Trouble in Darfur - it's all a conspiracy theory!

The Sudanese president - he who has presided over a genocide - has declared that the US and Britain are "conspiring against the country as diplomats to adopt a resolution, giving the UN authority over the region as peacekeepers." He said there is a move to "colonize" his country. The audacity of this man knows no bounds. This same man earlier blamed Jewish organizations for pushing for peacekeeping troops. The fact that this man is a leader of a nation - allowing a genocide of his own countryman - and then has the gaul to say such statements is enough to make one vomit. A genocide is okay - but let's not take away Sudan's autonomy! Oh no, that would be...bad! *rolls eyes* It's also, sadly, typical of the attitude of the radical Muslim world. "We can do whatever atrocity we want against our own people. We can genocide, rape, maim, kill, and/or mutilate our own people. But don't you dare stop us, because otherwise you are 'in it for the oil,' or 'colonizers,' or 'out to control the world,' or 'hate Muslims.' Never mind that these bastards are free to - and freely - call for the death of nonMuslims and a return to Sharia law. Never mind that they themselves actually hate nonMuslims. They will cry bloody murder if you insinuate that THEIR actions are wrong. Just sad, sad, sad. The worst part about it is that we are buying into it. We actually believe there are things we can do to appease these bastards, when in fact appeasing them makes them believe they can ask for more. You give them a finger, they want a hand. You give them a hand, they want an arm, and so on. I am so sick of a dialogue that even takes a man like the Sudanese president seriously. I am so sick of a media that accepts such a cretin as a member of the human race!

I'm aliiiive!

Hey all! I just thought I would say hello, and that I am back from Toronto. I had the absolute time of my life in Toronto - it was just what I needed. While I prefer NYC, I felt like I could actually live in Toronto. I cannot say I felt the same about any other city, save London. Who knows what the future will bring? In any case, I will definitely be back in Toronto, because I feel that I left a part of myself in that fair city. I also have started work - having started last week - so my life has gotten much more hectic. More updates will follow. It is just hard for me to think of what to say at this point. It seems there is so much rhetoric being bandied about that the truth gets lost. We are all stuck in our truthiness worlds. I was at a party last weekend, and I spoke to someone who considers herself a religious Jew, and yet she is "anti-zionist," and "pro-Israel." I have no freaking clue how one can consider oneself that, and be a member of the group of people I call "reality-based." The facts on the ground are that it is absolutely impossible to have a "one state solution," unless one desires an Israel that is terrorist run. Fun times, eh? Overall, it just felt good to sort of step away from this situation for two weeks, take a breather, and recharge myself. I am thinking of ways to reach out to those on the fence and others like them, but honestly, at this point, I am sort of out of ideas. I just hope that the fence sitters decide to open their eyes and read the tremendous amount of hate out there being broadcast against Jews and the US - go to memri.org, and then report back. It really is an eye opening experience. The media is not exaggerating the hate. Rather, the hate is being minimized by the mainstream media. But I am happily calm and relaxed at the moment. I guess that's what Canada and a major car accident en route to Canada does to a person! (yes, I was in a car accident, yes I am fine)

Oxford Animal Lab protests

This is a video made by the animal rights group Speak. It will give you a flavour of the atmosphere in Oxford when those protests take place. The fact that there is an injunction banning large protests from certain parts of Oxford seems to be ignored by Speak. Though it has to be said the police do tend to get heavy handed during most protests that take place around the UK. There is a counter protest group called Pro-Test which was started by a 16 year old. It is time for a rational debate about medical research using animals as test subjects. I'm only for medical research using animals when the experiments can be justified using the scientific method. As for people who say we can use computers instead of animals ? Computers are as yet not advanced enough to model living organisms accurately. Though there will come a time when computers can model living organisms in real time.

Airport security scare

Turns out a second round of tests of on suspect liquids turned out to be negative for explosives. But at least this shows that airport's in america do pick things up that are no longer allowed on planes in the handbaggage. The liquids have been sent off to the FBI for further tests, thats probably to make a final check on what the liquids are. BBC Report CNN Report

Oh, and P.S....

Alaa said that he is planning a campaign to help Hala. Let's hope that's true and he is able to help her.

