Posted on 09/30/2006 10:18:39 AM PDT by DAVEY CROCKETT
Possible (terrifying) break in Litvinenko case
http://hotair.com/archives/2006/11/30/possible-terrifying-break-in-litvinenko-case/
Thanks for the ping!
I'm worried about her, that's not safe. :-(
There's a foot of snow headed my way, but I love snow and my pipes are in working order.
Did I miss something? When did you get to MN???
Gotta live somewhere. For now :-(
Well, if you got live somewhere, MN is a nice enough place.
The Elevated Places
Muhammad, like his religion, was fixated on the flesh. According to the Qur'an, bodies were reassembled so that skin could be singed in hell and teased in paradise. Man's spirit was incidental. I believe this is because the religion was made in the prophet's image. It reflected his character and desires.
To appreciate Islam's elevation of body over soul, we must look at the source of his inspiration. Muhammad was right when he described the angel that visited him as a slave. Bukhari:V4B54N455 “So (Allah) conveyed the Inspiration to His slave (Gabriel) and then he (Gabriel) conveyed (it to Muhammad).” Angels, fallen or heavenly, demonic or godly, have no choice. To borrow another line from Islam, “They must submit and obey.” Islam's dark spirit knew all about angelic submission, because he once was one: Qur'an 7.11 “It is We who created you and gave you shape; then We ordered the angels to fall and prostrate themselves to Adam.”
The same passage goes on to correctly implicate Satan and suggest angels are eternal. Qur'an 7.19 “Satan...said: ‘Your Lord only forbid you this tree, lest you should become angels, immortal, living forever.'”
We pick up the story of Islam's creation account where we left off, with Iblis, better known as Lucifer. I'm going to work the narrative through the Qur'an. In the 7th surah, called “The Wall Between Heaven and Hell,” Allah, or I should say, Muhammad, corrupts one of the earliest Genesis stories. But he gets sidetracked with intolerance and terrorism before he dives into his version. So in deference to the Islamic apologists, I'll keep the whole passage in context, starting at the beginning.
Before we start, however, you should know that the only reason we can read this or any surah is because an “angel” or a “clanging bell” dictated it (or gonged it) to Muhammad directly from the “Memorial Tablets” written at Allah's command by the “Pen” before the universe was created. Qur'an 7.1 “This Book [the Qur'an] has been sent down to you.” The opening verse is not accurate. The Qur'an wasn't a book. Based upon the historical record, nothing would be committed to writing or compiled into a book for another century. “Do not hesitate to warn the unbelievers through it.” This “warning” was not for the unbeliever.' benefit or for their salvation. All non-Muslims are predestined to hell. So the threat of impending punishments which could not be averted strongly suggests that the author was either demented or a sadist.
Muhammad's schizophrenic spirit said: Qur'an 7.3 “Follow the Revelation given to you from your Lord and follow not as protectors other than Him [third person]. Little do you remember My [first person, singular] warning. How many towns have We [plural] destroyed as a raid by night? Our punishment took them suddenly while they slept for their afternoon rest. Our terror came to them; Our punishment overtook them. No cry did they utter but: ‘We were wrong-doers.'” The Islamic god's taste for terror is shocking. It's hard to fathom scripture bragging, “How many towns have We destroyed?” or, “Our punishment took them suddenly while they slept.” What would possess someone to claim this was godly? The Islamic “god,” by his own admission, is a terrorist.
Before we move on, I want to bring your attention to the motivation behind this opening salvo. Muhammad wanted his detractors to know that his god would terrorize anyone who rejected “those to whom Our Message was sent [Muslims] or those by whom We sent it [Muhammad].” It's a warning: “If you deny Muhammad, his followers will terrorize you.”
Qur'an 7.7 “Verily, We shall recount their whole story with knowledge, for We were never absent at any time or place.” Muhammad, speaking on behalf of his spirit, is acknowledging that the stories in the Qur'an appear plagiarized. But they are not, he protests, because his “god” was omnipresent. He is preparing us for an onslaught of bastardized Hebrew scripture.
