Put Blame Where it Belongs

While Democrats and other liberals™ and leftists™ loudly blame George Bush for the failed nuclear weapons test in North Korea (which laughably calls itself the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the DPRK), the editors of the JoongAng Daily have figured out who is really to blame.

Liberals - stand by to hear the shocking news. It's ... [drum roll] ... Kim Jong-Il!!!

Wow!

At Watching America I found this outrageous headline, Don't Blame the Americans The original is here;

Former President Kim Dae-jung and the ruling party blame the United States for the North's nuclear test. This is not true, in short, and this irresponsible argument does not help resolve the current security crisis. Over the past decade, it was North Korea who broke the consensus regarding the North's nuclear development program. In 1991, North Korea adopted a joint statement on nonproliferation with South Korea while developing nuclear arms behind the scenes. North Korea admitted in 2002 that it had been developing nuclear devices even since 1994, when the United States and North Korea agreed in Geneva on freezing the North's nuclear program. Building a light-water reactor was delayed because North Korean submarines infiltrated South Korea. But those who blame Washington for the North's nuclear test are ignoring these facts.

They bring out several important points. Read it all.

Send Li'l Kim to Hollywood!

Rachel Marsden has an insight, Give Lil' Kim a Hollywood screen test;

Reportedly, Lil' Kim's latest tantrum stems in part from the fact that George Bush can't be bothered to schedule bonding chitchats with a murderous, dictatorial, communist lunatic.

So, since the Dear Freak-boy Murderer is frustrated in this, perhaps it is because he missed his true calling;

A career in Hollywood is his true calling. Politically, he'd fit right in.

Maybe we can get him on an island-based, Survivor-style reality show with fellow comrades Sean Penn, Barbra Streisand, Michael Moore and the Dixie Chicks? He can even bring his nukes and put them to good use for once, if he gets the urge. Frankly, who wouldn't?

Or how about a Big Brother show with fellow megalomaniacal nutbars,...[Go read the whole thing. - ed.]

North Korea Tries Something New

In the face of another famine this winter, and with corruption in the armed forces and the secret police, the Dear Monster has decided to establish a new and more credible threat to his neighbors. It was beginning to look like they would no longer have to take seriously North Korea's extortion attempts.

The North Replaces Its Army With Something New

October 4, 2006: North Korea is facing a real disaster, and it has nothing to do with nuclear weapons. Famine is back, with the prospect of hundreds of thousands of famine deaths over the Winter. North Korea has put more restrictions on the monitoring of foreign food aid, which has resulted in less food coming in. North Korea says it doesn't care, but for millions of North Koreans on short rations, this is a matter of life and death. It's also a matter of stability. Over a decade of famine and economic upheaval, has shaken the effectiveness of the North Korean police state. Corruption grows year by year, while readiness and discipline in the armed forces declines. The secret police are also on the take, which accounts for the growing number of North Koreans getting out of the country. The corruption has gotten so bad that those who have gotten out, and made some money, can now bribe officials back in North Korea, and get their families out. It appears that everything is for sale in North Korea, although there is less and less to buy.

Conducting a nuclear weapons test will not mean that North Korea has useable nuclear weapons, but does mean that the government means to replace its increasingly unreliable army, with a few nuclear weapons. This is needed to provide a credible threat to South Korea. You cannot run an extortion racket unless you can make a credible threat.

If reports are true, they may have that threat now with indications that North Korea has conducted its first nuclear weapons test.

Purely Beautiful

I have, for some time, been considering buying another 'cello. Not that there is anything at all wrong with the 'cello that I have now, it is a very fine instrument and I am very happy with it. Still, in addition to being the tools that a musician uses to create his art, they are themselves works of art. Few things are as beautiful as a well made violin or 'cello.

I have been surfing the websites of American luthiers. Some of these are great masters. The United States now has the very finest violin and bow makers in the world. One of these is Andrew Carruthers (and no, this is not an ad - he knows nothing of me). To see some very beautiful work, visit his web site, Andrew Carruthers, Violin Maker.

Photographs of his instruments are here.

And, check out how he does some repairs in his workshop.

Click around. There is much more.

UPDATE: David T. Van Zandt has a list of makers with web sites. Many hours of pleasant surfing there.

Taep'o dong-2 Judged a Failure

It would not surprise me to learn that a number of North Korean engineers' lives have been ruined or ended over this.

N. Korean long-range missile test ruled a failure

LONDON — North Korea's test launch of its Taepodong-2 intermediate-range ballistic missile has been ruled a failure. Initial speculation included the possibility North Korea had deliberately terminated its flight.

The South Korean military said Pyongyang's Taepodong-2 test on July 5, in a launch attended by Iran, was due to "technical failure." The military said the Taepodong, supplied to Iran, broke up in mid-flight.

"The long-range Taepodong-2 crashed into a beach on the east coast about two kilometers from the launching site after traveling normally for 40 seconds," a spokesman of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

The South Korean assessment was one of several conducted over the last few weeks. At first, the United States also announced that the Taepodong-2 failed in its first flight, Middle East Newsline reported. Later, U.S. officials said the intelligence community assessed that the launch was meant to test Pyongyang's command and control system.

But the South Korean military, which studied the launch for two months, said Taepodong-2 contained serious technical flaws. Officials said the missile broke up during flight because of a "serious technical disorder."

The nuclear weapons programs of both North Korea and Iran depend on the success of this, or a follow-on missile system. We in the U.S. had many missile test failures before we got on track with a successful program.

This is not a long term setback for the North Koreans.

Soros Says "I Quit Politics"

I really hope that he sticks to this.

ANTI-W. $OROS: I QUIT POLITICS

September 29, 2006 -- Billionaire liberal financier George Soros, who spent millions of his fortune trying to oust President Bush in 2004, yesterday said he hopes to stay out of politics from now on.

"In the future, I'd very much like to get disengaged from politics," Soros said at a Council on Foreign Relations meeting on the Upper East Side. "I'm interested in policy and not in politics."

Leaving South Korea

I have long maintained that if the South Korean people hate us we should leave them to their fate.

It seems that politics is preventing the construction of a new bombing range (off the coast) that has long been promised and is required by our treaty with South Korea. If it is not started within 30 days, the US Air Force is outta there.

Yankee Threatens to Go Home

September 24, 2006: In another example of growing hostility of South Koreans to the presence of American troops in the country, the U.S. Air Force has threatened to move its fighter aircraft out of South Korea if the South Koreans do not, as they agreed to, start construction on a new bombing range (off the coast) within 30 days. The government agreed to this last year, but construction has been delayed by politicians opposed to the deal. As a result, American pilots must leave the country for training. The treaty covering U.S. forces in South Korea, obliges South Korea to provide these training areas. The old one was closed on the condition that a new one would be built. If the Americans go through with their threat, airpower available to defend South Korea will be cut by about twenty percent. In the event of a North Korean attack, the U.S. fighters could return within a week or so.

The South Koreans need to start thinking about what is really important. Stupid anti-American politics or being overrun by the North Koreans.

Democrats and Election Reform

Democrats make a lot of noise about how Republicans stole the 2000 and 2004 Presidential elections. In 2000 it was the fiasco in Florida with the U.S. Supreme Court having to rule that the Florida election results were valid and that the recounts must stop. This, of course, got Mrs. Clinton to declare that President Bush was selected, not elected.

In 2004 it was the fact of long lines at certain precincts in Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland. The late delivery of electronic voting machines was apparently for the purpose of disenfranchising voters. How this was is a bit foggy.

Democrats also allege that the electronic voting machine, by Diebold, were fixed by that company to deliver votes for Mr. Bush.

You would think that they would get behind a bill to ensure clean elections. You would be wrong.

Federal Election Integrity Act of 2006

Vote fraud invariably benefits Democrats. Illegal aliens voting, felons, dead people (in Chicago we used to call this "the Riverside vote"), individuals voting several times. Ask anyone from the State of Washington. These are the votes that put Her Majesty into the Governor's Office.

Results of the vote for the Federal Election Integrity Act;
Republican: Yea - 224; Nay - 3; Present - 0; Not Voting - 3
Democrats: Yea - 4; Nay - 192; Present - 0; Not Voting - 5
Independent: Yea - 0; Nay - 1; Present - 0; Not Voting - 0

Guns Cause Crime?