Going to Toronto

...Will be back on Sunday. I hope the world doesn't go too much to hell until then! Kevin will be in charge while I am away. :-)

Hitler, The Mufti Of Jerusalem And Modern Islamo Nazism

MUST WATCH VIDEO! I am shaking in horror, watching this video. Of course, I have known about the ties between Hitler and the Mufti for years now, but seeing this video just brings it all to a chilling reality. Next time you have some person looking into "why they hate us," ask them if it mattered why Hitler hated the Jews. The bottom line is that Hitler had to be defeated, just as the Islamofascism MUST be defeated. Please send this video to all your friends! (and thanks to Little Green Footballs for linking it) Simply chilling.

This is for real! A letter by Vernon Chong, Major General, ASAF, Retired

My dad forwarded me the following email written by a general in the US Air Force. I think it sums up the war we face with Islamofascists quite well. Go take a read: -------------------------------- This WAR is for REAL! Dr. Vernon Chong, Major General, USAF, Retired Tuesday, July 12, 2005 To get out of a difficulty, one usually must go through it. Our country is now facing the most serious threat to its existence, as we know it, that we have faced in your lifetime and mine (which includes WWII). The deadly seriousness is greatly compounded by the fact that there are very few of us who think we can possibly lose this war and even fewer who realize what losing really means. First, let's examine a few basics: 1. When did the threat to us start? Many will say September 11, 2001. The answer as far as the United State is concerned is 1979, 22 years prior to September 2001, with the following attacks on us: * Iran Embassy Hostages, 1979; * Beirut, Lebanon Embassy 1983; * Beirut, Lebanon Marine Barracks 1983; * Lockerbie, Scotland Pan-Am flight to New York 1988; * First New York World Trade Center attack 1993; * Dhahran, Saudi Arabia Khobar Towers Military complex 1996; * Nairobi, Kenya US Embassy 1998; * Dares Salaam, Tanzania US Embassy 1998; * Aden, Yemen USS Cole 2000; * New York World Trade Center 2001; * Pentagon 2001. (Note that during the period from 1981 to 2001 there were 7,581 terrorist attacks worldwide). 2. Why were we attacked? Envy of our position, our success, and our freedoms. The attacks happened during the administrations of Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton and Bush 2. We cannot fault either the Republicans or Democrats as there were no provocations by any of the presidents or their immediate predecessors, Presidents Ford or Carter. 3. Who were the attackers? In each case, the attacks on the US were carried out by Muslims. 4. What is the Muslim population of the World? 25%. 5. Isn't the Muslim Religion peaceful? Hopefully, but that is really not material. There is no doubt that the predominately Christian population of Germany was peaceful, but under the dictatorial leadership of Hitler (who was also Christian), that made no difference. You either went along with the administration or you were eliminated. There were 5 to 6 million Christians killed by the Nazis for political reasons (including 7,000 Polish priests). (see http://www.nazis.testimony.co.uk/7-a.htm ) Thus, almost the same number of Christians were killed by the Nazis, as the six million holocaust Jews who were killed by them, and we seldom heard of anything other than the Jewish atrocities. Although Hitler kept the world focused on the Jews, he had no hesitancy about killing anyone who got in his way of exterminating the Jews or of taking over the world - German, Christian or any others. Same with the Muslim terrorists. They focus the world on the US, but kill all in the way -- their own people or the Spanish, French or anyone else. The point here is that just like the peaceful Germans were of no protection to anyone from the Nazis, no matter how many peaceful Muslims there may be, they are no protection for us from the terrorist Muslim leaders and what they are fanatically bent on doing -- by their own pronouncements -- killing all of us "infidels." I don't blame the peaceful Muslims. What would you do if the choice was shut up or die? 6. So who are we at war with? There is no way we can honestly respond that it is anyone other than the Muslim terrorists. Trying to be politically correct and avoid verbalizing this conclusion can well be fatal. There is no way to win if you don't clearly recognize and articulate who you are fighting. So with that background, now to the two major questions: 1. Can we lose this war? 2. What does losing really mean? If we are to win, we must clearly answer these two pivotal questions We can definitely lose this war, and as anomalous as it may sound, the major reason we can lose is that so many of us simply do not fathom the answer to the second question - What does losing mean? It would appear that a great many of us think that losing the war means hanging our heads, bringing the troops home and going on about our business, like post Vietnam. This is as far from the truth as one can get. What losing really means is: We would no longer be the premier country in the world. The attacks will not subside, but rather will steadily increase. Remember, they want us dead, not just quiet. If they had just wanted us quiet, they would not have produced an increasing series of attacks against us, over the past 18 years. The plan was clearly, for terrorist to attack us, until we were neutered and submissive to them. We would of course have no future support from other nations, for fear of reprisals and for the reason that they would see, we are impotent and cannot help them. They will pick off the other non-Muslim nations, one at a time. It will be increasingly easier for them. They already hold Spain hostage. It doesn't matter whether it was right or wrong for Spain to withdraw its troops from Iraq. Spain did it because the Muslim terrorists bombed their train and told them to withdraw the troops. Anything else they want Spain to do will be done. Spain is finished. The next will probably be France. Our one hope on France is that they might see the light and realize that if we don't win, they are finished too, in that they can't resist the Muslim terrorists without us. However, it may already be too late for France. France is already 20% Muslim and fading fast! If we lose the war, our production, income, exports and way of life will all vanish as we know it. After losing, who would trade or deal with us, if they were threatened by the Muslims. If we can't stop the Muslims, how could anyone else? The Muslims fully know what is riding on this war, and therefore are completely committed to winning, at any cost. We better know it too and be likewise committed to winning at any cost. Why do I go on at such lengths about the results of losing? Simple. Until we recognize the costs of losing, we cannot unite and really put 100% of our thoughts and efforts into winning. And it is going to take that 100% effort to win. So, how can we lose the war? Again, the answer is simple. We can lose the war by "imploding." That is, defeating