The Religion of Peace.... isn't

Uncle Ben from Hammerswing75 had some horrible news today...

It appears that a family friend of his parents, a peace activist from Britain, was abducted in Iraq along with other peace activists. From here:

Two others, Tom Fox, 51, of Clearbrook, Va., and long-time British peace activist, Norman Kember, 74, were also among those abducted, the group said in a statement Tuesday.

Arab satellite channel al-Jazeera broadcast images earlier in the day believed to be of the four captives.

The footage, rebroadcast on Canadian and American television networks, showed the four dishevelled Westerners seated with their backs against a wall. All appeared to be conscious.

According to the al-Jazeera report, a group calling itself the Swords of Righteousness Brigade claimed responsibility for the kidnappings and has accused the four of being spies working undercover as Christian peace activists.

The group said Tuesday its members were aware of the risks of doing humanitarian work in war-torn nations but “feel the threat does not outweigh the potential benefit of remaining.”

The CPT went on to say it was “very saddened” by the kidnappings, arguing it had worked for the rights of Iraqi prisoners who have been illegally detained and abused by the U.S. government.

“We were the first people to publicly denounce the torture of Iraqi people at the hands of U.S. forces, long before the Western media admitted what was happening at Abu Ghraib,” the group said in its statement.

Somehow, unfortunately, good intentions, no matter how noble in their geneses, are lost on the evil ones that those intentions target; and those evildoers maintain a nasty tendency of exploiting, or even downright scoffing or laughing at well-intentioned "benefactors." The old parable about the scorpion and the turtle comes to mind.

It is my sincere hope that these bastards are hunted down and shot. This may indeed go against what those being held captive were working for, but it remains my contention that there are some in this world that are simply beyond saving; whose evil and hate have completely consumed them.

In these cases, it may be truly said, that the only good terrorist, is a dead terrorist.


(Filed under Religion of Peace?)

In defense of life and parenthood... A SCOTUS litmus test in the making..

This from here:

:

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — To some, a never-enforced New Hampshire law requiring parental notification before a minor has an abortion is a backward step for women's rights. To others, it protects parents' right to know if their child is having an abortion.

The U.S. Supreme Court will consider those arguments Wednesday as it begins to weigh whether to reinstate a law that requires parental notification 48 hours before an abortion can be performed on a woman under the age of 18.

The 2003 law was struck down, days before it was to take effect, for failing to provide an exception to protect a minor's health. Under the law, parents or guardians must be notified either in person or by certified mail.

Supporters of the law say a provision that allows a young woman to go to a judge instead of a parent provides needed protection if her health is in danger.

Opponents, however, say the law's requirements could lead to dangerous delays and result in judges making medical decisions instead of doctors. They also view the law as an ill-disguised attempt by abortion opponents to chip away at Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that legalized abortion.

Sorry.. if a minor needs parental permission to down a tylenol for a headache, she also needs parental permission to have an abortion for "health issues." (if that isn't the biggest strawman of the pro-death left, then nothing is). Funny how euphamisms and circumlocutions spring eternal from the culture of death, isn't it?

At any rate this decision will certainly be telling of the future trends of SCOTUS. I sincerely hope that Judge Alito becomes Justice Alito before this case is decided.

(Filed under Defense of Life)

Salvation Army needs YOU!!!

According to Major Fones from the St. Cloud Salvation Army, Kettle donations this season will be more important than ever. Due to apparent "giving fatigue" brought about by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the local Salvation Army is down $20,000 in their year-to-date donations from last year, so it is imperative that they make it up with their bellringer/kettle collections... (pretty hard to do when bozos like these ban bellringers at their stores).

So again, folks, when you pass a kettle, anywhere, anytime, be so kind as to be extra generous with your donations. I can assure you the Salvation Army is the genuine article with a genuine mission to help others in their most dire times of need.

And btw--a donation to my personal kettle (click on the logo on the top-left column) would go toward defraying the costs (i.e., legal etc.,) of the national and regional Salvation Army offices.