Liberals will tell you that guns cause crime, and that if we took guns away from people, crime would go done. We evil republican conservatives believe that law abiding citizens would give up their guns if the law required it. We also believe that if someone is inclined to commit crime, they would also be inclined to illegally keep their guns. This is an idea that causes severe mental distress to Liberals™.

Also, we believe that if criminals thought that there was a good chance that their victim may be armed, they would be less inclined to commit crimes against such people.

The good folks of Greenleaf Idaho agree.

Proposed Ordinance asks Each Household to Have a Firearm

Greenleaf, Idaho -- All Americans have the right to bear arms. Some towns have even gone as far as to require each household to have a gun. Now a small Idaho town is contemplating a similar idea-- it's called the Civil Emergencies Ordinance. And although gun ownership is just one piece of this ordinance, it's the part that's getting the most attention.

"We've blessed to be a fairly rural area of the state, so we don't have a lot of crime and I think we'd like to keep it that way," said Lee Belt, Greenleaf city clerk.

Drive about 10 minutes west of Caldwell and you'll run into Greenleaf, Idaho, population 860. If city council member Steve Jett has his way, each head of household that can legally own a gun, will. Along with that they're encouraged to have ammunition and appropriate training.

"I think the city council is hoping it will happen and that it will be a deterrent to crime as the city and region increases in population," said Belt.

The proposed ordinance is modeled after a similar plan that went into place in 1982 in Kennesaw, Ga. In that instance there was a dramatic decrease in criminal activity. Although crime isn't a huge problem for residents of Greenleaf, the growth in neighboring counties leads them to believe they too are in for some changes.

There is a study to back this up that Liberals™ do not like because it goes against the leftist faith; Liberal Academics Continue Assault on Pro-Gun Research

A study by economist and University of Chicago professor John Lott and co-researcher David Mustard in 1997 examined crime data from all 3,054 counties in the U.S. for the period between 1977 and 1992 and compared those data to the enactment of concealed carry laws. Based on that research, the pair concluded that "allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons deters violent crimes, without increasing accidental deaths."

Anti-gun researchers challenge pro-gun findings

But anti-gun researcher John Donohue of the Stanford University Law School has challenged the findings of Lott and Mustard in a chapter of the new book Evaluating Gun Policy published by the Brookings Institution.

"There seems to be almost no benefit from concealed handguns," Donohue told CNSNews.com Monday - but he immediately retracted the claim.

"Actually, I can't say that. There may be some benefit, and there may be some costs, and they may offset each other," he said. "But the last argument I would give any credibility to is the idea that you would save lives by passing a law allowing people to carry concealed handguns. It just won't happen."

But Lott and Mustard concluded that, if states without concealed carry laws had adopted them in 1992, "approximately 1,500 murders would have been avoided yearly." They also predicted that 4,000 rapes, 11,000 robberies and 60,000 aggravated assaults would have been thwarted by armed civilians or criminals' fear of encountering armed civilians.

Their work evolved into Lott's book More Guns, Less Crime, which is frequently cited by supporters of concealed carry laws, along with studies by Florida State University criminologist Gary Kleck showing that guns are used to stop criminal assaults up to 2.5 million times a year.

So, good for the citizens of Greenleaf Idaho.

Osama Taking a Dirt Nap?

We can hope. I saw this at Little Green Footballs.

From al-Reuters, whose editors are no doubt saddened at the news, France to probe bin Laden death report leak

PARIS (Reuters) - France's Defense Ministry said on Saturday a secret service report saying al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had died could not be confirmed but said it would launch an inquiry into the leak of secret documents.

The Defense Ministry issued the statement after a French regional newspaper, L'Est Republicain, published a report quoting a French secret service report as saying Saudi Arabia is convinced al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden died of typhoid in Pakistan last month.

"The information published this morning in the L'Est Republicain newspaper relating to the supposed death of Osama bin Laden cannot be confirmed," the Defense Ministry said.

"The Defense Minister (Michele Alliot-Marie) has asked that an inquiry be carried out to determine the origin of the leak that can be punished by criminal charges."

Certainly the French do not want this news to get out.

"According to a usually reliable source, the Saudi services are now convinced that Osama bin Laden is dead," the document said.

"The information gathered by the Saudis indicates that the head of al Qaeda was a victim while he was in Pakistan on August 23, 2006, of a very serious case of typhoid which led to a partial paralysis of his internal organs."

I hope that this is not another false report. If it is true, it sounds like he really suffered a great deal at the end (no doubt sadening MSM editors and publishers worldwide).

But, it gets even better. Rusty Shackleford at The Jawa Report has even bigger news. The leader of Ansar al Sunnah, Muntasir al-Jibouri, has been captured.

Big News: bin Laden dead; Bigger News: Ansar al Sunnah Head Captured!

Damn, it feels good to be a gangsta today! First, bin Laden is reportedly dead. Or dying. Or whatever. In any event, I don't believe it. But it's the kind of rumor I dig. Thanks to everyone that e-mailed it to me. The way I read the report, though, was not that bin Laden is dead, but that he is very sick. (knock on wood either way)

But a much bigger story is that the leader of Ansar al Sunnah, Muntasir al-Jibouri, has been captured! This is big news. And unlike the bin Laden 'news', this one seems likely to be true.

We should be shouting for joy that the leader of Ansar al Sunnah has been captured. This should just as big as when we got Zarqawi. It is that important.

Ansar al Sunnah's organizational structure is not as well know as al Qaeda's. It appears, though, that al-Jibouri's voice can be heard on at least two hostage murder videos-and probably many many more (thanks to Mike for the reminder). Like Zarqawi, al Jibouri is said to have personally murdered many of Ansar al Sunna's victims.

For awhile, Abu Musab al Zarqawi and the terrorist bastards at Ansar al Sunna appeared to be in a pissing match over who could behead the most civilians. Just this month the group posted a gruesome video of the beheading of 3 Iraqis.

Who are Ansar al Sunna, you say? I don't blame you for not knowing, I blame the ignorant press. And the Democrats. The press because they speak of insurgents in Iraq, and not terrorists. And the Democrats because they speak as if any one who is not formally within al Qaeda is not a terrorist. Eg., Saddam did not support terrorists because there was no link to al Qaeda. Idiots.

Read all of Rusty's report, it is excellent.

It is a good day for jihadi killin'. Especially on the first day of Ramadan, an Islamic holiday which is celebrated in the Muslim world with an increase in terrorism. It is nice to turn the table just this once.

9mm Ale

Read these results;
2006 North American Beer Awards Medal Winners. Note the results in the Specialty/Experimental category:

Bronze;
1) Boston Beer Co.-- Samuel Adams Utopias MMIII
2) Siletz Brewing—Siletz Chocolate Porter

Silver; Boston Beer Co.-- Samuel Adams Utopias MMV

Gold; Heads Up Brewing—9mm Ale

Today, on eBay, one bottle (22oz. with box) of Samual Adams Utopias MMIII has a bid of $349.00. Utopias MMV is not available. We at Head's Up paid $180 for a bottle of the MMV, but I am sure that a bottle would fetch very much more now.

You can go to Head's Up Brewing in Silverdale, Washington and make a 15 gallon batch of 9mm Ale for yourself.

I just finished bottling six cases of it.

Yum.

Islamic Tolerance - Somalia

The Religion of Peace, Tolerance, and Moon God worship once again gives us an idea of its true love of other people.

Convert from Islam to Christianity killed
Refused to join crowd chanting verses from Quran during lunar eclipse

Somali Christian sources report Ali Mustaf Maka'il, a 22-year-old college student and cloth merchant who converted from Islam to Christianity 11 months ago, was shot and killed in the Manabolyo quarter of Mogadishu.

According to a report from the Barnabas Fund, quoting a Christian source inside Somalia, the gunman was loyal to the Union of Islamic Courts, the Islamist organization that took power in Mogadishu in early June and now controls much of southern Somalia.

The report states the gunman shot Ali in the back Sept. 7 after he refused to join a crowd chanting Quran verses in honor of the lunar eclipse. Solar and lunar eclipses are significant in Islam and are accompanied by special congregational prayers. The Union of Islamic Courts confiscated Ali's body for 24 hours before delivering it to the grieving family, the report said.