ourselves by refusing to recognize the enemy and their purpose, and really digging in and lending full support to the war effort If we are united, there is no way that we can lose. If we continue to be divided, there is no way that we can win! Let me give you a few examples of how we simply don't comprehend the life and death seriousness of this situation. President Bush selects Norman Mineta as Secretary of Transportation. Although all of the terrorist attacks were committed by Muslim men between 17 and 40 years of age, Secretary Mineta refuses to allow profiling. Does that sound like we are taking this thing seriously? This is war! For the duration, we are going to have to give up some of the civil rights we have become accustomed to. We had better be prepared to lose some of our civil rights temporarily or we will most certainly lose all of them permanently. And don't worry that it is a slippery slope. We gave up plenty of civil rights during WWII, and immediately restored them after the victory and in fact added many more since then. Do I blame President Bush or President Clinton before him? No, I blame us for blithely assuming we can maintain all of our Political Correctness, and all of our civil rights during this conflict and have a clean, lawful, honorable war. None of those words apply to war. Get them out of your head. Some have gone so far in their criticism of the war and/or the Administration that it almost seems they would literally like to see us lose. I hasten to add that this isn't because they are disloyal. It is because they just don't recognize what losing means. Nevertheless, that conduct gives the impression to the enemy that we are divided and weakening. It concerns our friends, and it does great damage to our cause. Of more recent vintage, the uproar fueled by the politicians and media regarding the treatment of some prisoners of war, perhaps exemplifies best what I am saying. We have recently had an issue, involving the treatment of a few Muslim prisoners of war, by a small group of our military police. These are the type prisoners who just a few months ago were throwing their own people off buildings, cutting off their hands, cutting out their tongues and otherwise murdering their own people just for disagreeing with Saddam Hussein. And just a few years ago these same type prisoners chemically killed 400,000 of their own people for the same reason. They are also the same type of enemy fighters, who recently were burning Americans, and dragging their charred corpses through the streets of Iraq. And still more recently, the same type of enemy that was and is providing videos to all news sources internationally, of the beheading of American prisoners they held. Compare this with some of our press and politicians, who for several days have thought and talked about nothing else but the "humiliating" of some Muslim prisoners -- not burning them, not dragging their charred corpses through the streets, not beheading them, but "humiliating" them. Can this be for real? The politicians and pundits have even talked of impeachment of the Secretary of Defense. If this doesn't show the complete lack of comprehension and understanding of the seriousness of the enemy we are fighting, the life and death struggle we are in and the disastrous results of losing this war, nothing can. To bring our country to a virtual political standstill over this prisoner issue makes us look like Nero playing his fiddle as Rome burned -- totally oblivious to what is going on in the real world. Neither we, nor any other country, can survive this internal strife. Again I say, this does not mean that some of our politicians or media people are disloyal. It simply means that they are absolutely oblivious to the magnitude, of the situation we are in and into which the Muslim terrorists have been pushing us, for many years. Remember, the Muslim terrorists stated goal is to kill all infidels! That translates into ALL non-Muslims -- not just in the United State, but throughout the world. We are the last bastion of defense. We have been criticized for many years as being 'arrogant.' That charge is valid in at least one respect. We are arrogant in that we believe that we are so good, powerful and smart, that we can win the hearts and minds of all those who attack us, and that with both hands tied behind our back, we can defeat anything bad in the world! We can't! If we don't recognize this, our nation as we know it will not survive, and no other free country in the world will survive if we are defeated. And finally, name any Muslim countries throughout the world that allow freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, equal rights for anyone -- let alone everyone, equal status or any status for women, or that have been productive in one single way that contributes to the good of the world. This has been a long way of saying that we must be united on this war or we will be equated in the history books to the self-inflicted fall of the Roman Empire If, that is, the Muslim leaders will allow history books to be written or read. If we don't win this war right now, keep a close eye on how the Muslims take over France in the next 5 years or less. They will continue to increase the Muslim population of France and continue to encroach little by little, on the established French traditions. The French will be fighting among themselves, over what should or should not be done, which will continue to weaken them and keep them from any united resolve. Doesn't that sound eerily familiar? Democracies don't have their freedoms taken away from them by some external military force. Instead, they give their freedoms away, politically correct piece by politically correct piece. And they are giving those freedoms away to those who have shown, worldwide that they abhor freedom and will not apply it to you or even to themselves, once they are in power. They have universally shown that when they have taken over, they then start brutally killing each other over who will be the few who control the masses. Will we ever stop hearing from the politically correct, about the "peaceful Muslims"? I close on a hopeful note, by repeating what I said above. If we are united, there is no way that we can lose. I hope now after the election, the factions in our country will begin to focus on the critical situation we are in, and will unite to save our country. It is your future we are talking about! Do whatever you can to preserve it. After reading the above, we all must do this not only for ourselves, but our children, our grandchildren, our country and the world. Whether Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal and that include the Politicians and media of our country and the free world! Please forward this to any you feel may want, or NEED to read it. Our "leaders" in Congress ought to read it, too. There are those that find fault with our country, but it is obvious to anyone who truly thinks through this, that we must UNITE! If you would like to see who this fellow is go to this Air Force web sight and look him up. http://www.af.mil/bios/bio.asp?bioID=5000