“Those whose scale of good will be heavy will prosper. Those whose scale will be light will find their souls in perdition [hell], for they wrongfully treated Our Signs.” That's the basis of the religion of Islam. Good works. The more you do the heavier the “good” side of your scale becomes. Unfortunately, all the good deeds in the world can't outweigh predestination. And the best “good deed” according to Muhammad is to die a jihadist terrorizing infidels.
Want proof? From Bukhari's, Book of Jihad, Chapter 1, number 1204: “A man came to Allah's Messenger and said, ‘Guide me to such a deed as equals Jihad in reward. ‘ He said, ‘I do not find such a deed.'” Bukhari:V4B52N50 “The Prophet said, ‘A single endeavor of fighting in Allah's Cause is better than the world and whatever is in it.'” As we move into the Medina war surahs I will share scores of these with you.
Returning to the 7th surah, Allah's miffed men aren't thankful. Qur'an 7.10 “It is We who have placed you [Adam] with authority on earth, and provided you with means for the fulfillment of your life: small are the thanks that you give! Little give you thanks!”
“It is We who created you and gave you shape; then We ordered the angels to fall and prostrate themselves to Adam. And they fell prostrate, all save Iblis, who was not of those who made prostration.” Iblis was Lucifer, a fallen angel better known as Satan. The Qur'an says that he was a jinn, or demonic spirit. Both the Qur'an and Bible agree that Lucifer rebelled against God.
According to the Bible, as an angel, Lucifer was merely a tool. His relationship with Yahweh was like that of a private to a general. Without choice angels cannot love. And they are incapable of creativity, which may explain why so much of the Qur'an was plagiarized. Lucifer's existence was defined by the same terms that gave Islam its name and authority: “submit and obey.” The Bible says, when Lucifer rebelled, a third of the angels were cast out of heaven and became demons. They lashed out at Yahweh by deceiving man, separating us from God, just as they had been.
This all led to the most infamous meal in human history. I share this Biblical perspective because once again, Muhammad, lacking imagination, plagiarized it, albeit with his own unique embellishments. Qur'an 7.12 “‘What prevented you [Iblis/Lucifer] from prostrating when I commanded you?' He said: ‘I am better than Adam: You created me from fire and him from clay.' So Allah said: ‘Get down from this place: it is not for you to be arrogant here: get out, you are degraded, for you are of the meanest of creatures.'” The request is odd, yet the Qur'an never explains why Allah wanted his angels to humble themselves before man.
In the Qur'an, Satan protests. Qur'an 7.14 “‘Give me a reprieve until the time they are raised.' Allah said: ‘You have your reprieve.' He said: ‘Because you have thrown me out, I will lie in wait, lurking in ambush for them on Your Right Path. I will assault them from behind, from their right and left. You will find them ungrateful.' Allah said: ‘Get out of here. You are disgraced and expelled. If any follow, I will fill Hell with all of you.'” The Qur'an has clearly said that Satan is deceptive, and that he's going to hell. This is important because, from this point on, Allah will claim to be deceitful and we will find him in hell, tormenting men.
Continuing to steal from Genesis, the Islamic scriptures say: Qur'an 7.19 “We said: ‘Adam, dwell with your wife in the Garden and enjoy: but approach not this tree or you will run into harm and become wrong-doers.' Then Satan began to whisper suggestions to them, bringing openly before their minds all their shame that was hidden from them. He said: ‘Your Lord only forbid you this tree, lest you should become angels, immortal, living forever.'” In the Garden, Adam was immortal. Seducing Adam with a promise of immortality would be like seducing Arabs with a promise of more sand. Besides, why would Adam want to become an angel if the angels were bowing to him?
