United World

A change for the better

2009-06-29T19:59:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

I'd like to announce I am now using wordpress...you can check out my site here if u would like to...

www.betternowthannever.wordpress.com

The question is...

2009-05-26T13:43:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry for the absence...I've been blogging at wordpress for a little while, and now I am trying to decide which is better. Both have their ups and downs. If you have any input on which is better I'd appreciate it.

A special thanks from the Taliban

2009-04-15T19:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Pakistani President Asif Zardari, the widower of Benazir Bhutto, signed into law a "peace agreement" where the Pakistani Taliban would implement Sharia law in the scenic Swat Valley. Sharia, of course, is the type of "justice system" that allows for the flogging of a teenage girls and arranged marriages between old men and 8-year olds.

Anyway, the Taliban have shown their appreciation by refusing to lay down their arms, which was supposed to be their side of the bargain. So here we have it...the Taliban gets to welsh on their deal and the Pakistani government is left with their country backsliding into the grip of homicidal maniacs. The Taliban also had a "thank you" gift to offer...

From BBC:

A suicide car bomber has attacked a security post in north-western Pakistan, killing at least 18 people, nine of them police, police say.

The bomber set off his explosives as he pulled up at a checkpoint in Charsadda, a town near the city of Peshawar.

There has so far been no claim of responsibility for the attack.

But correspondents say Pakistani Taleban militants, allied to al-Qaeda, have carried out numerous such attacks over the past two years.

Sick stuff. I hope that President Obama can show the same determination he showed when confronting the Somali pirates.

A proud moment for all Americans

2009-04-12T16:33:00.001-07:00

Shortly after arriving in Boston this morning I saw the news that Captain Richard Phillips was freed by US Navy SEALS in the Gulf of Aden...3 of his captors were shot dead and the fourth was captured. Hearing this gave me a great rush of patriotism, and I hope that all Americans felt the same way.

Perhaps this event will show the Somali pirates and their brethren in Mogadishu, the Al-Qaeda-allied Al-Shabaab militia, that America is not going to deal with their antics. These pirates picked the wrong crew to mess with, that's for sure, and eventually, it looked like these pirates would have been satisfied if they could have escaped with their lives, never mind the $2 million ransom they were demanded. However, their potential future in pirating met a violent end.

A collage of Somali pirates...time for transport ships like Maersk Alabama to be armed so they can protect themselves.

Navy SEALS in Afghanistan...let's hope that the Taliban scum who flog young girls and blow up mosques got news of what happened off the coast of Somalia.

Anyway, the Maersk Alabama arrived safely in Mombassa, Kenya, with all of its cargo. The ship was delivering aid to suffering Africans, and luckily all of that aid will be able to reach them.

The Iraqi blogosphere + Israel and Palestine debates = Mayhem

2009-04-09T17:17:00.000-07:00

While we have watched Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki and the people of Iraq triumph in the face of terrorism, there is another struggle, maybe even a war, that is taking place, and it is happening in the Iraqi blogosphere.

First, my friends over at Iraqi Bloggers Central have announced they are closing their doors. While this is a bit depressing, I am very happy for them...they have run the blog for 5 successful years. I don't always agree with them--particularly Mr. Ghost, but nonetheless they have all at one time or another done something to help Iraq and its people. Jeffrey, the most frequent poster, has noted there has been a decline in English-language Iraqi blogs...my link list has quite a few of them, I might add. But on the other hand, there is a growing number of inactive Iraqi bloggers, as evident by the growing list on IBC.

Speaking of which, those blogs that have been a good read are experiencing some trouble. Iraqi Mojo has always been one of my favorite Iraqi bloggers with his spot-on analysis of the situation in Iraq and willingness to stand up for what is right. Today though, the blog has been overrun with haters, many of which come Healing Iraq, a run-down, inactive site that was run by Zeyad Kasim, who also had some good thoughts to offer at one point. Anyway, Mojo's blog has been the center of a debate that tends to invoke nothing but hate and anger for 60 years: Israel and Palestine.

A residential neighborhood in Ramallah, the capital of the West Bank. Anyone who knows about the debate knows that this is a frequent battleground between Israelis and Palestinians.

The lines have been drawn over at Mojo's, and commentators who were once friendly with each other are know bashing each other, tossing insults around, and getting worked up over nothing because anti-American supporters of the Iraqi "Resistance" like Arab Advocate and his side-kick, Bruno, the Afrikaner, have figured out how to stir up trouble and get their sick kicks. In the year and a half I have been commenting at Mojo's, I have been able to avoid the discussion...I always feared that because I vehemently stand beside Israel's right to exist and believe that Israel offers light in a region overrun by darkness I would forever be labeled a "Zionist", a "Zionut", or as some haters will say, a "fascist", or a "Nazi", words which I believe are deliberately used to cause hurt the people of the Jewish Homeland, given their historical significance.