The Barnabas Fund comments: "It seems that under the new Islamist rulers, who include hard-line jihadi elements, the tragic history of persecution and martyrdom for Somalia's tiny Christian community is set to continue and most likely to worsen."

The group reports that in July there were unconfirmed reports three Christians had been shot and killed by Islamists as they returned home from a prayer meeting.

In October 2005, an evangelist and house church leader, Osman Sheik Ahmed, was shot dead by Islamist radicals, Barnabas said. Also, children of Christian Somali refugees in Kenya have been kidnapped by Muslim relatives and taken to Islamic institutions in Somalia for 'rehabilitation.'"

The Barnabas Fund pointed out the leader of the Union of Islamic Courts, Hassan Dahir Aweys, promised to implement Sharia, or Islamic law, in all areas he controls.

According to Sharia, the group explained, apostates - those who leave Islam for another religion – must be killed. Union of Islamic Court leaders even have threatened to kill as apostates Muslims who are lax in their prayers, claiming this is commanded by Sharia. Several Muslims have been flogged publicly for drug-related offences since the union took control.

Islam is a fiction created by Mohammed to exercise political control over his tribe, and to establish a military structure for conquest. There is no Abrahamic tradition there. They are Moon God worshipers. I have no problem with that, but it is a fiction to try to connect Islamic beliefs with any form of Judaism or Christianity.

And, there is no tradition of forgiveness or tolerance in that faith. Only hatred and murder.

A Great One is Gone

Oriana Fallaci, 1929 - 2006

And this, IN MEMORIAM: ORIANA FALLACI

Rage & Pride, in a translation by Letizia Grasso, is added to the sidebar.

May she rest in a well deserved peace.

The Happy Prince

Oscar Wilde is a writer that I have neglected in my various studies. My beloved wife pointed me to a very beautiful short story, The Happy Prince.

High above the city, on a tall column, stood the statue of the Happy Prince. He was gilded all over with thin leaves of fine gold, for eyes he had two bright sapphires, and a large red ruby glowed on his sword-hilt.

He was very much admired indeed. "He is as beautiful as a weathercock," remarked one of the Town Councillors who wished to gain a reputation for having artistic tastes; "only not quite so useful," he added, fearing lest people should think him unpractical, which he really was not.

Whatever Mr. Wilde was during his too brief life, he was a Christian, and on his deathbed converted to the Roman Catholic Church repentant of his sins.

This is about Christian love, and our own reactions to it should be guided by Christian forgiveness and love.

If you haven't read it yet, read it.

RoP Denies Being Evil

Muslims Preaching "Peace"

More

Muslims all over the world are upset that a 14^th Century Byzantine Emperor, Manuel II Paleologus, said that converting people to Islam by the sword is evil. Representatives of the RoP and Muslims the world over are objecting to this, insisting that they are peaceful and telling us that if we do not believe that they are peaceful they will kill us.

An interesting position to take. I suppose that if I were to point out a tiny little problem of logic in their viewpoint they would wish to be "peaceful" with me too.

When was the last time that, having heard a prominent Muslim criticize Christianity, Christians attacked Mosques and threatened murder? That's right, never.

Pope's speech at University of Regensburg (full text)

Muslim leaders demand apology for Pope's 'medieval' remarks

Pope statement not enough: Muslim Brotherhood

The First Casualty of the Pope's Islam Speech

You have to love it when atheists, Muslims, or other non-Christian people tell Christians what a good Christian believes; Islamic world rails against 'Unchristian' Pope

5 churches attacked in Palestinian areas following Pope's comments on Islam

Somali cleric calls for pope's death

Gunmen shoot elderly nun dead

Details of the incident were sketchy and there was no immediate indication of a possible motive for the attack but it came amid fury among Somalia's powerful Islamist movement over comments made by Pope Benedict XVI deemed insulting to Islam.

On Friday, a prominent hardline Mogadishu cleric called for Muslims to "hunt down" and kill the pontiff for his remarks.

"Whoever offends our Prophet Mohammed should be killed on the spot by the nearest Muslim," Sheikh Abubukar Hassan Malin told worshippers at a mosque in southern Mogadishu.

The despicable New York Times tries to explain why all of this is ok; The Pope's Words

Charles has some pictures; Peaceful Religion Watch

UPDATE: Manuel II Paleologus knew what he was talking about. His capitol city, Constantinople, was besieged by Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I.

Hearing of his father's death in February 1391, Manuel II Palaiologos fled the Ottoman court and secured the capital against any potential claim by his nephew John VII. Although relations with John VII improved, the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I besieged Constantinople from 1394 to 1402. After some five years of siege, Manuel II entrusted the city to his nephew and embarked on a long trip to western courts (including those of the Kingdom of England, France, the Holy Roman Empire, and Aragon) to seek assistance against the Ottoman Empire.

The ACLU Loses One

Judge Rules against ACLU in Georgia Prayer Case

ATLANTA, Ga. (AP) - Cobb County commissioners won't have to exclude Jesus Christ from the prayers at their meetings under a new federal court ruling.

U.S. District Judge Richard Story ruled Friday that clergy who pray at the meetings could "identify the deity to whom they direct their prayer." But he also took issue with the way commissioners choose the clergy who appear at the meetings because it was clear that "certain faith were categorically excluded from the list."

The case was filed in August 2005 by the Georgia Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of seven people who felt the references to Jesus were an unconstitutional government endorsement of Christianity.

Is it possible that judges are just now starting to see through the Left™'s scam? Or, did we just get lucky and get a judge who does not agree that he is part of an oligarchy?

We shall see.

Please Lie Down and Die

Robert Spencer at Jihad Watch found this at the Daily Mail, British Muslim leader: don't resist terrorism, or you'll get 2 million more terrorists and notes, "Anti-terror efforts breed terrorists, says Bari. In other words, please lie down and die."

The Daily Mail link is;
Threat of up to two million Muslim terrorists, warns community leader

Britain will face have to deal with up to two million Islamic terrorists unless there is an end to 'demonising' of Muslims, the leader of the most influential Muslim organisation has said.

Treating all Muslims as if they were terrorists will encourage large numbers to become terrorists, Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari said.

The warning from the chief of the Muslim Council of Britain - the grouping that Tony Blair's Government has considered the leading voice for Muslims - came amid rising tensions over the increasingly suspicious attitude to Muslims in the rest of society.

Dr Bari declared: "Some police officers and sections of the media are demonising Muslims, treating them as if they are all terrorists, and that encourages other people to do the same.

"If that demonisation continues, then Britain will have to deal with two million Muslim terrorists, 700,000 of them in London. "If you attack a whole community, it becomes despondent and aggressive," he added.

The message from Dr Bari appeared to be aimed at muting criticism from police officers and broadcasters and newspapers who have questioned widely-held Muslim attitudes and at police officers who have called for greater surveillance of Muslims.

Their protestations make them appear ridiculous.

His view appears in particular to mock Scotland Yard Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick, who declared after the 7 July bombings last year that "Islamic and terrorist are two words that do not go together".

Yes, they do.

Islamic Tolerance - Eritrea

ERITREA: RELIGIOUS PRISONER COUNT TOPS 1,900

September 8 (Compass Direct News) – Newly compiled statistics smuggled out of Eritrea indicate that at least 1,918 Eritrean citizens are imprisoned and being subjected to torture and forced labor because of their religious beliefs.

According to a detailed list obtained by Compass last month, 95 percent of these known religious prisoners of conscience are Christians.

A total of 35 pastors, priests and church elders are confirmed under arrest in Asmara’s Wongel Mermera investigation center. An additional 1,758 Christians of both evangelical Protestant and Orthodox confessions are jailed in 14 other cities and towns.

According to reports compiled by Compass, 163 of these Christian prisoners have been put under arrest since the beginning of 2006. As many as a fourth of all those jailed are believed to have been incarcerated for two years or more.

Additionally, 69 Muslims are being held in Wongel Mermera for opposing the government-appointed mufti. They include Taha Mohammed Noor, a founding member of the Eritrean Liberation Front in 1961 and a member of the Islamic Awqaf (religious foundation).

Arrested in Asmara on November 25, 2005, Noor reportedly has refused under torture to accept government interference with the religious affairs of Eritrean Muslims, who constitute half of the population.

And in accordance with Islamic law, none of those who have been arrested and are being held in jail have received a trial or any kind of hearing. Some of these people have been held for over four years without a trial.