Qur'an 7.21 “He swore to them that he was their sincere adviser. So by deceit he brought about their fall.” This is interesting. Muslims claim that there was no fall of man, thus no reason for the Messiah to come and reconcile fallen man back into fellowship with God. Further, Satan is mimicking Muhammad. The prophet incessantly claimed to be the “sincere adviser,” yet through deceit, he brought men to their knees.
“When they tasted of the tree, their shame became manifest to them, and they began to sew together leaves, covering their bodies. Allah called: ‘Did I not forbid you that tree and tell you that Satan was an avowed enemy?'” For those who are curious: Tabari I:299 “Scholars of the nation of our Prophet say, ‘The tree which Allah forbade Adam and his spouse to eat was wheat.'” Yes, a wheat tree.
Qur'an 7.23 “They said: ‘Allah, we have wronged our own souls: If you do not forgive us, we shall be of the lost losers.' Allah said: ‘Go down from here as enemies of each other.'” Allah seems to think that the Garden of Eden, a.k.a. the Garden of Bliss, is in heaven. Thus when Adam rejected Allah, he was sent down, not cast out. Also, did you notice the line: “you will be enemies of each other?” He was speaking to Adam and Eve, foreshadowing the Islamic view of women.
Allah continued: “‘On earth will be your dwelling place and your means of livelihood for a time.' He [third person, singular] said: “Therein shall you live, and therein shall you die, and from it shall you be raised. O children of Adam. [How did they get kids so fast?] We [first person plural] have sent clothing down to you to cover your shame, and for beauty and clothing that guards against evil. This is of the communications of Allah [now third person singular].'” Why did they need clothes to guard against evil? If their lusts carried them away— with whom were they going to be adulterous?
An interesting sidebar on the first kids comes to us in this Tradition: Tabari I:321 “When Eve became heavy with her first pregnancy, Satan came to her before she gave birth and said, ‘Eve, what is that in your womb.' She said, ‘I do not know.' He asked, ‘Where will it come out from—your nose, your eye, or your ear.' She replied, ‘I do not know.' He said, ‘Don't you think, if it comes out healthy, you should obey me in whatever I command you?' When she said, ‘Yes.' he said: ‘Name him Abd al-Harith Iblis—Slave to the cursed.' She agreed.” Believable dialog, don't you think? Just the kind of foundation you'd expect to underpin a great religion. “Adam said to him [Iblis/Lucifer], ‘I obeyed you once before and you caused me to be driven out of Paradise.' So he refused to obey him and called the child Abd Ar-Rahman.”
Ar-Rahman was the name of Muhammad's first “god.” The 55th surah, named in Ar-Rahman's honor, begins: “Ar-Rahman bestowed the Qur'an, created man, and taught him to express clearly. The sun and moon revolve to his computation and the grasses and the trees bow to Him in adoration.... He created man.” With multiple gods, Islam became pagan monotheism.
And with multiple truths, Islam is flawed revelation: Tabari I:275 “They ate from it and as a result their secret part that had been concealed became apparent.” It hadn't been much of a marriage up to that point. But if that's true, how did they get kids? And why does the Islamic Tradition say: Tabari I:299 “It was the cover of fingernails that had kept their secret parts concealed.”
Qur'an 7.27 “O you Children of Adam, let not Satan seduce you, in the same manner as he got your parents out of the Garden, making them disrobe, stripping them of their clothing, to expose their shame.” Just six verses earlier, Adam was nude, sinned, and thus felt the need for clothing. He made his own, sewing together leaves. Then Allah sent down supernatural clothes from AlMart. Now we're told that Satan stripped them? “For he [Satan/Lucifer] and his tribe [of demons/jinn] watch you from a position where you cannot see them. We made the jinn friends of the unbelievers.” So there you have it. Satan, Iblis, and jinn are all cut from the same cloth—all made of fire, all from the same tribe. These invisible evil spirits, or demons, lurk in the shadows ready to ambush men, deceiving them. Yet, as you shall discover in one of the most bizarre Qur'anic passages, these pesky demons think Muhammad and Allah are swell, calling them “Prophet” and “Lord.” They are employed to authenticate the Qur'an.