However, when Arab Advocate calls for Israel to be "dismantled"--a codeword for "destroyed"--I have no choice but to speak up. In the midst of my defense, I have been accused of supporting "the deportation of Palestinians to Jordan", supporting Avigdor Lieberman and his policies, supporting the West Bank settlers, and worst of all, not caring about the right of Palestinians. This stuff is so out of proportion I don't even know where to begin. For starters, I am strongly opposed to the settlements and their inhabitants who regularly attack both innocent Palestinians and Israelis who try to protect them. I think they, alongside terrorist groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, are one of the biggest obstacles to peace in the region. Not only that, they really aren't any different from each other. Militant Zionists like those mentioned in the above link are just as bad as the Palestinians who fire rockets and mortars into Israel. At the same time, I don't think it makes me "anti-Palestinian" to point out that Jordan, in addition to Israel, snatched up Palestinian land in the first partition. Am I anti-Palestinian when I express my sheer outrage over what Hamas does to its own people? I hope anyone who cares about Palestinians wouldn't think this.

Israel has no doubt done bad things in its 60 years history, while at the same time attempting to offer things that no other country in the region will offer, like free press, democracy, women's rights, and major technological advantages, things that I believe are necessary for any society to truly succeed. Perhaps its difficult for some Americans to focus on the bad things Israel has done because they blindly support Israel for religious reasons--a means to an end, if I may say so. Or maybe its because Israel is surrounded by regimes so evil and repressive, like gender-apartheid Saudi Arabia, Bashir's blood-soaked Sudan, and Big Q's Libya, that it makes the settler violence seem mild in the eyes of the world.

If a fair international forum could exist, Israel would have things to answer for. Unfortunately, its nearly impossible to take the UN "Human Rights" Commission seriously when they give their posts and chairmanships to countries like the 3 mentioned above (Libya, Sudan, Saudi Arabia) and expect the world to take action against Israel. While the Gaza War erupted backed in December, an even worse conflict raged on in the jungles of Sri Lanka...just recently, 60 civilians were blown up by mortar fire but no one cares because this debate does not invoke political passion like Israel and Palestine do. During the the Gaza war, pro-Hamas protests broke out here in San Francisco, believe it or not. I haven't seen any protesters in San Francisco march through the streets waving Tamil Tiger flags and calling for the destruction of the Sri Lankan government, which could meet all the same criteria of being a "racist state" as Israel might. America has provided aid to Sri Lanka and has the Tamil Tigers on their list of terrorist organizations as well.

Recently, on Angry Arab's Comment Section, a blog I often visit, one commentator made a joke about Israeli immigrants moving to India and stealing Indian land, completely oblivious to the fact that India is already being "occupied" by Pakistan and Bangladesh, but I guess maybe its okay for these people because the occupiers are Muslims, instead of Jews. I've seen many of the commentators go after the Hindus of India for being the oppressive ones while falling silent over what Pakistani and Bangladeshi militants have done to India's civilian population. And no, I am not going on an anti-Muslim rant. Any regular reader of this blog would know that I have fiercely defended Pakistan in its fight against terrorism and that its harder to find a bigger defender of the Islamic religion than myself. I just don't think that blatant hypocrisy is fair.

My point in going on about this is that I really wish that people would completely and totally avoid this debate UNLESS they are willing to hear the other side and listen to their concerns. At the beginning of the month, I attended a debate featuring As'ad Abukhalil, the "Angry Arab" and Israeli Consul General Akiva Tor. I was disgusted by the people who claimed to be "Pro-Palestinian"--they were extremely disrespectful to the Consul General by shouting insults and yelling at him when he was trying to speak. Somewhere in the crowd, conscientious supporters of the Palestinian people must have been very embarrassed by what was happening. The event was advertised as though it would be a forum to discuss the issue...it was anything but. While it was very exciting to meet the two speakers, the "forum" managed to attract the worst of American Society.

I have met Palestinians...and I have met Israelis. Sometimes it seems they are more willing to discuss the issues than their supporters in other countries, believe it or not. Unless you are willing to bring your opponent into a cafe, drink coffee, and talk things over, you should avoid talking about anything involving Israel and Palestine for your own well-being and the well-being of others. I've heard that this conflict has wrecked many political careers over its perplexity and inability to be solved...I would say that the debate has wrecked many good and decent friendships over the inability to find any common ground.

Bienvenidos a Tijuana! La parte dos

2009-03-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

I actually just found this out. Just over a week ago, I was at this hospital, apparently, and I was not even aware of what had happened there not so long ago.

This is a video from Hospital General de Tijuana. A little over a year ago, drug cartels stormed the building and controlled it until the Mexican Army arrived.

I know one of these is in my last post, but here are the photos I took. There were a lot of people there, but luckily everything was calm.

Security was extremely tight. The police and security guards on duty were being very careful over who was to be let in. I decided a view from outside was all I needed.

Not even hospitals are safe in Mexico anymore.

Bienvenidos a Tijuana! La parte uno...

2009-03-10T14:01:00.000-07:00

For the past several months, I have been hearing a lot about the situation in Northern Mexico, especially on conservative talk radio and other similar media sources. I have heard border cities like Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez described as "shooting galleries" and I have read a lot about them in the international media. Well I decided I needed to see this for myself, so I bought a plane ticket and flew down to San Diego. From there, I took the trolley into Tijuana. I felt a rush of adrenaline just seeing the city from the trolley window, before I even reached the San Ysidro border crossing. A giant Mexican flag flew beside the Tijuana arch, which I found to be a spectacular sight.

I'm not quite sure of the dimensions of this flag, but it must be very large. As soon as I stepped across the border, I found a large convoy of yellow taxis all waiting to bring the American tourists to the most popular parts of Tijuana. My driver was surprised when I told him what destination I was hoping to reach: the Tijuana police headquarters.