None of those imprisoned for their religious beliefs in the government crackdown begun more than four years ago have been brought before a court of law to be charged or tried.

According to the latest breakdown, 475 Christians are jailed at Wi’a, 250 at Sawa (including 50 students arrested from Mai Nefhee Academy last May), 192 at Dongoloi Ai Ai, 130 at Mai-Serwa, 78 at Adi-Abyto, 55 in Sembel Prison, 155 in various Asmara police stations, 37 in the Keren police station, 22 in the Mendefera police station, 115 at Assab, 97 at Gelalo, 21 in the Dekemhare police station, 56 in the Adi-Kualaa police station, and 75 in the Massawa police station.

During August still another 29 Protestant Christians were arrested in the cities of Asmara, Keren and Massawa, according to the London-based Release Eritrea organization.

Ten evangelicals attending a home prayer meeting in Asmara’s Edaga Arbi district were arrested on August 17, Release Eritrea reported on August 25. In similar raids in the cities of Keren and Massawa earlier in the month, Eritrean police jailed another 15 and 4 people, respectively.

The only known releases in recent weeks occurred in Wi’a, where a reported handful among the hundreds of Christian soldiers in a military jail were set free after signing statements to recant their evangelical beliefs.

Ahhh, the peace, tolerance, and wisdom of Islam.

Read the whole thing to see what else they are doing.

Hindu Tolerance - India Pt. 2

We have been watchng Islam, but Hinduism is no less evil, just less active now. Watch as more and more of these storie come out.

Still, they are not engaged in the large-scale kind of violent terrorism that is a part of Islam. There are very few groups that do not persecute Christians.

India Hindu Militants Attack Church In Tense State

NEW DELHI, INDIA (BosNewsLife) -- Tensions remained high Wednesday, September 6, in an area of India's Jammu and Kashmir state after dozens of Hindu militants stormed a church and attacked Christians, including women and children, as they were attending a Sunday worship service, local Christians said.

The All India Christian Council (AICC), an influential advocacy group, said the militants also attacked seven Christians who are facing charges that include "forcible conversions."

They were earlier identified as the church's Pastors P.R. Anthony and Reji K. Sunny as well as Bible students Umesh Kumar, Tarsan Chand, Samuel Masih, Kamal Jeet and Baldev Raj, who are due to appear in court on September 16. Charges include forcible conversion of a youth belonging to the Sikh religion.

BAJRANG DAL

"Sushil Sooden, a leader of [the Hindu militant group] Bajrang Dal, brought along 40 Hindu activists" to beat up the Christians, Sunday morning, September 3 in church in the Shivagiri area of the state's Kathua district. Bajran Dal is following the ideology of Hindutva, or «Hinduness", a word used to describe movements advocating Hindu nationalism

"Children, women and their husbands numbering 20 were [also] brutally attacked during the prayer meeting. The incident took place in full daylight as well as in the presence of local media," said the group, which represents this and other churches across India.

Pastor Anthony was reportedly pulled out and beaten and nearly killed by several militants, Christians said.

Click on the picture for a preview of a future post about an attack on a Roman Catholic bishop..

What Modern President am I Most Like?

I just took one of those web quizzes. Here is the result;

You Are Most Like George W. Bush

So what if you're not exactly popular? You still rule the free world. And while you may be quite conservative now, you knew how to party back in the day!

What Modern US President Are You Most Like?

Actually, I am a little surprised, but thank God it didn't say that I am most like President Carter or Clinton. I was hoping for President Reagan.

The last sentence is exactly true.

Kiev Schools to Teach Christianity

It is good to see that there is at least one Christian country that is willing to teach its Christian culture to its children. With every other country in the world giving up their moral senses and/or bowing to Islam, it is important to transmit our own culture to our children, and Kiev is going to do it.

Of course there are critics.

Kiev Schools Look to Reinforce Ukraine's Christian Heritage

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - Some public schools in the Ukrainian capital will begin teaching Christian ethics this year in an experimental program aimed at reinforcing the country's thousand-year Christian heritage, Kiev city officials said Thursday.

The course, titled "Christian Ethics in Ukrainian Culture: The Path of Good," raised concern among Kiev's minority Jewish population, and among state education officials, who called its introduction premature.

The class for 6-year-olds will be launched in 100 of Kiev's 527 schools, reaching about 6,000 pupils. Any parent can choose to have a child opt out of the lessons. Next year, city officials aim to have the lessons reach all of the capital's 21,100 first-grade students.

Ukraine, which is predominantly Orthodox Christian, has flirted before with the idea of introducing a religion-based ethics class, but earlier plans ran into opposition from the country's Jews and Muslims. This latest project also sparked some concerns, but the Kiev city administration - headed by a mayor who once sent a Bible to every Ukrainian lawmaker - has vowed to go ahead. "There is a path of good and a path of evil, and wherever God acts, the devil also appears," Deputy Mayor Vitaliy Zhuravsky said. "Whoever opposes introducing Christian ethics - for me, that's devilry."

I agree.

They are not forcing anyone to become Christian, they are teaching ethics. And remember, their Constitution is not the same as ours. They can, and should, do this. I wish we could.

Kim Jong-Il Assists U.S. - Japan Military Realignment

Yep, you read the headline correctly. The Dear Murderer Freak-boy's erratic, insane, belligerent, murderous national and foreign policies have cleared away the Liberal™ and Leftist™ political debris in Japan such that major changes in the U.S. - Japan military relationship can occur.

Further, the clearing away of that political debris will also enable the modification or rewriting of the Japanese Constitution in such a way as to permit the creation of a real, offensive-capable military in Japan. This would have been unthinkable a mere ten years ago.

These stories together say a lot.

From the Taipei Times, Kim Jong-il helps accelerate US, Japanese plan to realign forces

The Dear Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-il, has inadvertently added urgency to US plans to realign its military forces in Japan and to the Japanese intent to make their forces more relevant, as the US and Japan seek to increase their capabilities by cooperating more closely.

In the weeks following the North Korean launch of seven missiles into the sea between Korea and Japan on July 4, Lieutenant General Bruce Wright, the US Air Force officer who commands US forces in Japan, said there had been "a monumental change" in Japanese attitudes toward transitions already underway.

Japanese officers, queried separately, agreed.

Before, negotiations had been moving along but had run into obstacles due largely to political pressures within Japan. Opposition focused on local issues such as noise from aircraft, crowding as residential areas grew up around once-remote US bases and cultural misunderstandings between Japanese and Americans in Japan.

Those issues have not been entirely swept away but, as a staff officer at a US air base west of Tokyo said, "Japan is on the cusp of major changes in security policy."

The Japanese, for instance, have asked the US to accelerate delivery of Patriot anti-missile batteries to Japan.

...

The weight of Japan's small but modern armed force is gradually being shifted from Hokkaido, the northern island, where its Northern Army's mission was to repel a possible Russian invasion. Today, Japan sees a near-term threat from North Korea and a slowly developing threat from China. Kyushu is closer to North Korea and China than Hokkaido.

A Japanese officer in the Western Army said: "We are the ones out front now."

And from the Manichi Daily News, Nationalist Abe rides wave of popularity as front-runner to lead Japanese government

Abe is far and away the top candidate to take over on Sept. 20 as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, a position that guarantees his election by the LDP-controlled parliament to succeed Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. He is slated to formally declare his candidacy Friday.

His handling of the North Korean kidnapping issue illustrates the traits he will likely bring to the job: a hard-line against North Korea, a defiant and muscular nationalism, and a keen ability to please the crowd.

...

Abe is unlikely to initiate any breaks in policy with Koizumi. Analysts expect continued market reform and ever-tighter diplomatic and military cooperation with top ally the United States. The security treaty with the U.S. was signed when his grandfather was prime minister.

Recently Abe has floated ideas for creating Japanese versions of the U.S. National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency.

In a book, "Toward a Beautiful Country," and in speeches he's given lately, Abe has signaled what is likely to be a centerpiece of his initial year in office: revision of Japan's U.S.-drafted pacifist constitution, which bars the military from overseas military action.

"It's been 61 years since the end of World War II and we need to start working toward creating a Japan that's suitable for the 21st century," he said during an August speech.

