whistle when they are nervous. Ever been in combat Mr. Navarro? Thought not.

In the street below, the corpse of an insurgent suspect lies baking in the sun. Browne, from Boston, says he has killed several rebels so far, probably Iraqis.

Insurgent "suspect"? How is someone who is trying to kill you a "suspect"? "Probably Iraqis"? I'm sure this Marine doesn't give a damn what country a potential killer is from; he just wants to kill him before he gets killed.

More bayonet thrusts.

"I don't even think about those people as people," he says.

It wasn't supposed to be this way.

By "those people" the Marine was referring to the terrorists trying to kill him and not the "Iraqi people", as you imply, Mr. Navarro.

Uh, Mr. Navarro, it was suppose to be this way. War and war fighting is a terrible business and thankfully so, otherwise it would be practiced at the drop of a hat. Unfortunately, the best way to train someone to kill another person is to teach them to not consider your enemy as people. The Marines are not a peace keeping force, they are an attacking force; sent in, as I said earlier, to kill or take land in response to attacks.

"The band of U.S. marines in this insurgent stronghold..." Holy "John Philip Sousa", you mean they were fighting with trombones? Excuse me, maybe you meant they were more like a gang of thugs or something.

"...the marines say it's easier to cope with the daily work of killing a seemingly unending supply of rebels if they don't think about the suspected Iraqi rebels as people. Under different circumstances, they might have been trying to help them.

Can you follow this guy? First they are "rebels" and then "suspected" rebels but not just that, they are "suspected Iraqi rebels". Mr. Navarro, you are kindly directed to earlier comments on your ignorance.

Behind the front line, marines are trying to supply the holed-up locals that they encounter with food and water, one of the few areas their cultural training is put to use.

"Holed-up locals"? Uh, erm, would they be Iraqis Mr. Navarro? If so, that would seem to indicate that not all Iraqis are trying to kill the Marines and the Marines are not trying to kill all Iraqis. Doesn't it, Mr. Navarro? You seem to have a problem identifying people Mr. Navarro; were you actually in Falluja?

Time for the bayonet thrust to kill.

But Cpl. David Silvers, based in a front-line building nicknamed "the tower," says his experience with Iraqis has been limited to dodging bullets from a persistent and shadowy gunman he dubbed "Bob the sniper."

The veil is lifted. No longer are they "rebels", "insurgents", "suspected rebels", or "suspected Iraqi rebels"; now they are "Iraqis" - meaning the nation.

Mr. Navarro I have a few suggestions for you. First, get a new job. Second, make that job a Marine if you got the balls. And finally, if you don't take my suggestions and keep your current job, in the future, whenever you write an article about US Marines, you damn well better use a capital "M" when referring to them. They have earned that respect.

How The Guardian and Europe misunderstand America

Writing in today's Guardian Mark Lawson waxes about "Terrorist nostalgia" comparing bin Laden's last message with the PR campaigns of earlier terrorist organizations like the IRA.

There is one paragraph in the article that demonstrates to me a very fundamental misunderstanding of America by Mr. Lawson and probably by many Europeans. Here is the paragraph.

The message is also convincingly demonic towards America. A terrorist who was driven by political wiles rather than pure ideology would realize that the way to cause maximum trouble for George Bush right now would be to offer America freedom from attack in exchange for withdrawal from Iraq. Yet "Bin Laden" cannot contemplate this because the US is forever the Great Satan, whereas the fallen archangels of Europe have at least the possibility of redemption. "Bin Laden" is so deranged by hatred of the US that he makes a statement which would tend to consolidate Bush's position by showing the US to be at war with an implacable foe.

There is no doubt that Iraq is an explosive issue and ludicrous comparisons by some to Viet Nam fan the flames. But do a search on recent peace marches around the country and what do you find? Hardly anyone shows up at these things and the last one in Washington was shouted down by some Iraqis! Several bloggers in California went to one, I believe in LA, and found the "counter" peace march better attended. America has changed - 911 did that.