Once the cab got in motion it didn't take long to realize I was truly in a foreign country. The traffic was madness...cars swirling through roundabouts, aging buses blowing out black smoke, and pedestrians walking into oncoming traffic. It was a "every man for himself" mentality on the streets of downtown Tijuana, at least that's the way it seemed to me. Being from a quiet town outside of San Francisco, maybe I don't know what I am talking about.

Upon reaching the police station, I asked the driver if he would accept dollars since I had only converted half of my money to pesos and I wanted to save it. He did, and I was surprised to learn how many stores in Mexico accept dollars. Anyway, the police station was quite an experience. Armed guards with M-16 Assault rifles slung over their shoulders patrolled the perimeter...it was basically a fortress. I chatted with a police captain for several minutes and was disappointed to learn that my contact I had spoken with over the phone had been called away to Mexico City for the weekend. I did have a few minutes to talk with his spokesman though.

Police vehicles are pretty much the same as their counterparts in the US, although they are printed with "Policia" on the side, so you definitely know you are in Mexico.

Tijuana has also introduced a new fleet of police vehicles that are smaller, flashier, and more fuel efficient. There was also a lot of motorbike cops on the streets. I was surprised by the number of female police officers, one of whom was driving a vehicle.

I asked the captain if he would allow me to take a few photos and he said it would be okay. Taking photos of police and military personal is a very sensitive issue, or so I learned, because after the captain went inside, one of the men holding an M-16 decided I had taken enough photos. Considering the firepower he was packing, I was not in a position to argue. I put my camera away and strolled off to Avenida Revolucion, Tijuana's once bustling tourist zone.

Before I left for Tijuana I learned that Avenida Revolucion had been devoid of tourists as of late because of the spiraling drug cartel violence. I noticed that most of the people I was passing by on the streets were Mexicans. Waiters, bartenders, and club owners rushed out on the streets upon seeing me walking down the street, hoping they might be able to get a few dollars from an American visitor for a beer or a cigar. I ended up buying a couple of Mexican lagers and a Cuban cigar. The man in the cigar shop had hoped I would take it a step further by purchasing a poncho and a Sombrero, but I politely declined. I do regret not asking him to take a photo of me wearing it though.

This is a car dealership across the street from my hotel. Used Jetta sedans are being sold for just under 135,000 Pesos, or around 9,000 dollars. It really makes you appreciate the value of the dollar, despite all of the enonomic news, doesn't it?

Further downtown in the financial district of the city, things were calm, save for the occasional sound of a police siren or the honking of a horn. In this photo, the sun is beginning to set, and common sense was telling me to get back to the hotel because many of Tijuana's most horrific crimes take place at night and in the late evening. I ended up hanging out in a Starbucks for a little while though.

Now this I found to be a strange sight...this is a statue of Abraham Lincoln, also just a few blocks away from my hotel. I've heard a lot about how Latin America is "Anti-US" but I didn't see any of that in Tijuana. I proudly wore a "United States Navy" sweatshirt during my walk through the city and I had many people say to me "Yeah! America". Tijuanans were very friendly.

Outside of the financial district, things got a little more gloomy. This is the type of setting I imagine every time I read a horror story on the news about violence in Tijuana or any of the other northern cities. This was probably the one point in the trip where I feared a shoot-out could suddenly erupt. This picture was taken from a pedestrian overpass above a busy road.

I crossed over the pedestrian bridge and could see one of Tijuana's main hospitals off in the distance. After crossing a drainage canal I got a good view of the hospital, and found that it was very busy.

Once again, here are some more indications you are clearly not in the US when you are in a border city like Tijuana. The Km/hr sign reminded me of Europe. This was taken as I stepped down from the pedestrian bridge.

Tijuana is growing rapidly despite the troubles it is facing. I read somewhere that the city's population is approaching 2 million!

As I began to walk back to the hotel, I passed a government office...I believe it was for a state prosecutor. Granted that this is the type of peron at the center of the drugs war, I was not surprised to see two armored Humvees sitting outside with masked soldiers behind 50 Caliber machine guns. I reached for my camera, anxiously hoping to get a photo. In my best Spanish, I politely approached them.

Hola, yo soy estudiante del periodismo en Estados Unidos. Un Foto?
(Hello, I am a journalism student in the United States. May I take your photo?)

They politely replied:

Arrepentido, eso no es permitido. (sorry, we are not allowed to do so)

and I said:

Permanezca seguro, amigos (stay safe friends)

I would've been quite a sight to get a picture of, but just as I felt with the police, I was not in a position to push it when my subjects have machine guns. I also learned that soldiers and police wear black or brown face masks to conceal their identities, and photos are a concern because the drug cartels could use them to find the families of soldiers and police...something that has been happening all to often along our troubled border with Mexico.

I will have more photos to post soon, along with the conclusion of my trip...standby until then.

Knock-knock

2009-03-03T22:03:00.000-08:00

As I recall, the media was quite anxious to talk about the "civil war" in Iraq back in 2005-2007, and the power of the insurgency. What I'm wondering now, is where are they to reveal the truth about the insurgency waging a gruesome battle on the border between the US and Mexico? Mexico is already in a state of war fighting drug cartels that have brought Al-Qaeda style violence to the people trying to go about their lives in its northern cities.