Lastly, from the International Herald Tribune, Report: Japan will treat North Korea nuclear test as national emergency

TOKYO Japan will declare a national emergency if North Korea conducts a nuclear test, a response usually reserved for major earthquakes and other national calamities, a news report said Saturday.

Watch as Japan decides to build a real armed force with offensive capabilities.

It is about time.

Video - Children of North Korea

Orphan children with no money must pull individual grains of rice out of the mud right in front of stalls selling food.

Liberals and the Left™ make a lot of noise about how socialist and communist countries feed their poor. This video makes it very clear that this is just a lie.

From Discovery/Times,
North Korea - Children of the Secret State

Watch how a country descends into cannibalism.

Watch how valuable farmland in a starving country is plowed under and planted with opium.

Watch how food aid, the most per capita of any country on earth, is diverted from those who need it.

Watch how aid agencies are forbidden to feed starving children standing right in front of them so that the food aid can be given to the Army.

Watch witnesses, including former guards, describe the grossest treatment and murder of people imprisoned for exactly nothing.

Watch how the world's most monstrous government starves its children.

The end of Kim Jong-Il and his monstrous cronies cannot come to soon.

Watch the whole thing, it is only 45 minutes long and it is heartbreaking.

A big "thank you" to Andrew, who linked this video in a comment on the Who is Ahn Chol? post.

Islamic Tolerance - Malaysia

I have written about the large number of converts to Christianity from Islamic slavery in Malaysia.

Lina Joy converted to Christianity 16 years ago. Now the Shari'a courts in Malaysia want to put her and her attorneys to death.

Malaysian Convert Receives Death Threats, Goes into Hiding

DUBLIN, August 25 (Compass Direct News) -- Lina Joy, a Malaysian convert to Christianity, has gone into hiding after extremists issued death threats against her and the lawyers supporting her cause.

Escalating furor over the latest stage in Joy's lengthy struggle to change her religious status has led Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to order a halt to all public debate on the issue. Despite converting to Christianity 16 years ago, in 1990, Joy is still legally identified as a Muslim.

Joy, previously known as Azlina binti Jailani, requested a name change from the National Registration Department (NRD) in 1997. The NRD granted the name change in October 1999 but retained the Muslim status on her new identity card.

Malaysian law requires all Muslims to be declared as such on their identity cards; the religion of non-Muslims, however, is not specified.

When challenged, the NRD said it could not change Joy's religious status without a declaration from the Islamic law (sharia) court that she had become an "apostate."

Conversion out of Islam ("apostasy") is either forbidden or regarded as a criminal offense under most state Islamic laws. In Malaysia, "apostates" may be fined, detained and imprisoned.

For this reason, many Christian converts in Malaysia choose to remain secret converts.

Malaysia has a secular contitution, but the heavy hand of Islamic totalitarianism will change that.

Secular Constitution

The case is widely regarded as a watershed for religious freedom in Malaysia. If the court orders the NRD to drop the word "Islam" from Joy's identity card, the move would affirm the supremacy of the secular constitution.

Orthodox Muslims favor a status quo decision, however, affirming the supremacy of Islam.

"If they rule against Lina Joy, the whole question of religious liberty - the freedom of conscience, choice, expression and thought of an individual - will be greatly affected," the Rev. Wong Kim Kong, secretary general of the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Malaysia, told reporters.

While some Muslim groups support more freedom for would-be converts, other groups are highly resistant. One group of Malaysian lawyers met on July 13 to establish a new association, Lawyers in Defense of Islam, to fight any loss of jurisdiction for the sharia court.

The Defenders of Islam (Front Pembela Islam, or FPI) is also planning a nationwide campaign to counter the use of civil courts as a "way out of Islam," according to Asia News.

Fearing civil unrest, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on July 25 ordered all public debate on religious issues - including forums organized by the 13-member Article 11 coalition - to cease immediately.

On Monday (August 21), the prime minister also recommended that four states that have not yet adopted laws to prevent the spread of other faiths among Muslims should draft them as soon as possible, the Bernama news agency reported. Those states are the Federal Territories, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak.

Read the whole thing to learn how someone must ask permission of an Islamic Shari'a court to convert away from Islam, and then face death for doing so.

It is hard to imagine a more corrupt country than an Islamic country like Malaysia.

It is hard to imagine a more evil and murderous ideology than Islam. Yet, people still willingly risk death to convert to Christianity.

North Korean Military Crumbling

Surprisingly enough, that is the view of Mr. Donald Rumsfeld (a guy who knows a bit about this). While the DPRK has been building up her missile forces, she has allowed her regular military forces to go without training. As any American military person can tell you, training is key to success (see also Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War - I am reading this now).

ABC News has it. Rumsfeld: S. Korea Need Not Fear North

FORT GREELY, Alaska Aug 28, 2006 (AP) - In unusually blunt terms, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said decades-old U.S. ally South Korea need not fear communist North Korea as an immediate military threat.

At a news conference at this missile defense base south of Fairbanks, Rumsfeld said Sunday that North Korea is a serious threat to spread ballistic missiles and other dangerous technologies around the world. But he made plain that he sees the North's conventional military strength eroding as its economy crumbles.

"I don't see them, frankly, as an immediate military threat to South Korea," he said.

The reason why;

"I think the real threat that North Korea poses in the immediate future is more one of proliferation than a danger to South Korea," he said, adding that the North Koreans for years have sold ballistic missile technologies to Iran and unspecified other countries "mostly terrorist countries."

To illustrate his point about North Korea's waning conventional military strength, Rumsfeld said its air force pilots fly fewer than 50 training hours a year because of a lack of resources. That compares with more than 200 training hours in the air each year by U.S. military pilots.

"That makes a difference," he said, "if you're flying less than 50 compared to a couple of hundred or 300. And that's undoubtedly true of other aspects of their military. So I don't see them, frankly, as an immediate military threat to South Korea. I think South Korea has an awful lot of capability, and it's increasing."

Rumsfeld added that North Korea no longer has a "major power sponsor" like it did during the Korean War, in which hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops came to the North's aid after American troops overtook Seoul, the South Korean capital, and reached the Yalu River on China's border in October 1950.

I would not discount the danger that North Korea poses to us. They are a supplier of missiles to terrorists. Should they develop the ability to produce nuclear weapons n a regular schedule (as I am sure that they will), then there can be little doubt that they would supply those to terrorists as well. The Dear Murderer-Freak Kim Jong-Il will do anything for money.

He is a whore.

Scenes of North Korean Life

Chinese tourists in North Korea have been taking photographs and posting them on the internet. The article linked below references Photofans and North Korea Today. I am not sure if my links are the referenced sites, but I believe that they are.

The Chinese people who travel to North Korea see something that their own government tries to deny.

"Kim Jong Il Retire... South Korea Seize North Korea" say Chinese Internet Users

Recently, Chinese internet users are raising criticism on the North Korean regime.

Inside photos of North Korea have been successively posted on Chinese websites (DailyNK report 23rd, Aug 2006) criticizing the Kim Jong Il regime with remarks 'North Korea must instigate reform' and 'What generation is this that they are still starving?'

On 25th August, the DailyNK searched internet sites 'Photofans' and 'North Korea Today.' These sites exposed inside photos of North Korea and were full of criticism such as "Two Kims should retire from their position and South Korea seize North Korea" "Overthrow the government like Saddam Hussein."

Particularly since the missile launch last July 5th, Chinese Internet users have been showing greater interest. In addition crime amongst defectors around the North Korea-China border and home raids by North Korean commanding officers on Chinese soil have incited aversion towards the North Korean regime amidst Chinese people.

Chinese website 'Photofans' is a site powered by Chinese photo enthusiasts and for a while has been publicizing inside photos of North Korea.

Recently 'Photofans' exposed photos of North Korean soldiers going about their daily lives, taken by sightseers touring on the Yalu River. On this website, hundreds of photos taken by the sightseers and other Chinese tourists visiting North Korea are being posted continuously.

The photos below were posted by a person with an ID 'Fat lamb.' Comments made by internet users give an indication of the response of Chinese internet users towards the North Korean government.

On the website 'North Korea Today' some internet users have made sympathetic remarks such as "When will the North Korean people experience a shining day" and "Two Kims should retire from their position and South Korea seize North Korea" as well as more aggressive remarks such as "Kim Jong Il who is dragging his people into turmoil should undoubtedly retire. He should be overthrown like Saddam Hussein." There was also a comment "Marxist is not at fault. It is all because of Kim Jong Il's distortion."