What you can do for Hala

As I have written, Hala Helmy Botros is having her life threatened and was forced to shut down her blog, because it was critical of the way Egypt treats the Coptic Christian population. Well, I decided to start a campaign to SPEAK OUT against such censorship. PLEASE: write to your local Egyptian consulate. Tell them that you will NOT stand for such censorship by a 'democracy,' and that you value freedom of speech. The website with consulate addresses is right here. The address of the Egyptian consulate for the United States is as follows: The Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt 3521 International Ct. NW Washington DC 20008 Phone (202) 895 5400 Fax (202) 244 5131 (202) 244 4319 embassy@egyptembdc.org PLEASE contact your local embassy, and tell them you will not stand for this. Together, we can make a difference. UPDATE: I have written a template letter for you all to copy and paste into your emails. To whom it may concern: I am writing about Hala Helmy Botros, a young lady whose family's life was harassed, and was forced to shut down her website, simply because it was critical of the way Egypt treats Coptic Christians. The story was chronicled on the Reporters Without Borders website right here: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=18563 Ms. Botros now has to live with her phone wiretapped and her moves followed - merely because she spoke her mind. In short, there is a policy of intimidating, in the effort of shutting her up. Egypt is supposed to be a 'democracy,' and it is the third largest recipient of U.S. aid money in the world. For a democracy to act this way is simply unacceptable. Actions must be taken to rectify this situation immediately. In order for a 'democracy' to flourish, citizens must feel free to speak their minds without censorship and intimidation. I hope this matter receives the attention it deserves. Sincerely, ________, concerned citizen