Beheadings, kidnappings, and assassinations are all common place in Northern Mexico today.

Reporting from Mexico City -- The Mexican government will deploy 1,000 more federal police officers as part of a wider effort to restore order in Ciudad Juarez, the nation's most violent city, officials said Monday.

Some of those uniformed federal officers began arriving in the border city Monday, two days after about 2,000 soldiers landed there in a related military buildup. Those soldiers were the first of an expected 5,000 additional troops who will be sent to help perform basic police functions.

The military reinforcements will bring to more than 7,000 the number of soldiers in Ciudad Juarez.

The nation's public safety chief, Genaro Garcia Luna, said that along with the soldiers, he planned to dispatch the additional 1,000 federal police officers, Notimex news agency reported.

About 425 federal officers already had been posted in Ciudad Juarez, where the death toll last year exceeded 1,600, the highest in a country racked by drug-related violence.

The border city is in the throes of a vicious turf war between a local drug-smuggling organization and rivals from the northwestern state of Sinaloa. The feud, and the Mexican government's 2-year-old crackdown on organized crime, has sent killings soaring.

The city's police chief, Roberto Orduna Cruz, resigned almost two weeks ago after several of his officers were shot to death and anonymous signs appeared warning that an officer would be killed every 48 hours unless he stepped down.

Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz, who has also been the subject of anonymous handwritten threats, said last week that the army would take over basic policing duties, such as patrolling the streets.

More of this story can be read in the Los Angeles Times here

Side-note: I have filed this post under "War on Terrorism" because the subhuman monsters terrorizing the citizens of Ciudad Juarez are terrorists just as much as Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi and other knife-wielding lunatics who bastardize the Koran.

25 things to say

2009-02-20T10:29:00.000-08:00

Some friends on Facebook and on the blogosphere have been encouraging me to take part in the "25 things to write about yourself" tag. I decided, why not take a break from politics and world events and do this?

Okay...here I go!

1) I never like to stay in the same place for an extended period of time, such as a city, state, or country, I am always determined to travel :)

2) I played sports for the first ten years of my life before I realized I didn't enjoy playing them.

3) LOST is my favorite TV show

4) John Locke is my favorite character in LOST...his faith and determination inspires me in life.

5) I am trying to learn both Arabic and Spanish at the same time, and I am thankful that I have friends who speak both languages so I can practice with them.

6) I voted for John McCain...it was my first presidential election to vote in.

7) Religion is complex for me..I consider myself a Christian, I would say, but I strongly embrace all faiths and I am always eager to learn more about the world's many great religions.

8) I have been to Friday prayers at a San Francisco mosque twice now

9) Sometimes, I have a tendency to be oversensitive and I overreact to the simplest of all things

10) Spending more than two weeks without going into downtown San Francisco could very well drive me crazy, since I really enjoy the atmosphere

11) When I go to SF, I visit Pier 39 often, even though it is an extreme tourist attraction and there's not much there for a native Californian.

12) I have lived in California for almost 4 years and I still have not gone over the Golden Gate Bridge! Although, I have crossed the Bay Bridge, which is almost the same size, dozens of times.

13) Last December, I stayed at a hotel on the California-Nevada border in Lake Tahoe and I ran back and forth across the border just for fun. I went about 50 yards each way. Of course, I went to dinner later on and got to spend plenty of time in the great state of Nevada.

14) My favorite singer is Bob Marley and I know many of his lyrics by heart

15) One time, I held a conversation in Farsi with an Iranian at Tehran University. It lasted for about a minute before my counterpart was able to put me through to an English language line. I had to use an online phrase list to help me through it ;)

16) I have visited both coasts of Ireland and spent a week and a half on each one

17) Even though I am non-Muslim, I have a framed picture of the holy city of Medina because I think it is a beautiful sight to look at. I also have a framed picture of Istanbul's blue mosque.

18) I am probably one of the last people my age to start using facebook and myspace.

19) I am not quite sure what my favorite country is outside of the USA...I suppose I might just have to say ALL of them!

20) I am watching 3 White Cloud mountain minnows swimming in a mini fish tank on my desk as I write this.

21) Many people tell me that I need to develop self-confidence

22) One day, I imagine myself traveling the world and having a very exciting career as a global correspondent. I will travel to Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa, and countless other amazing people that few Americans will get to see :)

23) I am extremely thankful to blogger because it has helped me meet some of the nicest friends there are.

24) Math was my most difficult subject in school...come to think of it, it was really a miracle that I was able to get enough credits in math!!

25) I keep having this strange feeling that President Barack Obama is going to make a very good decision that will make me vote for him in the next election...hmmm, we'll see how that goes :D

So...how did that go?

Paradise lost...

2009-02-16T21:13:00.000-08:00

After a lengthy battle, Pakistan has agreed to allow the Taliban to introduce Sharia law, a deranged way of life backward enough to inflict punishment on rape victims, as my most last post pointed out. By all means, Pakistan is surrendering to the Taliban.

If the Pakistani Army does pull out and the Taliban moves into the once-beautiful Swat Valley, that leaves us with few options, except for maybe...