This one sentence

the way to cause maximum trouble for George Bush right now would be to offer America freedom from attack in exchange for withdrawal from Iraq

demonstrates Europe's lack of understanding about America. Mr. Lawson presumes that the offer from bin Laden would cause "maximum trouble for Bush" because it would be accepted by Bush's opponents. Mr. Lawson, The Guardian and any Europeans reading this, take note of this. President Bush's supporters and his opponents share at least one thing in common - they are all Americans; post 911 Americans. America is not Spain, Mr. Lawson. To even suggest that a large part of the American population would consider a peace offering from bin Laden is an insult to all Americans, especially the 3000 who died on 911. Mr. Lawson, you are either very callus or very ignorant or possibly both!

If bin Laden had made the offer to America it would have been met with the derision it deserves. If anything it would have strengthened Bush's position. You see, Mr. Lawson, unlike Spain and to some extent France and Germany, Americans know full well that, as you put it, we are "at war with an implacable foe"

Trying to tie Iraq with bin Laden will not work either, Mr. Lawson. No more so than other journalists trying to tie Iraq with Viet Nam. There is no connection between any of them. Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda were at work long ago in Afghanistan; during the Clinton years. Just as with the Palestinian cause, bin Laden is trying to hijack the liberation of Iraq for his own ends. Those journalistic tricks don't work on Americans; we see right through the smokescreens.

Mr. Lawson you miss the main point of bin Laden's message. It is not a genuine offer and maybe you are too young to know that a previous monster tried the appeasement trick on Europeans (go ask your dad). The only purpose of bin Laden's latest message is to divide Europe from America; oldest military trick in the book, divide and conquer. Organizations like The Guardian and the BBC are doing a fine job of helping him.

Seems the Spanish don't like the Guardian either. From Guardian's Letters Page via Eurosoc

We were on holiday in Majorca and the hotel sold every English national paper except the Guardian (Letters, April 13). I asked the manager to order a copy for the duration of our stay and he threatened to throw us out of the hotel! I was afraid to ask why.
Mick Aherne
Newport, Gwent

I know where I'm staying next trip to Spain.

More from civilian contractors in Iraq. from Rantingprofs

Sample

I would like to pick apart every line of Mr Carter's
Article and show how he has twisted the facts but I
have a job to do. There are problems on the ground
in Iraq between military units and civilian
contractors. But there is also alot of cooperation
and support between both sides. (My team for example
had to stop and assist a US army unit at an accident
scene. The unit in question did not have the
resources on hand to call in a medevac for their
injured and dead. We established a landing zone,
called in medevac, and beefed up security at the
scene.)

Now is not the time for negative articles taking away
from the efforts of so many people here in Iraq.
Soldiers, sailors, airmen, and civilians are risking
life and limb to finish what we started here. What is
needed is support from the American people. Let's do
the right thing. Let's finish what we started and
give the Iraqi people a future they deserve.


You will never see this in mainstream reporting; only on the blogsphere.

The true story of the contractors in Iraq. From Captains Quarters via Instapundit

Here is another side of the contractors in Iraq story; one you will not see on the BBC or in the Guardian.

The Iraqi people as a whole…love us. You read it right…love us. Terrorists may hate us and radicals in different ethnic groups within Iraq may hate each other…but in general, the common Iraqi people, Shias, Sunis, Kurds, Chaldeans, Turkomen, all have one thing in common…For one instant in time, they have hope for their future and the future of their children…and that hope is centered around one group of foreigners…you guessed it…Americans…the good old USA.


And there are dozens of coalition forces who help us…young military people from most of the free countries in the world are here…and willing to lay down their lives because America has led the way in spreading the good news of freedom and democracy to the oldest land on Earth. And we are all helping to train Iraqis to protect themselves with sound moral and ethical procedures… And we know that teaching adults is important…But educating children is the key…So there is a lot of money going to rebuilding schools in Iraq and getting rural children to attend for the first time in history.

Powerful stuff; a long read, but please read the whole thing.

First English speaking blog from Egypt? From Silent Running

Big Pharaoh here

A sample post:

The fight in Fallujah was always there and it would continue to be there even if the US didn’t move against the insurgents in those towns. Those people did not accept what the majority of Iraqis accepted which is a diplomatic way to end the occupation until elections in January 2005. To be more frank, they will not accept anything. If God Himself left His highest heaven and came to rule Iraq after the fall of Saddam, those murderers will not accept Him. This is the reason why crushing them is an integral part in Iraq’s road to recovery. If the coalition didn’t do it now, the new Iraqi government will have to do it later.