I think this guy needs to run in '08

He would probably get my vote. This from here:

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, just back from Iraq, wants President Bush to give the American people details about the progress being made in that country - from military triumphs to the proliferation of cellphones and satellite dishes.

and:

"We do have a strategy," he said. "We do have a plan. I saw a strategy that's being implemented." Lieberman, who is one of Bush's strongest war supporters in the Senate, cited the remarks of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who last month told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee the strategy in Iraq was to "clear, hold and build: to clear areas from insurgent control, to hold them securely and to build durable, national Iraqi institutions."

IMO, Lieberman, if he ran as himself, would be a shoe-in for the White House in '08. He would not only grab a wide swath of both centrist republicans and democrats, but would likely attract conservative republicans, as well. He's one of the few democrats who actually get it.  Pity that his current party wouldn't give him the time of day, much less the nod at a presidential bid. 

End of World Tomorrow! ...Europe hardest hit...

This from here:

The report was issued at the agency's headquarters in Copenhagen, coinciding with the first full day of debate at key UN talks on curbing the greenhouse gases that stoke global warming. In the 20th century, the average global temperature rose 0.7 C (1.25 F) as a result of burning coal, gas and coal -- the carbon fuels that are mainly to blame for the rise.

But the rise in Europe was 0.95 C (1.71 F), 35 percent higher, because of the continent's vulnerable location and smaller land mass, the EAA said. "Without effective action over several decades, global warming will see ice sheets melting in the north and the spread of deserts from the south. The continent's population could effectively be concentrated in the centre," EAA Executive Director Jacqueline McGlade said.

The European Union is striving to limit the overall global rise in temperature to 2 C (3.6 F) by implementing the UN's Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse-gas pollution and encouraging the use of cleaner resources. But McGlade warned: "Even if we constrain global warming to the EU target of a two-degree (Celsius) increase, we will be living in atmospheric conditions that human beings have never experienced. Deeper cuts in emissions are needed."

Cats sleeping with dogs, democrats making it with republicans---OOOOOhhh the humanity!!!!

Curiously missing from their argument, however, are the temperature records from, say, five, ten, twenty, millenia ago, try even from a century and a half ago!

And what the hell got us out of our last ice age? Was it dinosaur flatulence? Were there wooly mammoths tooling around in stone-age SUVs?

Were Fred and Barney responsible for the global warming that took us out of the last ice age?? Or were their irresponsible driving habits responsible for the ice age itself?!?

Nahh... must have been something Bush did.

On Bush and Immigration

The entire text of Bush's speech this afternoon is here. One of the parts I found most interesting was this:

We face a different set of challenges with non-Mexicans that we -- who we catch crossing the border illegally. When non-Mexican illegal immigrants are apprehended, they are initially detained. The problem is that our detention facilities don't have enough beds. And so, about four of every five non-Mexican illegal immigrants we catch are released in society and asked to return for a court date. When the date arrives, about 75 percent of those released don't show up to the court. As a result, last year, only 30,000 of the 160,000 non-Mexicans caught coming across our southwest border were sent home.

This practice of catch and release has been the government's policy for decades. It is an unwise policy and we're going to end it. (Applause.) To help end catch and release, we need to increase the capacity in our detention facilities. Last month at the White House I signed legislation supported by the members of the Arizona delegation that will increase the number of beds in our detention facilities. We're also working to process illegal immigrants through the system more quickly, so we can return them home faster and free up bed space for others.

One of the most effective tools we have in this effort is a process called expedited removal. Under expedited removal, non-Mexicans are detained and placed into streamlined proceedings. It allows us to deport them at an average of 32 days, almost three times faster than usual. In other words, we're cutting through the bureaucracy. Last year we used expedited removal to deport more than 20,000 non-Mexicans caught entering this country illegally between Tucson and Laredo. This program is so successful that the Secretary has expanded it all up and down the border. This is a straightforward idea. It says, when an illegal immigrant knows they'll be caught and sent home, they're less likely to come to the country. That's the message we're trying to send with expedited removal.