Air power of course...certainly no one deserves a missile up their ass more than a bearded scumbag who storms into a girls school with an AK-47 and burns it down, blows it up, or in some cases, throws acid on the innocent students. How sad is it to think of the young girls in Pakistan who, thanks to the Pakistani government, might lose the battle for their education.

President Obama needs to put forth a troop surge strategy in Afghanistan, but it will have to be more complex than that. Recent polls are suggesting that the people of Afghanistan are losing their trust of the United States and our NATO allies. For every girls' school the Taliban burns down in the tribal areas of Pakistan, the elected-government of Afghanistan, along with its western allies, should build 50 new ones on the Afghan-side of the border. Having their leaders picked off by CIA predator drones may be damaging to the Taliban, but the only way they will ever be finished off is if both Afghans and Pakistanis succeed in building successful democracies.

I have always defended Pakistan...there is little doubt that they have suffered far more than any other country in the region from terrorism, especially India and Afghanistan. But surrendering Swat Valley could be a mistake of historical proportions.

The glory of democracy

2009-02-11T12:39:00.001-08:00

Now to some news that is exciting and indeed a good development for the future of democracy. After the successful, landmark elections that took place in Iraq at the end of last month, Israel held a successful election on Tuesday. At the moment, it appears that Israelis are torn between two very respectable candidates--Tzipi Livni and Benjamin Netanyahu. If Livni is named Prime Minister, she will become Israel's second female PM after Golda Meir. Hmmm...I wonder when Hamas-occupied Gaza will be electing a female leader.

Regardless of how one might feel about Israel and what has been happening in Gaza lately, its hard to dispute that Israeli citizens have more rights and freedoms than most countries in the region. I find it revolting whenever I hear that Israel needs to be "dismantled"--often a codeword by the Israel haters that they really seek to see Israel destroyed, as if a Hamas-ruled Palestine is going to give the Palestinians the freedoms they desire. Even worse are the frequent verbal assaults on Israel involving Nazi and fascist comparisons to the Israeli Defense Forces and the Israeli government.

Israel and Iraq deal a devastating blow to tyranny and terrorism every time an election is held. You can bet that the monarchs in Saudi Arabia or the mullahs in Iran cringe every time an Iraqi or an Israel-Arab casts a ballot and takes a step to decide on his or her future. Syria's Assad and Libya's Muammar Gadaffi probably feel similar. Yet this does not stop Saudi Arabia from feeling fit to criticize Israel, even as they lash rape victims , chop off heads for the most simple of all reason, and look the other way as terrorists who go on to kill innocent Arabs and Muslims are exported over their border.

Fedayeen Assault

2009-02-11T12:26:00.000-08:00

I don't want to post back-to-back depressing news stories, but I thought this was very important to mention.

Afghan police in Kabul, outside the scene of the attack

The Taliban attacked government offices in Kabul, the Afghan capital, on Wednesday using coordinated "Fedayeen" assaults, the same tactic that was used during the Mumbai attacks last November, in which some 170 people were killed by a mere 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists wielding AK-47 and a small amount of explosives. Apparently, the attackers in Kabul engaged the Afghan police in a 3-hour gun battle after taking control of a government office. Its small compared to what happened in Mumbai, but its frightening nonetheless.

I find this particularly disturbing, especially considering that we have Obama in the White House now. I've been hearing from many of my friends that Obama is going to be tough on terrorism but I just can't get rid of the doubts I have.

Where it all began

2009-02-09T21:36:00.000-08:00

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam--one of the world's most fearsome and aggressive (non-Muslim as well) terrorist organizations--proved its ability to continue its campaign of violence when a female suicide bomber blew herself up among Sri Lankan soldiers who were escorting civilians out of the war-ravaged north on Monday. The media has had a fascination with female suicide attackers in Iraq, but has put almost no emphasis on where the phenomenon originated: Sri Lanka.

Contrary to what may be a popular belief, the use of women as suicide bombers did not begin after the US invaded Iraq or during a stage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It originated in the dark jungles of a remote island in the Indian Ocean, and it continues to this day. The Sri Lankan military has made many strategic gains against LTTE rebels in the island's civil war, but unfortunately, this type of violence may never go away.

Sri Lanka bomber 'kills dozens'

From BBC:

A female Tamil Tiger rebel has blown herself up, killing 28 people and injuring dozens more in the north-east, the Sri Lankan military says.

A military spokesman told the BBC the woman blew herself up as she travelled with civilians fleeing fighting.

He said 20 of those killed in the attack in the Vishwamadu area of Mullaitivu district were soldiers. The rebels have made no comment yet.

Thousands of civilians have fled the fighting over the past few days.

Military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara told the BBC: "[The civilians] were coming to an area where there were security forces. A woman in that group blew herself up when she was being checked by female soldiers."

Brig Nanayakkara said 20 soldiers, including three women, were killed along with eight civilians. About 50 troops and 40 civilians, mostly women and children, were hurt, he said.

The injured, Brig Nanayakkara said, were being evacuated to hospitals in the area.

State television showed footage of the bodies of civilians lying on bloodstained ground in Vishwamadu.

The United Nations said it deplored the attack. Resident coordinator Neil Buhne said: "It's a blow for people who have suffered so much."