Go to the article to see scenes of life in North Korea.

Hindu Tolerance - India

Contrary to what Liberals™ would have you believe, Christians are persecuted all over the world by every other belief system including atheism, socialism, liberalism, and all other religious beliefs with the possible exception of Buddhism and Shintoism (and there may be minor instances with those as well).

There is exactly one faith in the world today that is tolerant of other faiths. That is Christianity. Yes, we evangelize and try to convert people to our faith, but we do not murder them or destroy their places of worship. Of course the Left™ will lie and tell you differently.

I have been pointing out persecution by Muslims. Islamic persecution is a surprise to no one. The situation with Hinduism is little better.

From Compass Direct, FOUR CHRISTIANS ATTACKED, ARRESTED AFTER SERVICE, Court grants bail to believers, but police refuse to file complaint against assailants.

August 22 (Compass Direct News) - Hindu extremists on Sunday (August 20) beat four Christians, including a pastor, who were later arrested on charges of "forced conversion" in Madhya Pradesh state.

A group of about 15 extremists punched and hit the Christians with hockey sticks soon after worship ended at about 10:30 a.m. After the initial attack, the extremists dragged the Christians to the Sheopur police station about 500 meters away, beating them en route. The police promptly arrested the Christians, as a complaint against them had already been filed.

Pastor K.K. Jwala of the Sheopur Bible Fellowship (SBF) church and three members, identified only as Anup, Jijo and Raju Mathew, were released from the Sheopur district jail at 8 p.m. on Monday.

The officer in charge of the police station, Hukum Singh Yadav, also allegedly beat up Pastor Jwala at the facility. Yadav was not available for comment.

The four accused will have to appear before the court on August 30.

Note the recurring pattern. The Christians who were attacked are the one arrested. The attackers are not charged. Read the whole thing.

UN to Permit Weapons from Syria for Hezbollah

Kofi Annan has now clearly stated that UN "forces" in Lebanon will not be used to patrol the border with Syria to prevent the shipment of Iranian weapons to Hezbollah terrorists. Nor will they attempt to disarm Hezbollah. Nor will the International "Forces" to be introduced into Lebanon be permitted to disarm Hezbollah.

According to Mr. Annon, the disarming of Hezbollah is to be accomplished by "political agreement among the Lebanese".

Here are the texts of the major resolutions.

Resolution 1553

Resolution 1559

Resolution 1680

Resolution 1701

There is a lot of mushy language in these resolutions, but 1559 "Calls upon all parties concerned to cooperate fully and urgently with the Security Council for the full implementation of this and all relevant resolutions concerning the restoration of the territorial integrity, full sovereignty, and political independence of Lebanon". Mr. Annan's statement is in direct contravention of this statement, which is in fact one of the very few clear statements of who is responsible to effect these Resolutions.

Mr. Annan has very clearly stated that he will have no part of it.

DEBKAfile: Kofi Annan rides roughshod over Israel's security concerns, leaves wide holes in expanded UNIFIL force, (yes, I know that DEBKAfile is controversial, but they are still generally right and this is straight reportage, not forecasting);

UNIFIL-2, which will deploy in two stages starting early September, "will not be used along Lebanon's long and porous border with Syria to stop any shipments of arms reaching Hizballah," the UN secretary admitted Friday night from Brussels.

This confirms DEBKAfile's report Friday that Israel has failed to obtain a pledge to enforce the UN embargo on arms for Hizballah's rearmament from Iran and Syria.

Annan also stated: "Troops are not going in there to disarm - let's be clear." Disarming Hizballah, he said, is a subject for "political agreement among the Lebanese -" (a direct contradiction of UN Security Council resolution 1552) (sic)

Annan also spoke of "international guarantees" to secure Israel against further attacks. In other words, that is not UNIFIL's job.

See also this from the Associated Press;

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM -- The peacekeepers in Lebanon won't be disarming Hezbollah.

That word comes from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who says he wants to be "clear on that." Annan contends that disarming the militant group "cannot be done by force."

The UN chief also says the cease-fire resolution doesn't require the peacekeepers be deployed at the Israeli border unless the Lebanese government asks for that.

So, how credible is this force to be? Back to the DEBKAfile piece;

The UN Secretary General will go ahead with raising more international soldiers from Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh, despite their refusal to maintain diplomatic relations with Jerusalem.

And this;

French defense minister Alliot-Marie (picture) told the Wall Street Journal that Paris had obtained a very important clarification permitting its troops to use rubber bullets against "anyone standing in their way."

And this;

Foreign minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said the force would mark out "exclusion zones," in which armed militias would be disarmed, as "the best way to remove Hizballah's weapons."

Neither French minister referred to the non-exclusion zones, from which it may be inferred that there, Hizballah fighters would be allowed to bear arms.

The Italian foreign minister, Massimo D'Alema, who can't wait to plant a European military presence in the Middle East, is even more relaxed about holding Hizballah to UN resolution 1701. After all, he says, Europe does not regard Hizballah as a terrorist organization. He repeated Annan's statement and declared Italy would not engage in disarming Hizballah fighters.

Hizballah spokesmen say that the "exclusion zones" issue is under study.

This is a terrible joke that will have continuing tragic results.

The UN and the International "forces" are there to protect Hezbollah terrorists, if anyone. It will be necessary for Israel to reenter Lebanon because they will be attacked again.

UPDATE: Charles Johnson has the proof. UN Allied with Hezbollah

Europe Beginning to Wake Up?

Is it possible that some segments of the population in Europe are waking up to the danger of the Islamic cancer growing in their countries (and ours)? Charles Johnson has two posts that offer hope. Here are his links;
UK: 53% "Threatened By Islam"
Germany's Belated Awakening

Here are the articles that he lined to;
Many feel threatened by Islam: poll

Most people in the UK feel threatened by Islam, a poll has revealed, after the Government launched a bid to tackle inter-faith tensions.

The YouGov survey for the Daily Telegraph found 53% were concerned about the impact of the religion - not just fundamentalist elements - up 21% from 2001.

There had also been a near doubling of the number agreeing that "a large proportion of British Muslims feel no sense of loyalty to this country and are prepared to condone or even carry out acts of terrorism".

A total of 18% backed the statement - compared with just one in 10 in the wake of the terrorist bombings in London last July.

And there was a seven point slump - to 16% - in those believing "practically all British Muslims are peaceful, law-abiding citizens who deplore terrorist acts as much as anyone else".

Note this bit near the end;

She called for an "honest debate" on how to best to bind communities and conceded multiculturalism may have led to isolated communities.

Her speech drew a cool response from some Muslim groups.

Youth organisation the Ramadhan Foundation criticised ministers for failing to recognise that integration was "a two-way street".

And this from Germany, Germans, Spared Until Now, Awaken to Reality of Terror Threat;

"It's never really bothered me what people next to me in the train are doing," said Juergen Darsch, 36, a graphic artist, at Berlin's Friedrichstrasse rail station. But ever since a Lebanese student was arrested Aug. 19 on suspicion of helping plant bombs on German trains, "you look around more carefully. That's something I really don't want to live with."

Police arrested the student, identified only as 21-year-old Youssef Mohamad E. H., after the discovery of bombs placed inside suitcases on two trains in western Germany that they say would have killed a "large number" of people. A second suspect, Jihad H., also Lebanese, turned himself in to police in Tripoli, Lebanon, yesterday.

Germany, under then-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, refused to join the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and had been spared the sort of fear engendered by attacks carried out by Islamic terrorists in London, Madrid, Istanbul and Mumbai. Now the public is confronted with stepped-up security checks at train stations and travel delays as suspicious suitcases are cleared away, with the promise of more measures to come.

While the bombers failed to blow up the trains, they managed to "blow away any lingering illusions that Germany is an island not on terrorists' maps," Margret Johannsen, a senior research fellow at Hamburg University's Institute for Peace and Security Policy, said in a telephone interview.

No Shield

"Non-participation in the Iraq war was never a shield against terror," she said. "Germany is as vulnerable as the next country. We need to wake up and make a political contribution in the war on terror."