I don't know if this is successful or not. As an educator, all I can say is that there are illegal residents who send children to our schools. And as educators, we are prohibited by law to divulge who those families are. Now I don't suspect that we have any families with Al Qaeda connections at the schools at which I work; but what if we did? The law states that educators cannot report families to INS or to Homeland Security. This, IMO, smacks of "the wall" put up between government agencies that led to the intelligence failures of the 1990s that reportedly enabled this.

Please hear me on this. I have no problem with immigration. It is the process of skirting the law in order to do so that I have a problem with.

Another issue I have some difficulty with is this:

Listen, there's a lot of opinions on this proposal -- I understand that. But people in this debate must recognize that we will not be able to effectively enforce our immigration laws until we create a temporary worker program. The program that I proposed would not create an automatic path to citizenship, it wouldn't provide for amnesty -- I oppose amnesty. Rewarding those who have broken the law would encourage others to break the law and keep pressure on our border. (Applause.)

A temporary worker program, by contrast, would decrease pressure on the border. I support the number of -- increasing the number of annual green cards that can lead to citizenship. But for the sake of justice and for the sake of border security, I'm not going to sign an immigration bill that includes amnesty. (Applause.)

I guess I'm just having trouble with the concept of allowing illegals to work legally after they have circumvented due process, and calling it something other than a form of amnesty. It's akin to catching someone robbing the local 7-11, and saying, "Okay--you can keep the carton of Marlboros, but then you better be on your way!"

At the same time, pragmatically, this would allow us to keep those who choose to participate in the program, so it's a double-edged sword. In terms of principle, I am against it. However, I also realize in the short term that this may be the most pragmatic way available of trying to control the water that already has passed under the bridge.

Said Bush

We make good progress, but you know like I know, there's a lot more to be done. And we've got to continue to work together to get that done, and I'm optimistic that Congress will rise to the occasion. By passing comprehensive immigration reform, we will add to this country's security, to our prosperity, and to justice.

Our nation has been strengthened by generations of immigrants who became Americans through patience and hard work and assimilation. In this new century, we must continue to welcome immigrants, and to set high standards for those who follow the laws to become a part of our country. Every new citizen of the United States has an obligation to learn our customs and values, including liberty and civic responsibility, equality under God and tolerance for others, and the English language. (Applause.) We will continue to pursue policies that encourage ownership, excellence in education, and give all our citizens a chance to realize the American Dream.

It is my hope that the preceding two paragraphs were indeed made in the spirit of sincerity and resolve, vs. the hyperbole that we have all too often come to expect regarding this issue.

Ouch--that's gonna leave a mark!

This from here:

(CNSNews.com) - Angered by the broadcast of a secretly filmed public execution inside North Korea, the Stalinist state has accused the U.S.-based CNN television network of promoting Washington's "regime change" agenda.

Pyongyang also hinted at banning the network from future visits.

"We have allowed CNN in our country for news coverage several times and guaranteed the necessary conditions, but with the incident CNN has dug its own grave," North Korea's official KCNA mouthpiece charged in a weekend commentary.

"[CNN] aired a videotape which seriously misrepresented the independent and fair and aboveboard measures taken by the DPRK for enforcing laws, without confirming their truth," it said.

DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the reclusive regime's official name.

CNN earlier this month broadcast a documentary entitled "Undercover in the Secret State," showing footage reportedly smuggled out of North Korea by a defector.

In addition to scenes of a public execution by shooting, the program also showed footage depicting other abuses of human rights as well as signs of dissent inside the authoritarian state, including images of a dissident defacing a poster of Kim Jong-il.

The commentary lashed out at the network, calling it a "reptile" and a "trumpeter" for the U.S. administration.

CNN?!? A trumpeter" for the Bush Administration?

I guess the truth hurts, doesn't it? Especially when the entire foundation of your regime, much like many of the Stalinists before you, precariously exists on a steady diet of lies.

Just how hyped is the "Bird Flu"?