The rest of the story can be read here

Oil and gasoline nonsense

2009-02-07T12:31:00.000-08:00

The other day I spoke to my grandfather about the current economic situation. He is very angry about the price of gas, as well as oil, mostly because it makes absolutely no sense at all. He explained to me that on CNBC, he couldn't help but notice the market watch in the corner, where oil was DOWN and gasoline was UP.

This is Arco, which pretty much has the cheapest gas in the Bay Area.

Chevron has always felt the need to be a few cents higher.

What exactly is going on here? Again, it doesn't make much sense. My grandpa likes to blame the oil companies, while I prefer to direct blame at the oil-producing countries who believe that $100 per barrel is a fair price (never mind that they were still building gold-placated palaces all across the Middle East when it was only $25 in 2003). Either way, I think both take the blame.

With the economic downturn and lack of profit, maybe the oil companies have decided to just start raising prices again to see how long they can do it until consumers start complaining again. If anyone else has a theory as to why gas is going up, I would really like to hear it.

This isn't just a local or a national issue. I remember last month when Russia threatened to shut off gas supplies to the Ukraine. Russia accused Ukraine of falling behind in payments, but I think that Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev wanted to generate a crisis to boost the price of gas and provide some relief to Russia's faltering economy.

But that's that. Gas at $2.09 a gallon is a hell of a lot cheaper than what we were paying over the Summer. As of two weeks ago, gasoline at Arco was the cheapest I had ever seen it since moving to California from Boston. Notice all of this bad economic news is not stopping people from going out and enjoying their lives...one of the local cafes and the Subway was packed with customers all anxious to enjoy the beautiful weather after a couple days of rain.

Yes, I realize that this is turning into more of a multi-pronged ramble instead of a post, but I thought I should show this picture. There's been a lot of panic that California is undergoing a drought, but the recent rain is really beginning to green-up the hills. The view of the mountain is quite breathtaking, isn't it?

Mission Accomplished

2009-01-31T21:16:00.000-08:00

Today was another defining moment for the people of Iraq. Last night, I spoke with several of my friends who live in the country and I was nearly moved to tears as they talked about getting ready to vote. I think it is safe to say that Iraq is ready to be the beacon of hope for freedom and democracy in the Middle East.

Those who wanted Iraq to fail have only failed themselves. Al-Qaeda's roots have been smashed thanks to the courage of the Iraqi people, the Lions of the Iraqi Army, and of course the Surge Strategy implemented by a true American hero, General David Petraeus. As for Saddam and the Baathists, they are nothing but a closed chapter in a dark history.

Iraqi heroes patrol the Tigris River

Usually, when I think about the people who looked down on Iraqis, I think of terrorist scumbags who suicide bombed mosques or Militiamen who trained in the art of torture from a compound outside of Tehran. But we cannot forget people like Harry Reid and the other democrats...I don't want to dwell too much on that. Our country is focused on another crisis, and the last thing we need is more division, but I will stand by this statement: Harry Reid should have stepped down a long time ago after his reprehensible statements.

I am very proud of my president, Barack Obama, for commending the Iraqi people and praising the success of today's elections, which passed free of violence and proved to the world that Iraq, its people, and its freedom are truly a force to be reckoned with. I must say that I am even prouder of the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri Kamal Al-Maliki, who has strong that he is a strong and gracious leader.

The Iraqi people have stood up for their security

But I am most proud of my former president, George W. Bush. I suppose if I ran into him tomorrow, this is what I would say to him:

Mr. President, now that you have stepped aside and are enjoying a calm, quiet life in the Dallas suburbs, remember that you are a real hero. You stood by Iraq's side in its time of need...you outsmarted those who wanted Iraq to fail, from the congressmen who verbally ravaged you day in and day out to the terrorists who arose from the sands of North Africa and Saudi Arabia to inflict terror and fear on the Iraqi people.

The democrats won the election. They got the White House and they consolidated their power in Congress. For now, they have even won the trust of the American people. But each morning, when you and your wife get ready to have coffee, just think of the millions of Iraqi families who are going to live in peace, and the future generations who are going to lead Iraq and the Middle East to greatness. The Democrats never got their new direction. You looked them in the eye and exposed them for the frauds they were when they threatened to cut funding or tie in a "troop withdrawal" to one of their so-called "blank checks" they were handing you.

History will judge you very differently, sir. You will be remembered with heroes of the Middle East like T.E. Lawrence and Benazir Bhutto, except your accomplishments are even greater.

Hhhhh...maybe I need to do some work with it, lol. But that is pretty much what I would say if I met the former president. Anyway, even as the Bush hatred remains solid in this country, there are plenty of images that will show just the opposite.

A bustling Baghdad comes to mind. As George and Laura go about their golden years, I hope that they will find the time to visit it. I've heard reassurances from some of my Iraqi friends that they will be warmly welcomed one day, and I trust this will be true.

Bush did a great thing for Iraq, for the world, and for humanity. It disgusts me when I hear about Republicans who urged the president to give up during the bloodshed that peaked in 2006-07, when Iran, Syria, Al-Qaeda, and the Baathists were hard at work trying to destroy the country. While they all had different goals, the above mentioned thugs seemed to agree that a democratic Iraq was a threat to their despotic way of life.

Another question comes to mind...is Iraq even still a "war"? Obviously, the Iraqi people will always be at war with so-called Islamists who wish to destroy their way of life, but perhaps the media can look at stories coming out of Iraq as something other than "war news".