The Financial Times Deutschland reported yesterday that the Federal Criminal Office is investigating whether Youssef Mohamad E. H. had contact with a German-Moroccan suspected by the authorities of being an al-Qaeda middleman.

Both Youssef Mohamad E. H. and Jihad H., 20, are alleged to have had contact with Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamic group headquartered in Lebanon that calls for the destruction of Israel, the newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported Aug. 23.

Sadly, France is still fast asleep as is most of the rest of Europe.

Islamic Tolerance - Pakistan

MUSLIM LAND-GRABBERS ATTACK CHRISTIANS
One believer missing, three severely injured; police file charges against victims.

August 18 (Compass Direct News) – In an attempted land-grab, Muslim attackers have terrorized a predominantly Christian village in Pakistan’s Punjab province over the past two weeks and demolished its church.

Three Christian men were hospitalized with serious hatchet wounds from an initial August 7 attack on Mominpura Thaiki village near Sharaqpur, 20 miles southwest of Lahore. The Muslim aggressors came from a neighboring village.

Another critically injured Christian, Bashir Masih, was abducted and remains missing since a second assault on the village on Saturday (August 12), when he tried to stop armed attackers from stealing his cattle.

And yes, the victims were charged.

When the Christian villagers tried to file an official complaint against the assailants, local Sharaqpur police refused to comply, insulting them and ordering them to leave the police station.

Instead, the police filed an official complaint from Maher on August 8 against 10 of the villagers, accusing the Christians of “opening fire” on him.

Three days later, a fact-finding team from the Center for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) helped the villagers file an amendment to Maher’s complaint. The August 11 First Information Report (FIR) formally accused Maher and his named accomplices of creating riots, damaging the church and harassing the villagers.

But by 9 the next morning, local police had intervened and the accused Muslims were all granted pre-arrest bail. According to one eyewitness at the court, town nazim (mayor) Mian Jalil was seen paying out the money for the suspects’ bail.

At 10 that evening, a mob of 30 Muslims led by Maher and armed with machine guns and hand grenades descended on Thaiki village. The intruders began to beat all the Christian residents they could find, including women and children, and completed the ruin of the church.

With many of the men away that evening at a prayer service, several of the Christian women took shelter in the houses of their Muslim neighbors, who drew guns to protect them and shot at Maher and his accomplices, finally driving them off.

The suspects were arrested and it looks as if some of this is being sorted out, but;

Under the ongoing investigation led by officer Rana Aslam, four of the accused suspects have been arrested, including Maher and two of his sons. But police have found no trace of Bashir Masih since he was dragged off by his assailants six days ago.

“We don’t know if he is dead or alive, or what,” CLAAS legal advisor Aneeqa Maria told Compass. In his early 30s, Masih lived in the house adjacent to the village church. His wife and children have fled the village to stay with relatives since his disappearance.

Let us pray for Bashir Masih. I hope for the best, but from these savages I expect only the worst.

'Twas the Night Before Miraj

This year the Miraj promises to be a very special one for Muslims worldwide. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Iranian government have a real treat in store. This has not gone unnoticed. The People's Cube, in celebration of Miraj this year, has posted that lovely traditional Miraj poem, 'Twas the Night Before Miraj.

This year, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has promised not only to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth, but also to "Light up the night sky over Jerusalem" during Miraj on August 22. Mike Wallace said in his "60 Minutes" interview that Mahmoud is a very intelligent and nice man, so everything Mahmoud said is true unlike that goofy Santa Claus myth. Once this is done, the 12th Imam, who has been living in seclusion since the 11th Century will return, bringing about the final Apocalypse. Isn't that nice?

Now you can see, children, that while Israel's claim to its territory is based on myth and fairy tales of the Old Testament, Islam's claim to the same territory is based on strict historical facts and scientific analysis.

So, now let me tell you about Miraj. You might think it was stolen from another poem, but this is the real one, the other one was stolen.

Go to the link and enjoy the poem. A taste;

'Twas the night before Miraj, when all through dhimmiland
Not a camel was stirring, nor flea in the sand.
The infidels were hung by the over-pass with care,
In hopes that Twelver soon would be there.

The children were bomb-wired all snug in their beds,
While visions of martyrdom danced in their heads.
And mamma in her burqa, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long summer's nap.

For more on the beautiful Miraj traditions, see;
Iran to Nuke Israel on August 22?

Note to humorless Liberals™; I am employing a literary device know as "sarcasm" here. See my sidebar for a clue as to my real views regarding Israel.

Islamic Tolerance - Indonesia

From Indonesia; Ailing Evangelist Abused In Indonesia Prison, Group Says

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (BosNewsLife) -- An ailing Christian evangelist serving a four-year prison sentence in Indonesia's West Java province for allegedly defaming Islam has been abused in jail by Muslim militants, Christian investigators said Thursday, August 17.

The UK and Ireland branch of Open Doors, which investigates Christian persecution, said Abraham 'Abe' Bentar, 55, was attacked by Muslims including 'visitors' attempting to reconvert him to his former Islamic beliefs.

Speaking in the Tasikmalaya prison in West Java province, the evangelist was quoted as saying he is battling discouragement and fear. "When Open Doors visited him, it took a while before he recognized us and agreed to meet with us because he has received several unwanted 'visitors' who would usually rough him up," Open Doors UK and Ireland told BosNewsLife.

"I have been abused many times. I have lost six teeth because of that," Evangelist Abraham said in published remarks. The attacks added to other ailments, including his apparent recovery from a stroke that impaired his right arm. He also still struggles with high blood pressure and diabetes, Christians said.

MEDICINES NEEDED

"Because of the medicines and food brought by his wife Waty, 36, and a local church, he manages well. Visits from his wife are difficult though because the only way she can visit him is by making a long and costly overnight bus journey," Open Doors UK and Ireland claimed.

He was sentenced May 17 for defaming Islam and its 'prophet' Muhammad, charges human rights groups say are often used by Muslim leaders and militants to halt the spread of Christianity in the world’s largest Muslim nation, particularly in areas such as West Java.

Elsewhere in West Java, three Sunday School teachers – Dr Rebekka Zakaria, Eti Pangesti and Ratna Bangun – are serving a three-year prison sentence in Indramayu State Prison, for allegedly forcibly converting Muslim children, accusations the women have strongly denied.

But one year into their sentence "the three ladies have been a great testimony to the other 12 women prisoners with their quiet trust and faith in God. There was much unrest in the women’s sections of the prison before Rebekka, Eti and Ratna arrived, but all the women now get on well," said Open Doors UK and Ireland, citing its own investigation.

There is more. Read it all and learn how Christians forgive their persecutors.

USS Grunion Found

A submarine has been found off of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It may very well be USS Grunion (SS-216)

Lost submarine found off Alaska, Search for father may have turned up USS Grunion

The Grunion, one of the Gato-class attack submarines commissioned early in World War II, was on its maiden operational voyage when it disappeared while patrolling the seas between Alaska's tip and Japan, according to a Navy Web site.

The submarine made several transmissions in July 1942, reporting that it had sunk three Japanese destroyers. On July 30, it reported heavy anti-submarine activity nearby and said it had 10 remaining torpedoes. It was never heard from again. Warplanes searching for wreckage never found anything.

Now, finally, she has been found.

Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet maintains the USS Grunion web site including a crew list, all of whom were lost on July 31, 1942.

USS Grunion photo archive

Presbyterians Go Over the Edge

The Presbyterians replaced belief in and worship of God with a belief in and worship of liberal politics many years ago. That is why I left them and became an Orthodox Christian.

Now, they have gone completely over the edge.

9/11 Conspiracy Book by Presbyterian Publisher Stirs Controversy

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A controversial book about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks printed by the official publishing house of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has upset some of the congregation's members.

The book, "Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11," alleges that the Bush administration was behind the attacks on the World Trade Center.

The author, David Ray Griffin, a professor emeritus at Claremont School of Theology in California, argues that the towers collapsed because of explosives and not because airliners crashed into the buildings.

Unbelievable. One must wonder, what next?

Good Advice for Arabs

Ahmed Al-Jarallah, Editor-in-Chief of the Arab Times has a few good words of advice for the Arab world. Of course his ideas have no future.

Confront reality, 'accept defeat'

The version at Watching America has a cartoon.