Interesting

How long has it been since Israel killed Sheikh Yassin?

Nearly a month now and what has been Hamas's response? Not much. Granted the Israelis did foil 10 suicide bombers over Easter but "the Hamas leadership said Ariel Sharon had "opened the gates of hell." Maybe they are building up to something big.

Then there are reports that Hamas has been going door to door seeking donations. Interesting.

And then we get this Arafat, Hamas to form unified leadership from The Washington Times.

What's going on here? Is Israel's policy of eliminating the Hamas leadership working? Is Hamas that weakened? I remember Sadr stating he was the Hamas "arm" in Iraq but now he has caved in and given up on all demands.

No doubt we will see more suicide bombings in Israel but given all the above one has to wonder if Israel is winning the battle over Hamas.

The Guardian needs a reality check.

An online article here titled "Losing Falluja" , says "raise serious doubts about the methods currently adopted by the coalition."

With the complete and utter cave in by Sadr and his thugs, I'd say they had no "serious doubts" about US methods. So, Guardian, it seems you are the one with doubts.

Not content to sow "doubts", the article goes on to try and convince you how evil the US is with lines like this:

the indiscriminate killing of several hundred Iraqis by US forces in Falluja

Where is the proof of this "indiscriminate killing"? Where are the photographs and video of all the dead and wounded women and children you imply? That is after all, the kind of blood thirsty coverage you guys crave. Where is it Guardian?

Why do you refer to them just as "Iraqis"? What happened to "militant" or "terrorist" or "former regime elements" or "Sadr's army"? These are terrorists financed by Iran not just Iraqis. Sadr said publicly that he is the Hamas and Hezbolla arm in Iraq. You insult all Iraqis when you refer to these terrorists as "Iraqis".

And how about the "indiscriminate killing" of Americans? You seem to have little to say on that score. Then there is the "indiscriminate killing" of Iraqis. What about those innocent people?

The Guardian just doesn't seem to understand that since Sadr declared war on the coalition, Falluja became a war zone. As such the coalition forces imposed a dusk to dawn curfew. So it is no surprise they would issue orders like these:

The New York Times reported yesterday that US marines had orders to shoot any males who look of military age out after dark, whether armed or not

The the Guardian really starts to lose the plot with these lines:

This is a massacre in the making. The United Nations should investigate the deadly events in Falluja, as it did in Jenin, as soon as possible.

Where is your proof of a "massacre in the making"? The killing of 600 heavily armed, Iranian backed terrorists, is not the same as killing unarmed civilians. Again, where are the photographs and videos of this invented massacre? These terrorists love to show you the dead bodies and you guys love to photograph them. So, where are they?

Losing the plot further, the Guardian calls for the "we turned our back on Rwanda; oil for food scandal" UN to investigate.

"Losing Falluja" more like losing the plot Guardian.

U.S. expected to order staff out of Saudi Arabia from CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The State Department is expected to order all nonessential personnel serving in the U.S. Embassy and consulates in Saudi Arabia and their families out of the country in the coming days, a senior State Department official said Thursday.

Wonder what the State Department isn't telling us?

Does anybody still think the BBC is independent?

Well Michael Morris over at The American Thinker has something that might interest you.

Today, as reported by Tom Mangold in the London Evening Standard, it has emerged that in July of last year, while Greg Dyke was still head of the BBC, he had an outburst in which he told friends that he was contemplating spending three million pounds of his own money, to start a new political party in order to unseat Tony Blair as British PM.

One of Greg Dyke’s closest friends, Melvin Bragg said:

It’s true; he did say that he could form a new political party to challenge Tony Blair on the simple basis that it would bring about a change of leadership

The most astonishing aspect of this, of course, is that the DG of the BBC is meant to be totally independent. We are always being told that the BBC is supremely balanced and impartial in its coverage of the news, but these revelations concerning Greg Dyke’s comments about supporting a political campaign against Tony Blair, prove once and for all that the BBC is indeed a politicized broadcaster, and is anything but independent. It also confirms the feeling many have had for a long time that the BBC is in fact, institutionally biased.