This from here

China this month confirmed its first three human cases of bird flu, two of which were fatal. The disease has killed more than 60 people in Asia since 2003.

But on further review:

Updated Sep 22, 2004
How many people get sick or die from the flu every year?
Each flu season is unique, but it is estimated that, on average, approximately 5% to 20% of U.S. residents get the flu, and more than 200,000 persons are hospitalized for flu-related complications each year. About 36,000 Americans die on average per year from the complications of flu. (emphasis mine)

Well, maybe I'm missing something, but at this time, I'm really wondering if we're spending too much emotion focusing on the "bird flu". Perhaps my skepticism stems from previous scares like this. I suppose I'll keep a cursory watch on this out of the corner of my eye, but I definitely won't lose any sleep over it.

Moonbat in waiting

From here:

Cindy "mother moonbat" Sheehan waits for throngs of admirers in a "book signing" in Crawford Texas. Heh...

(cue cricket sounds)...

Out of Hollywood's wildest "Wishful Thinking"....

Drudge has this story regarding TVs plans for the upcoming year:

• ABC has two "post apocalyptic programs"
• CBS is also weighing with two "End of America" programs..
• Fox's exec VP Craig Erwich: "The creative community appears to be really inspired this year," he says. "It was an exciting time to be buying. I came away pretty encouraged about network TV."  

Yes, words of encouragement to live by. I would say more like a window to the soul of the wishful thinking of the moonbat left.


Filed under Moonbat Adventures)

More from the "religion of peace"

Fox News reports on an internet video that purportedly shows the planning and carrying out of the deadly wedding blasts at a Jordanian Hotel carried out by Zarqawi-led Al Qaeda adherents of the "Religion of Peace". Perhaps most telling of the article is this

The final scene shows the attack under way with a subtitle in Arabic saying "the holy warriors are watching the execution of the raid." Men are heard shouting "Allah u-Akbar," or "God is Great," as a big cloud of smoke rises from the scene.

Yes, I'm sure God was smiling as he saw innocent men, women and children, innocents of His creation, being blown to smithereens.

Bastards.

(Filed under Religion of Peace?)

A very merry Christmas, girls... from the Religion of Peace..

A South-African website has this story here:

Iraq seizes booby-trapped toys
24/11/2005 17:13 - (SA)

Baghdad - The Iraqi army said on Thursday it had seized a number of booby-trapped children's dolls, accusing insurgents of using the explosive-filled toys to target children.

The dolls were found in a car, each one containing a grenade or other explosive, said an army statement.

The government said that two men driving the car had been arrested in the western Baghdad district of Abu Ghraib.

"This is the same type of doll as that handed out on several occasions by US soldiers to children," said government spokesperson Leith Kubba.

It was not immediately clear when the find was made or the suspects arrested.

This story is also reported by ABC, and The Turkish press, among others.

As I have stated here, if this trend continues, Zarqawi and Co. will have soon overstayed their welcome. Soldiers whom I have spoken with who have been recently "in theatre" state that Iraqi civilians are becoming more and more bold in outing terrorist strongholds. Our efforts are working.

Now if our "friends" on the left would quit sabatoging those efforts at every turn, perhaps we could make even more headway.

It's a sorry state of affairs when circumstances necessitate fighting one war on two fronts.

(Filed under Iraq, Religion of Peace?)

Canadians better take heed... "Bono" doesn't like what you're doing.

From here:

Rock star Bono made a pre-election visit to Ottawa on Friday, offering harsh words for Prime Minister Paul Martin over his failure to firmly commit to increasing its foreign aid budget.

Bono has urged Mr. Martin to increase aid to 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product by 2015 — a target already adopted by most G8 countries.

"I am personally not just disappointed, I'm crushed, actually, because I really believed that the Prime Minister would do that," he said, noting Canada is the only country in the G8 to boast a surplus.

Well... knock me over with a feather. Canadians... looks like you better buck up. You have done gone and "crushed" an aging, has-been "rock star" who can't even vote in your country. Have you no shame?!?


(Filed under Moonbat Adventures)

The Grey Old Lady has gotten a bit senile...