Qur'an 7.30 “Some He has guided: as for others, error is their due. They deserve loss in that they took the devils instead of Allah for their friends and think that they are rightly guided.” Qur'an 7.35 “Children of Adam, whenever messengers come from amongst you, rehearsing My [singular] signs and revelations to you, act rightly so that you have no fear, nor reason to grieve. But those who reject Our [plural] signs and scorn them with arrogance, they are inmates of the Fire forever.” What messengers, what revelations? Allah is allegedly talking to Adam's kids. The first prophet and scripture wouldn't arrive for over two thousand years. The Islamic god had no concept of time. Worse, he couldn't even keep himself together, talking in first person singular and plural in the same verse. Somebody was very confused.
The second part of this passage is revealing. As we dig deeper into the Qur'an you'll find that the most repeated theme is: “reject Muhammad and you're toast.” Although he tries a number of variants, his favorites twist Bible stories, as he has done here. Muhammad was referring to himself when he warned Adam's kids not to reject the “messenger among them.”
Qur'an 7.37 “Who is more unjust: one who invents a lie against Allah or one who rejects His Signs? For such, their appointed destiny must reach them from when Our messengers of death arrive and take their souls. [These guys sound a little like Hitler's S.S.] They say: ‘Now where is that to which you cried to beside Allah.' They will reply, ‘They have left us in the lurch.'” There were no signs, no miracles, no proofs of any kind to confirm Muhammad's claim to being a prophet or the Qur'an's claim to being divinely inspired. The repetition of lies like this was just part of Muhammad's warped game. It's standard megalomaniac behavior. Tell a big enough lie, say it often enough, and enough will believe it for you to prevail.
Qur'an 7.38 “Allah's messengers of death will say: ‘Enter the fire, join the company of men and jinn who passed away before you.' Every time a fresh group of people or nation enters, they curse those that went into the Fire before them. The most recent entrants into Hell ask: ‘Lord, they led us astray, so give them a double torment in the Fire.' He will say: ‘For each there is already a double dose of torment.... So taste the punishment.'”
It's stunning to the point of agony that a billion people, through seduction, indoctrination, and compulsion, have been led to believe that these hateful words are God's. Yet while stunning, it's not baffling. All Muhammad had to do was to convince fifty well-armed fools. While it took him ten years, it shouldn't have been hard. Mecca was a town of five thousand. All but a handful were illiterate. Steeped in pagan superstition, already believing in the pagan idol of the Ka'aba, the young and the rebellious, the poor and the destitute, were ripe for the picking.
The seventh surah is one of many that ties Islam to terror. It began, as you may recall, with Allah launching a blitzkrieg attack on some unsuspecting townsfolk. His line, “Our terror came unto them while they slept,” was chilling. We covered the first half of this revelation in the third chapter as it devolved into a disturbing conversation between Allah, Satan, and Adam. Now it's time to jump back in where we left off. Qur'an 7.39 “The first will say to the last: ‘See there! No advantage have you over us; so taste the torment you have earned.' To those who reject Our signs and deny Our revelations, treating them with arrogance, no opening will there be of the gates of the Garden of Bliss, until the camel can pass through the eye of the needle. Such is our reward for the guilty. They shall have a bed on the floor of Hell and coverings of fire; this is how We reward them.” The Qur'an may be the only book that is more racist, hateful, and violent than Mein Kampf. Hitler gave six million Jews a bed of fire. Muhammad's dark spirit could have been his inspiration.