Read the whole thing.

Do Europeans Really Reject 'Bin Laden' Truce Offer?

While headlines in the press like "Europeans Reject 'Bin Laden' Truce Offer" look good and hopefully send bin Laden the right message; a better message would be for the Europeans to announce they are sending troops to Iraq. Instead, we get words like these. From Fox News

Germany: Government officials said they will not negotiate with "criminals" like bin Laden.

"We will not be coerced, seduced or threatened by anyone," said a spokeswoman for the coalition in Afghanistan, which includes the United States, Spain, Italy and Germany. "We are here to do a job. We are committed to Afghanistan."

Why not help the Iraqis then? You might have disagreed about the war but that's a done deal; so move on and help these people. Plus, it would send a powerful message to bin Laden.

France: President Jacques Chirac rejected negotiating with terrorists and also ruled out military involvement in Iraq, Reuters reported.

Same thing France; why not help the Iraqi people?

America stood against the Nazis to liberate your countries and now we are trying to liberate the Iraqi people. Do you value the freedom we gave you so little that you would not wish to help the Iraqis enjoy that same freedom? History and the world will not forget how cowardly and shameful you have acted.

What do "Peace not War" types do when young liberals show up at their anti-war rally? From Silent Running

Declare war on them!

In the ideal situation Young Liberals should be left bruised, bashed and bleeding if they dare show thier face at a rally like that. That way they will be more hesitant about coming next time, and if they do the police will be more likely to quickly move them on. I am just sick of turning on the TV and seeing rallies presented as being a debate between demonstrators and young liberals.

There's more! Read the whole thing.

Attack of the terror clones; Muslim style

Do you think the war on terror will work? Not if these folks have their way.

Pakistani Schools Help Breed Terrorism - from Fox News

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan — Graduation from a madrasa in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, requires memorization of 6,666 verses from the Quran (search), the Muslim holy book, and some say these strict teachings are fanning the flames of terrorism.

Watch the chilling video linked at the end of the article. Anyone doubt that Islam is at war with the west?

Will the next Al-Qaeda attack come fom Canada?

Remember Al-Qaeda likes to repeat attacks that didn't quite work. The World Trade Center was attacked years before 911. How long has it been since our boarder patrol foiled an Al-Qaeda plot to blow up LA airport? Importantly, the plot was foiled by alert boarder patrol guards and not due to any intelligence or tip off.

I recently posted about Vancouver police chief Jamie Graham's concerns here. Where he said, among other scary things, "I do not have a lot of dedicated police officers in Vancouver that get up every day and go to bed at night worried about the terrorist threat to Vancouver," Graham said.

Oh well, that's only Vancouver anyway. Or is it?

I wonder how things are doing over in Toronto? Let's see what Toronto's chief of police has to say. From National Post

Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino said yesterday his officers lack the training and resources to adequately respond to a terrorist attack in the city.

He told the National Post editorial board the city is vulnerable to attacks because the provincial and federal governments have failed to provide adequate funding.

"The first line of defense against terrorism is local law enforcement. And yet, the federal government have looked after federal agencies, the provincial government have looked after provincial agencies, and we're left with nothing. We've got no help at all," Chief Fantino said, adding, "We are the people who should have the best training, the best resources and yet we're basically left to our own devices. We'd be reliant on someone else to bail us out."

What are the odds Al-Qaeda reads this stuff?

So there you have it; from Vancouver where they are not "worried about the terrorist threat to Vancouver" to Toronto where they would be "reliant on someone else to bail us out."

Er, so guys, we just across the boarder are worried about an attack from Vancouver and Toronto, would that "someone else to bail us out" be someone from Buffalo?

Is the BBC trying to rig another poll?

On the current home page of the BBC website there is a picture of bin Laden. Under that there is a link to an article with the head line "Italian hostage is killed in Iraq" and a picture of the hostages. Under that there is a picture of a row of American flags with the headline "Ask US journalist Can confidence be restored over Iraq?". The link takes you to a form where you can ask the "US Journalist" a question.

Now, what is wrong with all of this?