Soon Syria and Iran will start spreading illusions of victory, especially after the issuance of UN Resolution 1706 (sic), doing a repeat of 1967 when Gamal Abdul Nasser and other intellectual terrorist groups attempted to turn a disgracing defeat into a temporary setback. In the name of “Liberating Palestine,” the Nasserites succeeded only in destroying Egypt’s economy and future. There is no winner in Lebanon. Hezbollah’s defeat has affected everything in Lebanon - including its people, buildings, and infrastructure. However, some Lebanese politicians, who are followers of the Syrian regime, won’t be able to avoid coming up with misleading statements praising Hassan Nasrallah for achieving victory.

At the moment all we want is the elimination of these misleading groups because the Arab world cannot afford any more defeats. We must help people of all Arab countries know the facts to ensure they don’t repeat the mistakes of Palestinians who are currently ruing their decision to reject the division of Palestine, the Camp David accord, and former US President Bill Clinton’s initiatives. We want a comprehensive and unified Arab decision to close the mouths of such misleading intellectual terrorist groups.

The Arab world must face reality and accept it has been defeated. This will help Arabs to identify their real enemies and be prepared to defend themselves in the future. Arabs should understand it will be a fatal mistake to challenge a powerful enemy and lead their countries into a dreadful adventure like Nasrallah and then urge the Arab and Islamic worlds to come to the rescue.

Since this column was published we have seen exactly what Mr. Al-Jarallah predicted, supported by a willing dhimmified Press.

Interview With a British Jihadi

Robert Spencer has it over at Jihad Watch

Interview with a jihadist preacher

Note that the interviewer, Dan Rivers of CNN, and the editors who created this report still think that Islam is not the problem.

Of course they are wrong.

Watch the video, it will make your blood boil.

Islamic Tolerance in Ethiopia

We read and hear a great deal about how tolerant the Religion of Peace™ is of other faiths. Here is an example of the tolerance of Islam for Christianity.

"Severe Persecution" for Christians in Western Ethiopia; Believer Crucified

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (BosNewsLife) -- Christians in Muslim-dominated regions of Ethiopia faced another tense Sunday, August 13, amid what Christian investigators describe as "severe but under-reported persecution," including the crucifixion of one Christian believer.

Human rights group Voice Of the Martyrs Canada (VOMC) said its workers have learned that the situation is especially serious in the country's Western regions of Bambesi and Tongo near the Sudanese border.

Among recent incidents, VOMC mentioned that last month, July 5, a convert from Islam, identified as Shek Hamed Adem, was severely beaten and hanged on a cross. "While beating him, the crowd told him, "Jesus was hanged on a cross and beaten and as his follower you also deserve the same punishment," VOMC said.

Later, July 20, "hundreds of Muslims occupied the compound of a Christian woman and forcibly erected a mosque on her property. The building was erected as part of a plan to build a mosque every two kilometers (1.2 miles)," the group added.

Read it all. Several different instances of Islamic persecution of Christians are listed.

Stupid Criminal Stories

I just love the stupid criminal stories.

Man makes fake 9-1-1 call right in front of cop, police say

SALEM -- A man making a fake 9-1-1 call in an effort to divert a police officer from writing his friend a speeding ticket got caught in the act and ended up in the slammer himself, Salem police said.

Not only did the suspect make a phony 9-1-1 call, he did it right in front of a police officer, and the dispatch center got it all on tape, according to authorities.

It unfolded Monday morning when officer TJ Kistner and his partner were patrolling in Northeast Salem, searching for a robbery suspect, and they spotted a suspicious-looking car.

"I see this car and I stop it for a signal violation," Kistner explained.

He said Jermiah Burgess, 27, was behind the wheel and Rex Strauss, 25, was in the passenger seat, talking on his cell phone.

Moments later, Kistner heard dispatchers send two officers to a report of a stabbing just a block away.

"I need to report a knife, a knife fight," a man could be heard telling the dispatcher in the 9-1-1 call.

But there’s someone else talking in the background, too. The dispatcher realizes it's a cop asking for identification.

"So I’m monitoring that [9-1-1 call] trying to decide if I need to abort this traffic stop," Kistner said. And then, "I just start laughing because I can tell the guy I have in the right front passenger seat is making a fake call."

Police said Strauss was reporting the fake stabbing just to get out of the traffic stop. But his ploy didn’t work.

These guys are now in prison where they belong.

A Small Step

Of course abortionists will argue with great vigor that an abortion is not the taking of a human life, or the killing of a baby, or any such thing. It is simply the removal of some undesired tissue from a woman's body. But we who are Orthodox (and orthodox) Christians know differently. It fact, so do the abortionists. So it should not be a big surprise when the line between born and unborn gets a little blurred. In fact, isn't it unfair discrimination to make that distinction? Birthophobic, perhaps? (note to humorless liberals, this is sarcasm).

If one is willing to kill an unborn child, then why not one that has just immediately been born?

Abortionists investigated for possible baby murder

Authorities report their investigation includes the potential for homicide charges, as well as evidence tampering. The baby reportedly was 12 inches long and weighed up to three pounds, an age and weight at which premature infants can survive outside the womb.

Witnesses reported to police the 18-year-old woman, whose name wasn't released, went to the clinic at about 22 weeks of pregnancy for an abortion, then returned the next day complaining of pain. Clinic workers said the doctor wasn't available and she would have to wait.

The witnesses reported that she was taken into a recovery room, where she gave birth to the child she thought had been aborted the day before.

"Employees cut the umbilical cord, put the baby in a bag and walked away with it," Hialeah Lt. Ralph Garcia said.

After the anonymous 9-1-1 call, police responded but found no body. Then they returned a second time, following a second call, and found the body in the biohazard bag. Detectives say it's possible clinic workers moved the body during the first visit, to avoid detection, according to LifeNews.com.

Bell said her organization and others concerned about life repeatedly have tried to get basic health clinic rules applied to abortion businesses, without success to date.

"Unfortunately, that's the mentality of this country, that the abortion business is not subject (to rules)," she told WorldNetDaily. "This is the result of that."

North Korea Adopts New Currency

It seems that the North Korean government has completely given up trying to be a legitimate country. After having been caught counterfeiting U.S. $100 bills and having the bank that was laundering the counterfeit money for them forced to stop, they have adopted that fake money as their own currency.

North Korea Adopts the Dollar as Illegal Tender

August 2, 2006: Counterfeit American hundred dollar bills have become, in practice, legal tender in North Korea. Everyone knows they're fake, but they are such good fakes that merchants call them "$70 bills," and often use them at full face value. North Korea has, for nearly two decades, financed it's defense establishment via illegal activities. These included producing and exporting illegal drugs and counterfeit U.S. currency. Of particular concern to the United States, the fake hundred dollar bills were of such high quality that, in some respects, they were superior to the real thing. North Korea has access to the special materials and printing equipment for producing currency. Much of this stuff is only sold to governments. However, since North Korea is a government, they get the quality materials and gear needed to make what American Treasury officials call "supernotes." These counterfeits can be detected, but with difficulty. As a result, thousands, if not millions, of them are in circulation, largely outside of the United States.

North Korean merchants prefer the U.S. hundreds because they are easier to handle. North Korea's currency, the won, currently has an exchange rate of about 3,000 won to one dollar. The largest denomination in North Korea is the 5,000 won note. That's worth about $1.67. So if you want to pay for something in cash, which many merchants prefer (don't ask‚…), those hundred dollar bills are a lot more convenient.

One reason so many of these bills began to show up in North Korea earlier this year is because the United States has recently blocked North Korean access to the international banking system. This was how North Korea used to spend many of these counterfeit notes. With that access blocked, the government apparently made deals with merchants (who did import/export business) to allow them to use the notes within North Korea, as long as they took the notes in payment for goods. The merchants realize the notes are good enough to easily put into circulation. Apparently the term "$70 note" came from the value the North Korean government got for the notes initially, as the counterfeit bills were used to pay for goods.

And remember, these are not shops that a regular North Korean person can go to. These are for the powerful cognac and caviar crowd.

Due to recent flooding in four provinces, North Korea is in grave danger of another famine. This will not bother the counterfeiters of U.S. $100 bills.

An Important Difference

This refers, of course, to the Palestinian terrorists, but it applies equally well to Hezbollah and the Muslim enemy in general. I found it on the internet some years ago. It still applies.