To help us understand these verses, the Noble Qur'an adds: “The Jews were ordered in the Torah to follow Prophet Muhammad.” It references surah 7:157: “Those who follow the Messenger (Muhammad), the Prophet who can neither read nor write whom they find written in the Torah (Deuteronomy 18:15) and the Gospel (John 14:16); he commands them to Islam.” We've been through this drill before. While Team Islam couldn't read, I can. And I assure you that no Arab was called a prophet, and no man was called a messenger. But he was right in a way. When the Bible spoke of Satan, it said that he would use prostration, taxation, terror, a new gospel, and a boastful false prophet to deceive mankind.
http://www.prophetofdoom.net/chapter.aspx?g=4701&i=471007
Check in please.
http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=10694
This is a MUST READ, on Hezbollah in Latin America.
Interesting opinion on Putin and Russia.
http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=10691
You are welcome, lots of earthquakes in Calif. this week.
I am in and ok.
Must move to the desert, it is a warm 21 degrees this am.
I answered both letters.
And mail back to you.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/rss/16134135.htm
Government computers quietly rate millions of travelers for terrorism
potential
WASHINGTON (AP) - For the past four years, without public notice,
federal
agents have assigned millions of Americans and other international
travelers
computer-generated scores assessing the risk they pose of being
terrorists
or criminals.
The travelers are not allowed to see or directly challenge these risk
assessments. And the government intends to keep them on file for 40
years.
Earlier in November, the government disclosed the existence and details
of
the Automated Targeting System (ATS) for the first time in the Federal
Register. Privacy and civil liberties lawyers, congressional aides and
even
law enforcement officers said they thought the ATS had been applied
only to
cargo.
The scores are assigned to people entering and leaving the United States
after computers assess their travel records, including where they are
from,
how they paid for tickets, their motor vehicle records, past one-way
travel,
seating preference and what kind of meals they ordered.
The Homeland Security Department notice called it ``one of the most
advanced
targeting systems in the world'' and said U.S. ability to spot
criminals and
other security threats ``would be critically impaired without access to
this
data.''
Still, privacy advocates view ATS with alarm. ``It's probably the most
invasive system the government has yet deployed in terms of the number
of
people affected,'' David Sobel, a lawyer at the Electronic Frontier
Foundation, a civil liberties group devoted to electronic data issues,
said
in an interview.
A similar DHS data-mining project for domestic air travelers -- now
known as
Secure Flight -- caused a furor two years ago in Congress, which has
barred
its implementation until it can pass 10 tests for accuracy and privacy
protection.
[unknown url]
Brazil to boost security at Rio's airport after attack on British
tourists
A restricted arrival zone will be set up later this week at the Rio De Janeiro international airport in efforts to protect tourists after
Sunday's
robbery of a busload of British travelers, the airport authorities
announced
on Tuesday.
Infraero, a Brazilian state-owned company that runs 68 airports
including
the above one, said only firms that can present credentials provided by
the
Infraero will be granted the access to the zone. Taxi drivers, bus
drivers
and tourist guides will have to apply for such a permission. Otherwise
they
will not be allowed to pick up passengers at the airport.
The measure aimed to provide more safety to tourists coming to Brazil,
said
Pedro Azambuja, Infraero's regional superintendent.
Several attacks on tourists buses coming from the airport here have
taken
place this year.
Criminals usually chose targets at the airport and shadowed them while
communicating with their accomplices who monitor highways, said the
police.
Once the criminals found there were no policemen around, they robbed
their
victims.
That was what exactly happened to 18 British tourists, who were
assaulted
Sunday dawn shortly after their arrival.
Their bus was forced to pull over on the highway by a utility vehicle
with
three armed men aboard, who robbed the tourists and ran away.
Famous for its annual Carnival bash, its sandy beaches and verdant
mountains, Rio has long been Brazil's most popular tourist destination,
but
it also has one of the highest murder rates in the world.
Source: Xinhua
Former Helios boss attacked at hearing
RELATIVES of the Helios crash victims yesterday set upon the former
executive chairman of the airline Andreas Drakou, who they hold
responsible
for last August’s air disaster.
The tension was apparent from the minute Drakou stepped into the room
to
address the committee of inquiry into the August 14 crash over
Grammatiko
which killed all 121 passengers on board. Upon entering he was met with
shouts of “murderer”, “assassin”, and “you killed our
children”.