The struggle is far from over...Iraq is going to serve as a role model for the Middle East, and we will have to wait and see what happens. Iraq's future is just beginning.

A new bastion for anti-semitism

2009-01-31T21:10:00.000-08:00

South America has seen Nazi-like regimes come in place before, and it looks like Hugo Chavez's recent diplomatic moves against Israel are stirring the flames of anti-semitism.

Synagogue attacked in Venezuela

An armed gang has ransacked a Jewish synagogue in the Venezuelan capital Caracas after occupying the building for several hours.

About 15 unidentified men broke into the building before daubing graffiti on the walls and desecrating scriptures.

They also called for Jewish people to be expelled from the country.

Jewish leaders say tensions have risen since Venezuela broke diplomatic relations with Israel this month over its recent military offensive in Gaza.

Elias Farache, president of Venezuela's Jewish Association, said the gang had tied and gagged security guards before destroying offices and the place where holy books were kept.

Anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli slogans were painted on the walls.

"Never in the history of Venezuela's Jewish community have we been the target of such an aggression," said Mr Farache.

"The climate is very tense. We feel threatened, intimidated, attacked."

'Moral force'

Venezuela and Israel have had strained relations for some time, and Caracas has been fiercely critical of Israel's military operations in Gaza, which started in late December.

The Venezuelan ambassador and his staff were ordered to leave the country on 6 January, and President Hugo Chavez has urged Israelis to stand up against their government.

Israel responded by ordering Venezuelan diplomats to leave, declaring them "persona non grata in Israel" earlier this week.

Good economic news!

2009-01-29T15:41:00.001-08:00

I know, I have never been too much into posting or reporting on the economy, its never been my strength...but I really would like people to read this story because it is important. There is plenty of good news out there.

I really wish that more news like this would be reported. I have always believed that half of the fear people are feeling over the economic crisis is media-driven.

Amazon profits from festive sales

Profit at online retailer Amazon rose 9% in the final three months of last year, as the company enjoyed a robust holiday shopping season.

It said net profit totalled $225m in the fourth quarter, up from $207m a year ago.

Unlike many retailers, Amazon has not yet been hit hard by the cutback in spending by many consumers.

Amazon said it would continue to offer low prices and free shipping deals to lure budget-conscious shoppers.

Revenue increased 18% to $6.7bn, beating analysts estimates and Amazon it expected sales to rise in the first three months of 2009.

It looks like they took a lot of market share and made substantial gains," said Jeffrey Lindsay of Sanford C Bernstein.

"The good thing is that Amazon hasn't had to discount to the extent that people feared to achieve this."

Chief executive Jeff Bezos said Kindle, the electronic-reading device it introduced in 2007 to encourage book, magazine and newspaper downloads, had boosted sales.

Once a bookseller, Amazon now sells products in more than three dozen categories ranging from hairdryers to jewellery.

In the UK, it launched a music download site last year.

Welcome to the job, Mr. President

2009-01-20T21:24:00.000-08:00

Now don't forget your most important responsibilities.

President Obama has an obligation to keep up the effort in Afghanistan and make sure the gains we have tried so hard for in Iraq do not crumble. If only our President could hear from one of Iraq's potential leaders. He would learn some things he probably isn't hearing much about from his democratic colleagues in Congress.

A few months back I had the honor of interviewing Hayder Al-Khoei, also known as Eye Raki on his blog. Hayder opened up about his recent trip to Iraq, and revealed the progress that is being made. I originally published this story in a local newspaper.