American Future has a long, but well-worth reading chronology of the evolution of their editorial stance toward Iraq:

The New York Times on Iraq, 1993-2005

Baghdad forfeits the protection of the U.N. cease-fire resolution every time it violates the cease-fire terms. [January 21, 1993 editorial]

This page remains persuaded of the vital need to disarm Iraq. But it is a process that should go through the United Nations. [March 17, 2003 editorial]

A war can be lost because public opinion turns against its continued prosecution. The New York Times – the self-described “newspaper of record” – is among the world’s most influential opinion leaders. As shown by the cited quotations, the newspaper’s stance on Iraq underwent a complete transformation during the decade separating 1993 and 2003. While its editors never lost their fear of Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD), their prescription for countering the threat posed by the weapons was altered beyond recognition. In 1993, by arguing that cease-fire violations nullified U.N. protection, the Times affirmed the right of a victorious party to resume hostilities at its sole discretion if the party it defeated did not abide by the terms of the agreement to which it affixed its signature. Ten years later, the Times reversed its stance, asserting that the United States should not go to war without the approval of the United Nations. In so doing, the Times implicitly argued that going to war with the approval of a multilateral institution took precedence over the use of military force to expeditiously eliminate the threat posed by Iraq’s WMD.

I wonder if the wind will blow in yet another direction when the president has a "D" after her name.

h/t to Heartland.

(Filed under Iraq, Moonbat Adventures)

Another thing for which I am grateful...

Today I spoke with Sergeant Major Alan Fones of the St. Cloud Salvation Army. We discussed what the Salvation Army does, and how it is funded. It's a remarkable organization (present in the St. Cloud area since 1896) that provides (just in the St. Cloud area) over 100 meals per day, and provides, if my memory serves me correct, 50 beds a night in emergency shelter for persons and families in the St. Cloud area. They also help with heating bills and rental assistance when funds are available.

Major Fones remarked that a high percentage of those individuals with families that they serve are actually gainfully employed, although they either don't earn enough, or they are going through other rough times (i.e., home foreclosure, unexpected medical expenses, etc.,).

Major Fones also stated that 70% of the cost of their programs, amounting to around $1,000,000 per year in capital expenses (only a very small portion of that goes to a paid skeletal staff--the remainder are volunteers), coupled with another million-and-a-half in donated food and clothing by area businesses and citizens, is locally generated, and that fully a third of their operating budget is generated by their volunteer Christmas Kettle bellringers. Another 30% of their funding comes from United Way and government grants.

After having visited their facility (they will be getting a new one, soon), I can say without reservation that these are dedicated, selfless people with a genuine driven mission to help others that may otherwise be marginalized in our society. They are truly a worthy charity.

As I said, The local Salvation Army counts on Kettle contributions for one-third of their operating expenses. This translates into a goal of $300,000 in loose bills and coins, just for the St. Cloud area.

So when you pass a Salvation Army Kettle this Christmas Season, please take the time to put in what you can. The stuff that folds is nice, too, and please give early and often. I can assure you that it is for a worthy cause.

And, if you feel so inclined, please click on my "personal kettle" on the upper-left hand corner of this blog. Your donation will go to the national and regional Salvation Army offices. These funds are then dispersed to local chapters in the form of insurance, legal aid, and other overhead expenses, which Major Fones stated are likewise indispensible in their mission.

P.S.S. When I wrote this post, I was unaware as to exactly how much the local Salvation Army counts on Kettle Collections; and even with Target Store's current program to collect "gift cards" for the National Salvation Army, this does little to nothing to actually help with the operating expenses of local Chapters. I would ask, if you are so inclined, to write a letter to Target to voice your displeasure with their decision to ban Kettle-ringers from their stores, and to once again honor their stated mission of being involved in their local communities. It costs Target nothing to allow this, and the benefits are inestimable.

They are conveniently located in Minnesota. You could probably call their offices tomorrow at (612) 696-3400.

Thanks.

(Filed under Good Works)