Great Muslims Part III

This Muslim is possibly the bravest and greatest of the ones I have chronicled thus far. Her story is also terribly tragic and speaks volumes about the lack of women's rights in the Muslim world. However, it's a story of hope and survival, and is actually incredibly inspirational. This is the story of Mukhtaran Bibi. Bibi was gang raped by tribesmen in retaliation for the supposed (false) crimes of her brother (oooh, he had a girlfriend, the horror!). You can call it an "honor gang rape." (pukes at the concept) The usual response to such an atrocity is to stay silent - out of fear of death. But unlike others, Bibi refused to stay silent. She went to file charges. However, the disgusting fact is that in Pakistan, four male witnesses are needed to confirm any rape. In the case where there are even four male witnesses, it is usually because the men were all responsible for the rape itself. She was supposed to have committed suicide after the rape. She refused to do this. When Bibi went public with her brutal rape, she refused to stay at the local level - she went international. This even made Time Magazine. Eventually, the government of Pakistan awarded her the equivalent of $8,500 in compensation for her rape. Bibi used the money to build two local schools: one for girls, and one for boys. There were previously no local schools for girls and no way for girls to get an education. Her attackers were also sentenced to death, but eventually acquitted. Later, when Bibi was to fly to London at the behest of Amnesty International, Pakistan put her on a no-fly list, a move that prompted protests aroound the world. Nick Kristoff of the NY Times reported that she was under house arrest. Eventually it was revealed that Musharaff put Bibi on the no-fly list in order to "protect Pakistan's image abroad." (ironically, this move made Pakistan look ten times worse) Eventually, Bibi was allowed to travel at will, and was awarded the "Woman of the Year" award by Glamour Magazine. Bibi has spoken at the United Nations about women's rights, and on October 31, 2006, is scheduled to release her memoirs. Her story is an incredible tale of hope and survival. It is inspirational to the world. It is an example of how one woman can fight injustice and barbarism, and come out ahead, despite all odds.

Is the proverbial sh*t hitting the fan?

Mustapha over at Beirut Spring is not impressed with Nasrallah's latest speech, where he vowed NOT to disarm. And evidently, neither are many other Lebanese. Is the tide turning? Ammar over at Amarji-Heretic's Blog thinks calls Assad a "Village Idiot" for aligning with Hizballah. Lebanese Political Journal weighs in, and is very unhappy with Hizballah and thinks assassinations of the politicians who don't support Hizballah are to follow. All of these bloggers never supported Hizballah, but they also never supported Israel's actions in Lebanon. With Nasrallah's speech, however, they seem to have reached the level of exasperation. Maybe the world will see him for the monster that he is. (doubtful) Maybe the world will see that the UN "cease fire" is a flat out joke. Maybe. When Nasrallah and Assad give the speeched they are giving...maybe people will finally wake up and take notice. Naaaaaaah. They didn't notice before when Nasrallah called for the death to all Jews, and no one did anything when Assad's daddy massacred Syrians at Hama, so why exactly would anyone listen or care to what Nasrallah and Assad Jr are saying now? The world doesn't care. The world is too stymied to sit up and take notice when mass murderers openly call for genocide. The only time they listen is when an actual genocide is already in full swing, and thousands, if not millions, of people have already died. Such is the case in the Darfur right now, where no one cares or is listening to the cries of the Sudanese, such was the case of the Rwandans, such was the case of the Khmer Rouge...and such was the case for the Jews during the Holocaust. No one cares until there is such a mass number of deaths, that caring is sort of unavoidable. It's easier to place one's head in the sand and ignore the problem. But guess what: problems don't go away by ignoring them. And I see already the buddings of the acknowledgement of this.