Testifying before the committee, Drakou said he had been in charge of
company strategy, its development and the expansion of its fleet
However he denied accusations that Helios, now known as ajet, was
insufficiently resourced and added that he had no knowledge of reports
stating the contrary by British flight operations advisor for local
Civil
Aviation Jim Taylor.
Specifically, when the inquiry’s chairman Panayiotis Kallis referred
to
one of Taylor’s reports which expressed numerous concerns regarding
insufficient staffing in certain areas, Drakou said: “I wasn’t
involved
in that. My instructions were that whatever the company needed, to go
ahead
and get it. The company’s board of directors gave assurances that
everything was OK and that all safety measures were taken.”
During the hearing, Kallis also referred to testimony by former airline
officer Kyriacos Pilavakis, who quit as chief engineer from Helios in
January 2005.
The chairman pointed out that Pilavakis said he had quit the company on
the
grounds it was mismanaged, suffered shortages of qualified staff in key
positions, and lacked official planning.
Again Drakos reiterated that he was not aware of this and that he did
not
deal with these matters.
Immediately following the executive chairman’s testimony, one of the
victim’s relatives, Anthi Poyiadji, asked if she could have a few
minutes
to read something that she wanted both Drakos and Kallis to hear.
Granting her request to read the piece, the committee chairman first
asked
that Drakos be allowed to leave the room.
In an emotionally charged voice, the middle-aged mother read: “I’m
a
mother who lost her one and only daughter and son-in-law. On Saturday I
was
going around with them to find a church to marry them in and on Sunday,
while they were happily heading off for their summer holidays, they
were
killed.
“In my uninformed mind on legal matters there is no doubt that they
were
put into a moving coffin and killed. It was an open secret that the
plane
had a lot of problems, and if they knew it, why didn’t Helios’
management also?
“From the depths of my soul I plead with you that in this report you
mention the guilty parties names to the President of the Republic,
because
as has been announced on television, attorney-generals, government
spokesmen, they need unshakeable evidence to punish someone.
“Because if this is not done, the souls of our children and all those
unfairly lost will be a nightmare for all those responsible even
remotely.
“Maybe the plane wasn’t carrying well-known personalities, people
whom I
think would have inspired a different approach and treatment, but there
were
remarkable people with two and three diplomas, who will not rest until
the
guilty are punished.”
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=29343&cat_id=1
Iran, Iraq issue joint press statement in Tehran
Iran, Iraq issue joint press statement in Tehran
Tehran, Nov 29, IRNA (Iran news agency)
www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-22/0611305896001619.htm
At the end of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's 3-day visit to Tehran,
the
Islamic Republic of Iran and Republic of Iraq, by issuing a joint press
statement here Wednesday called for more cooperation between the two
countries.
At the statement, the two sides called for upgrading the current level
of
relation and cooperation in political, security, oil, industry,
economic and
cultural affairs.
Underlining deep-rooted historical, cultural and religious
commonalities
between the two neighbors and Muslim states and respect for the
principles
of good neighbourly relations, not interference in each other's
affairs,
they underlined their commitments to implement mutually agreed
conventions
endorsed by the United Nations.
The Islamic Republic of Iran underlined the need to maintain Iraq's
national
unity, territorial integrity and the country's independence.
Iran has also called for establishment of democratic organizations to
help
restore people's control on Iraq's natural wealth and territorial
integrity
and construction of the country's political system based on new
constitution.
Welcoming firm determination of Iraqi government in restoring stability
and
security in Iraq along with implementing the plan proposed by Prime
Minister
Nouri al-Maliki on national reconciliation with the aim of encouraging
active and all-out presence of all people from all walks of life in the
country's political system, the statement voiced its full support for
continued trend to help restore the country's national sovereignty,
security
and durable stability in Iraq.