First of all, the question is phased in the past tense - restored - saying confidence has been lost. That might be the BBC's opinion but that doesn't make it a fact. I for one have not lost confidence, so, the BBC certainly doesn't speak for me.

Second, by placing the picture of a row of American flags below a picture bin Laden and then a picture of the hostages, the BBC gives the impression that all of the above is America's fault.

Third, who is this "US Journalist"? Answer, American Journalist Gregory Katz; who I believe works for Dallas Morning News. At least that is what is listed on Parliament's Register of Journalists' Interests.

I found a few articles by Katz and none seemed anti-administration or anti-Bush. The most recent editorial by the Dallas Morning News (here) (note you have to register) headlines with this "Admitting Mistakes: Even presidents need to learn from experience" and contains this ending

Mr. Bush especially should understand that point. Ever since he entered politics, he has preached personal accountability. The same principle applies to political figures. That was the point of those questions Tuesday night. And the White House would be wise not to ignore it.

So, according to the Dallas Morning News, Bush made some mistakes, has not admitted to those mistakes but should admit to those mistakes. Why is this paper important in all of this? Remember Dallas is in Texas and Texas is Bush's home state. Which all gives the impression that even Bush's home state thinks he made mistakes and should admit it.

But as usual the BBC doesn't tell you any of this. I wonder why the BBC left that out?

I'm not a journalist or researcher, so maybe some of my readers can shed more light on Katz and his paper.

Update: Two hours after my post the poll is gone or moved. Gee, I'd like to take credit for that but I'm sure the BBC do not read blogs. Otherwise they'd clean up their act.

Update 2: I had to go back to the BBC site for an article and found the poll back up! Weird.

Judge Youngs comments on sentencing the shoe bomber.

The following was sent into me by one of my readers. I thought I would share it with everyone. It is long but well worth reading the whole thing. It may be old "news", you may have already read it but I felt it was worth repeating.

Ruling by Judge William Young U.S. District Court

Prior to sentencing, the Judge asked the defendant if he had anything to say.

His response: After admitting his guilt to the court for the record, Reid also admitted his "allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of Allah," defiantly stated "I think I ought not apologize for my actions," and told the court "I am at war with your country."

Judge Young then delivered the statement quoted below, a stinging condemnation of Reid in particular, and terrorists in general.

January 30, 2003, United States vs. Reid.

Judge Young:

"Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you. On counts, 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General.

On counts 2, 3, 4 and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutive with the other. That's 80 years.

On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years, consecutive to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes upon you for each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 for the aggregate fine of $2 million. The Court accepts the government's recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines. The Court imposes upon you the $800 special assessment. The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need go no further.

This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair and just sentence. It is a righteous sentence.

Let me explain this to you. We are not afraid of you or any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is all too much war talk here. And I say that to everyone with the utmost respect. Here in this court, where we deal with individuals as individuals, and care for individuals as individuals. As human beings, we reach out for justice.

You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a
terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier, gives you far too much stature. Whether it is the officers of government who do it or your attorney who does it or that happens to be your view, you are a terrorist. And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not treat with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice. So war talk is way out of line in this court.

You are a big fellow. But you are not that big. You're no warrior. I know warriors. You are a species of criminal guilty of multiple attempted murders. In a very real sense, State Trooper Santiago had it right when you first were taken off
that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and where the TV crews were, and he said you're no big deal. You're no big deal.

What your counsel, what your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was
it that led you here to this courtroom today?

I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing. And I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you. But as I search this entire record, it comes as close to understanding as I know.

It seems to me you hate the one thing that is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose.

Here, in this society, the very winds carry freedom. They carry it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom. So that everyone can see, truly see that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discreetly. It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf and have filed appeals will go on in their representation of you before other judges. We are about it. Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties.

Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bear any burden, pay any price, to preserve our freedoms.

Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. Day after tomorrow it will be forgotten. But this, however, will long endure. Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across America, the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice - justice, not war, individual justice is in fact being done.

The very President of the United States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged, and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of justice.

See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America. That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That flag stands for freedom. You know it always will.

Custody, Mr.. Officer. Stand him down."

Light blogging lately

The wife and kids are on holiday this week hence the light blogging. Back to normal next week I hope.