Great Muslims - Part Two

The second person in my "great Muslims" series is Fareed Zakaria. Fareed Zakaria was born in India in 1964 and is a writer and journalist specializing in international relations. Zakaria is a regular roundtable member of This Week with George Stephanapoulos, an analyst for ABC News, and hosts his own show on PBS, Foreign Exchange. Born and raised in Mumbai, India, he received his B.A. from Yale, where he was president of the Yale Student Union, and his PhD from Harvard. Zakaria regularly interviews world leaders, and has written three books, most recently one titled The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad. A great interview with Zakaria can be found in the Village Voice, right here. Dubbed "an intellectual heartthrob" by Jon Stewart, his opinion is widely sought after as one of the few public intellectuals who can make sense of the rise of Islamofascism. Fluent in many languages and a man of many interests, Zakaria was even Slate Magazine's wine columnist at one point. The Future of Freedom was published in the spring of 2003 and became a New York Times bestseller as well as a bestseller in several other countries. It has been translated into over eighteen languages. In it, he argues that democracy works best in societies when it is preceded by "constitutional liberalism," which he defines as the rule of law, rights of property, contract, and individual freedoms. He has written that historically liberty has preceded democracy, not the other way around. This is something I tend to agree with, and it is why I am cynical about the chance of democracy succeeding anytime SOON in Iraq. (but believe there is a chance for its long term survival) Zakaria is my second "Great Muslim." Third on my list will be a noted Muslim feminist.

Michael Totten writes of his travels to Northern Israel

...and it sounds much like Lisa Goldman's. Go read it! Michael Totten is very eloquent. I think there is simply the widespread phenomenom to tune out extraneous details in order to get through the day. For instance, after 9/11, I moved to NYC and started working in Times Square, in the Conde Nast building. I knew I was working in a target - a famous building where movies have been filmed, in the heart of Times Square, that produces magazines such as Vogue and Glamour - I am sure the Islamofascists ain't happy with such magazines! But, I never really thought about it. I went to work and pretty much ignored the terror threat. That's what all New Yorkers did and do. It's called the human coping mechanism, and it's how we get through the day. If we thought about terror threats all the time, not only would the terrorists win, but we'd go mad. And so we don't think about it. But the trouble is, there is a fine line between the human coping mechanism and complacency. I hope to never be complacent.

Chad Vader: Day shift manager

Thanks to Chiefmommyowl for posting this video, hysterical! Enjoy!

More than a day has passed...

...And not a word from Manalaa.net re: the Hala story. We're waiting.

Southpark outdid itself

Must see Emmy Poster. I hope South Park wins!

Arab-Israeli rights

As you may or may not know, I believe in the notion that I have penned to be "culture for all," and that includes for Arab Israelis. And so when twosret challenged me on Sandmonkey's site to post the following story about Rt. Rev. Riah H. Abu El-Assal, an Arab Israeli Christian reverand who was prevented from getting on a plane because he didn't have the right papers, I say, sure. This is nowhere near as bad as the Hala story - not on the same universe - but I do believe in Arab Israeli rights, and so it is getting disseminated. Israel does have a problem with Arab Israeli rights, I am not denying it, but then again, Arab Israelis have committed terror against Israelis, including espionage for Hizballah, so the situation is complicated. Still, if this guy had his papers and was no terrorist, he should have been let on the plane. Fair's fair. There is no indication he was a terrorist, so he should have been let on the plane.

Sri Lankans kill 61 children over air raids...UN, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch silent

Yes, it's true, and it is a tragedy. I do not know what went into the decision for the air raid, and so I will not say it is Sri Lanka's fault per se...but where is the righteous indignation for this from the press, or from the world, for that matter? You know that if this were U.S., or (nonexistent) god forbid, Israel, it would be front page news all over the earth. As Andrew Sullivan points out, this is just an example of the press's bias towards Israel. But that said...I am impressed that the BBC covered this. Good for them. My thoughts are with the families of everyone involved. *sighs* Humans are such beautiful and ugly creatures, dontcha think? Unlike, say, Qana, the UN here are investigating before proclaiming anything. Talk about double standards. Anyway, politics aside, this is a horrific event, and it chills me when children die. Whyever the children died, whyever the children were there, it is a tragedy.

Olmert government must go

GREAT column written by Caroline Glick in the Jerusalem Post outlines exactly why the Olmert government must go. Go read it! Olmert has failed miserably. The "cease fire" is a sham, as all UN-led operations are, lately. After all, the UN, as I have repeatedly stated, is a terror-supporting, inept, ineffectual, pathetic League of Nations of our times. Worse than the League of Nations, which was merely weak. The UN actively supports terrorism. And Israel trusts them to get the job done. Thanks, Olmert! *rolls eyes* Olmert must go. Someone competent must take over, and that person is NOT Livni, despite what Sandmonkey thinks, who herself is also incompetant.