The two sides also condemned strongly continued atrocities and sabotage
activities of terrorist groups in Iraq and emphasized the necessity of
serious confrontation with such criminal and terroristic activities.
In the statement, Islamic Republic of Iran expressed its readiness to
help
Iraqi government and nation.
The two sides expressed their pleasure over continued pilgrimage of
Iranian
and Iraqi citizens to holy shrines in both countries and called for
removing
some obstacles and existing problems in the border points and providing
the
pilgrims with more facilities.
To facilitate traffic for pilgrims, businesspersons and traders, the
Iranian
side called for Iraqi side's action to open its aerial border to
establish
direct and transit flights between Tehran and Baghdad and vice versa.
The statement underlined the necessity of implementing previously
signed
agreements on the opening of the Iranian General Consulates in Arbil
and
Soleymanieh and the Iraqi General Consulate in Mashhad and the
temporary
transfer of Iraqi consulate from Khorramshahr to Ahvaz.
Referring to the importance of support and participation in renovation
and
economic development in Iraq and its infrastructural role in
establishment
of stability and sustainable security in the country and the region,
the
statement emphasized the participation and support of all countries,
especially neighboring and friendly countries in this process.
The Iraqi government appreciated Iran's support in all fields of
politics,
economics and rebuilding the country.
Islamic Republic of Iran by expressing its readiness to participate in
rebuilding process in Iraq, called for Iraqi government assistance in
participating of Iranian creditable companies in implementing
construction,
service and rebuilding projects.
Welcoming the latest decision of the Iraqi government concerning
expulsion
of members of terrorist group of MKO from Iraq, the Iranian side said
acceleration in implementation of the decision will be a positive step
in
expansion and deepening of the ties between the two countries.
Reminding Saddam's crimes against Iraqi people and his attack against
Iran
and Kuwait, the two sides emphasized necessity of a transparent and
just
trial of Saddam and the other high ranking officials of his regime.
1430/1391/1771
[take a look at this]
Is it Just Me, Or Is CAIR's Bedier Calling for the Return of the ...
By Pim's Ghost
This video is a seven minute third segment of a news debate between
Tampa's CAIR
director (and their web-trouble-maker) Ahmed ... Fountain: "And without
one single
voice the people like Osama bin Laden become the voice in that vacuum.
...
http://whatwouldcharlesmarteldotm.blogspot.com/2006/11/is-it-just-me-or-is-cairs-bedier.html
What Would Charles Martel Do?
http://whatwouldcharlesmarteldotm.blogspot.com
European Peacekeepers Begin Congo Withdrawal
http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,451570,00.html
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
European Peacekeepers Begin Congo Withdrawal
After four months of keeping election-season peace in Democratic Republic of Congo, European Union troops begin to head home on
Thursday.
But will they leave peace behind?
At the beginning of the mission in August, few thought that the
situation in Democratic Republic of Congo would be stable enough for
the
European troops stationed there to withdraw at the end of their
mandate.
But on Thursday, the 2,000 troops from 18 European Union countries --
including 780 Germans -- will begin heading home. The withdrawal should
be complete by Dec. 22.
The EU mission, called EUFOR, was in Congo to help the UN forces
already
in the country provide security during the country's first free
elections since independence from Belgium in 1960. With Congo fresh off
back-to-back wars from 1996 to 2002 -- and with a number of rebel
groups
running their own candidates -- the mission looked to be a difficult
one. When violence erupted in mid-August following the first round of
voting, it seemed that the pessimists' worst fears had come true.
Now, though, the tide seems to have turned. President-elect Joseph
Kabila is set to be sworn into office in early December and his run-off
opponent, former rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba, finally conceded
defeat
on Tuesday and said he would continue his fight politically, as part of
the opposition -- "to preserve peace and save the country from sinking
into chaos and violence."
Despite the apparent political truce, stability in Congo remains
precarious. Fighting has continued in the lawless east of the country
with UN troops battling fighters loyal to the local warlord Laurent
Nkunda since Saturday. The clashes have reportedly subsided and the
Associated Press reports that thousands of refugees are streaming back
home. But the fighting could flare up again at any time.
Concern likewise remains high that an ongoing lack of security in wide
swathes of the country may be attracting countries interested in
acquiring nuclear weapons. The country is a source of high quality
uranium and supplied the Manhattan Project in the 1940s as the US was
developing atomic weapons.
"For quite some time there have been suspicions that Iran has been
trying to exploit the chaos in Congo and purchase uranium via
middlemen.
There is no hard proof but there are indications there may be something
to the suspicion," an unnamed European diplomat told Reuters.
The EUFOR mission has received praise for helping to bring the
post-election violence in August -- which saw 17 Congolese killed --
quickly under control.
But even with the mission coming to an end, there may not be much
respite for the thinly stretched Bundeswehr. German Defense Minister
Franz Josef Jung said on Tuesday that he could imagine participating in
a similar mission to the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan.
[the end of the article]
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061201/ap_on_re_eu/russia_poisoned_spy
In a letter released Friday, the former officer for the Federal Security Service, or FSB, said he refused to cooperate with the team, whose task was to kill Alexander Litvinenko and others. The FSB is the successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB.
Litvinenko, the former spy turned Kremlin critic who lived in Britain, died Nov. 23 at a London hospital, where doctors found traces of the rare radioactive element polonium-210 in his body. An autopsy was scheduled for Friday and doctors carrying out the examination planned safety precautions to protect themselves against radiation.
In a deathbed statement, Litvinenko blamed President
Vladimir Putin for his poisoning — charges the Kremlin rejected as "sheer nonsense."
"Back in 2002, I warned Alexander Litvinenko that they set up a special team to kill him," the former security services officer, Mikhail Trepashkin, wrote in the letter dated Nov. 23 — the day of Litvinenko's death. The letter was released Friday by rights activists in Yekaterinburg, the center of the Ural Mountains province where he is serving his four-year sentence.
"Maybe, the death of Alexander Litvinenko, who fell victim to unpunished revenge, could force those dealing with human rights issues to finally pay attention to these facts."
An FSB spokesman refused to comment on Trepashkin's claim.
Trepashkin was arrested in October 2003 and convicted on charges of divulging state secrets while investigating allegations of FSB involvement in a series of deadly apartment bombings that killed about 300 people in Moscow and two other cities in 1999. The government blamed the explosions on
Chechnya-based rebels, but Litvinenko and other Kremlin critics alleged they were staged by authorities as a pretext for launching the current Chechen war.
The FSB, where Trepashkin worked until 1997, alleged that he had been recruited by British agents to collect compromising materials on the explosions with the aim of discrediting the Russian security agency.
Trepashkin said in his letter that after his arrest authorities had put him in a cell contaminated with poisonous chemicals and threatened to kill him.
"Litvinenko and I aren't the last in this chain of victims of persecution," he wrote. "Maybe Litvinenko's death could make you believe in what he was saying."
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday that Moscow was ready to answer concrete questions from Britain concerning Litvinenko's death, Russian news agencies reported.
"When the questions are formulated and sent through the existing channels, we will consider them thoroughly," Lavrov was quoted as saying in Jordan by the ITAR-Tass news agency. "There have been no such questions yet."
Traces of radiation have been found at a dozen sites in Britain and five jetliners were being investigated for possible contamination as authorities widened their investigation into Litvinenko's poisoning.
A coroner on Thursday formally opened an inquest into Litvinenko's death.
Doctors in Moscow have said they believed Yegor Gaidar, a former premier and head of a liberal opposition party, may also have been poisoned during a conference Nov. 24 in Ireland.
British Airways said Friday that one of its planes that has been parked at a Moscow airport would fly to London later in the day for a radiation check. Traces of radiation were found on it and two other aircraft that have traveled the Moscow-London route since Nov. 1, when Litvinenko is believed to have been poisoned.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.