Muslim Brotherhood is pro-Hizballah

The Sphinx should read the following post by Big Pharoah, where he shows the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is siding with Hizballah - PRAISING Hizballah - and saying "we are like Hizballah." This is important to remember, when the Muslim Brotherhood pretends they are puppy doggish and benign. I am no fan of Mubarak, but I believe the Muslim Brotherhood would be far worse, ESPECIALLY after seeing images such as these: According to Big Pharoah, the poster reads: "Resistance until victory. The picture of Nasrallah is placed right under Hamas' Sheikh Yassen and Rantisi. The logo on the bottom right corner tells who placed this poster all over the walls: the Muslim Brotherhood." And remember, Sharia law would be bad for everyone. Furthermore, the Iranian Revolution started as a liberal, leftist cause. It was taken over the Islamists, and the Ayatollah Khomeini betrayed the principles of freedom and justice that the revolution fought for. There is every reason to believe that the Muslim Brotherhood would do the same. Do not believe the lie that the Muslim Brotherhood will be peaceful puppy dogs.

JUSTICE for Hala.

I read on Sandmonkey's blog today that blogger Hala Helmy Botros is being investigated by the Egyptian authorities for creating a blog that is critical of the treatment of Coptic Christians in Egypt. This is a big story, or should I say, should be a big story. Botros's phone lines were cut, she was harrassed, and her father was beaten up by two strangers who said "this is from your daughter." The overall goal is to silence her. Hala was going to leave the the country to attend a Coptic Christian conference in the US, but she was told she cannot leave the country and is under investigation. Her crime is "disrupting the harmony of Muslim and Christian communities" and "spreading false news." Hala finally gave in and shut down her blog. It is clear that the Egyptian government is trying to silence dissent. This cannot be tolerated. Read more about it on Reporters without borders. There is also a report about this on "The Free Copts." As you all know well, when blogger Alaa (who is hugely anti-Israel, by the way), was jailed, the blogosphere, including many Israeli bloggers, rallied to his cause. I hope he rallies to Hala's cause. I also hope the blogosphere rallies to Hala's cause in general. To support this endeavor, I photoshopped an image that I hope you will all spread. Pass this along!

Lisa's great journey

Another must read post - written by Lisa Goldman, of her travels in Northern Israel, complete with pictures. I think this is so important, because as Shlemazl says, we rarely see much about the Israeli suffering, and yet they are suffering and do suffer. Israelis are people too, and they didn't ask for this all. Hopefully there will be a good resolution to this violence, but I doubt it.

Lebanese Political Journal sums up the political atmosphere in Lebanon

MUST READ! This brings up points I haven't really thought through before. Please read the post, it is thoughtful and intelligent. It will be interesting to see what happens next with the ceasefire agreement, though I still maintain the stance that the ceasefire agreement was a bad idea.

Great Muslims - Part One

I know I have been critical of Muslims a lot lately, and so this post is part one in a series dedicated to praising the great Muslims - the ones who have been making the world a better place. And there are many of them! The first one in my series is Ahmed H. Zewail. This man is an Egyptian muslim who won the Nobel prize in chemistry in 1999 for his work in femtochemistry, as a pioneer in the field. Femtochemistry is, according to wikipeida, "the science that studies chemical reactions on extremely short timescales, approximately 10–15 seconds (this is one femtosecond, hence the name)." The Nobel Prize website states:

This year's laureate in Chemistry is being rewarded for his pioneering investigation of fundamental chemical reactions, using ultra-short laser flashes, on the time scale on which the reactions actually occur. Professor Zewail's contributions have brought about a revolution in chemistry and adjacent sciences, since this type of investigation allows us to understand and predict important reactions.

Go to the Nobel prize website to learn more about Femtochemistry, and Professor Zewail's contributions to it. This series is going to highlight the good Muslims not only for my Western audience out there. Really, this series is for the Muslims. There are some great and inspiring Muslims out there - heroes to look up to. There are many reasons to value life, learning, advancement, and achievement, because Muslims have achieved and contributed a great deal to this world. So this is only part one in what hopefully will be a long series, showcasing these great achievements. Thanks to The Sphinx for pointing out Professor Zewail to me!