UK College Student Travels to Iraq, reveals the progress being made

Published December 3rd, 2008

Hayder Al-Khoei is an Iraqi-born college student living in London, England, and studying political science. Recently, he interviewed with the Experience about his recent trip to the Middle East, where he spent several weeks in Iraq. Traveling between Baghdad and southern Iraq on his own, he was able to get a good picture of the progress achieved by the Iraqi Army and the newfound sense of security among Iraqis—as well as lingering concerns the country is feeling about the future.
Hayder is the 21-year old son of Sayyid Abdul Majid Al-Khoei, an influential Shiite cleric who was assassinated in Najaf in 2003 while trying to serve the will of his people. When he was very young, Hayder left his homeland of Iraq with his family after the 1991 Uprising, and he has spent most of his life living in the UK. He hopes to return to the Middle East permanently in the future, after finishing post-graduate studies in London. I was fortunate enough to learn about his most recent trip to Iraq, where he traveled to Baghdad after a two weeks stay in Iran. His trip later concluded in Amman, Jordan.
"The relaxed atmosphere I saw was very different" he said. "I was in Iraq earlier this year too, but this time I could tell a lot had changed. In many parts of Baghdad, people stay out late at night to drink tea and smoke nergila. That doesn't sound so strange to the average American, but in Iraq, when you can see families out at night enjoying themselves it says a lot about the current security situation".
The biggest differences Hayder noticed were the little things, such as taking a taxi from Baghdad International Airport to the Shiite holy city of Najaf at night, something that was considered dangerous as little as six months ago. Lack of electricity and militiamen roaming the streets could make a deadly combination. But this time, the taxi driver said the 3 hour trip down south would be no problem.
But still, not everything is perfect. Hayder noted that Iraq's electricity production levels still present a huge difficulty, and will need a lot of work to truly meet the needs of the Iraqi people. "Electricity is still a big problem. Having no electricity is not only an unbearable inconvenience in the heat but it means roads can be extremely dangerous to travel through at night," he said.
Iraq's future also faces a growing threat from the Sahwa—Arabic for "Awakening". They are Sunni tribal councils that have been critical in routing Al-Qaeda from Anbar province and other areas of the country. Some fear the Maliki government could try to disarm the Sahwa, reigniting sectarian tensions that extremists tried so hard to set off. Hayder believes that the Sahwa's threats of rebellion should be taken seriously. If the government fails to integrate most of its 100,000 strong militia into the Iraqi Security Forces, it could jeopardize the many security gains Iraq has achieved. Recently, Maliki's government agreed to take the reins from the US military and pay the Sunni Arab tribesman themselves.
At the same time, great progress has been achieved. The government of Nouri Al-Maliki, Iraq's prime minister, attained a defining moment this year when the Iraqi Army faced off with the Jaish Al-Mahdi, or 'JAM', the militia loyal to Muqtada Al-Sadr that fought two uprisings since 2004 and has been a thorn in the side of coalition forces who have been trying to stabilize the region. Despite an image portrayed by the many critics of the war and the media of incompetence on the part of the Iraqi Army, the facts on the ground appear to tell a different story. Maliki's actions helped to shed his title of a "sectarian" leader. Maliki is a Shiite, and he had often been accused of coddling the Shia militias who maintained control of entire swathes of Baghdad. After multiple crackdowns against Al-Qaeda and other Sunni extremist groups in the north, the Iraqi government finally brought the fight to the Shia extremists, many of whom are suspected of mass kidnappings, executions and brutal torture methods involving drills and other weapons.
"The Sadrists were begging for the cease-fire," said Hayder, who spent most of his four week Iraq visit in the southern part of the country. "They really didn't have a choice. They could either continue the fighting and be humiliated by the Iraqi Army, or beg for a cease-fire in order to save face. For a few years, JAM could play ball with the Iraqi Army, but after the three separate successful crackdowns by the Iraqi Army, JAM were reduced to nothing, and were eventually disbanded by al-Sadr, who retained only a few 'special groups' to tackle the coalition forces in Iraq"
According to Hayder's account, Iraqi police commandos maintain a strong presence in the southern Iraqi cities, including Kufa, scene of some fierce fighting earlier this year when JAM and the Iraqi Army faced off. In the end, the once-feared cleric who led two uprisings against US forces may not be the fiery strongman he has always been seen as.
When it comes to the question of the source of Iraq's violence, Hayder does not point to the fact that Iraq is being run by a Shia government—a majority that was once repressed by a favored Sunni majority—for the reason behind the continuing attacks against Iraqis. While the attacks have abated to levels once though improbable, they still persist in some parts of the country, most notably the city of Mosul and the central Diyala Province. American intelligence reports indicate that suicide bombers make their way in from the Gulf States such as Saudi Arabia and unleash their destruction via Syria. Iran has long been accused of funneling arms to support Shiite militias in the south.
"For some of the neighboring countries this isn't about a Shia-led, or a Shia- Kurdish government, there is much more at stake" he said. "The word democracy sends a shiver down the spines of the leaders of those countries. If there was real democracy…many would not be in power today."
Hayder offered his thoughts on the controversial security pact, known as the SOFA, being negotiated between Iraq and the United States. The pact's continuing difficulties have led to speculation that Iraq's newfound ties with Iran could be having a hand in the country's calls for US troops to leave in the coming months. This has become a favorite talking point of the Bush Administration's critics. While he does not rule anything out, Hayder's view on what's happening is that Iraq is trying to assert itself as a sovereign, independent nation. "It's sort of a catch 22 for the Americans because they worked so hard to bring the Iraqi Army up to a good standard...and now, because of all the time, money and effort the US spent on training the Iraqi army, the Iraqi government can tell the US 'thanks but no thanks'. So then really, this is Iraq standing on its own two feet and asserting itself," he stated in his analysis.
The way Hayder sees it; the realities on the ground that suggest a dramatic turn of events in Iraq cannot truly be successful if the success is not recognized.
"There are a lot of people in the US, especially the Democrats, who downplay any success in Iraq simply because they are at odds with the Bush administration, they want to portray Iraq as a failure because they see Bush as a failure" said Hayder, who believes that there should be no correlation between politics and doing what is morally right by helping the Iraqi people. "You can hate Bush if you want, but just admit that what he did in Iraq turned out for the better. Better for Iraq, better for America and better for the world"

Imagine this...

2009-01-17T11:17:00.000-08:00

Every time I hear Robert Mugabe, the sociopathic, megalomaniac dictator ruling Zimbabwe, referred to as a "Revolutionary", I feel a sickness in my stomach, the same sickness I feel when I see someone wearing a Che Guivera t-shirt. I would like to obtain one of these bills from the link below to use as physical proof of the destruction that Robert has brought to the people of his country.

Zimbabwe is on the brink of collapse...as if a brutal dictatorship and Cholera outbreak aren't enough, daily life in the country has reached the point where it requires a bill of this size just to buy basic necessities like bread.

From BBC:

Zimbabwe is introducing a Z$100 trillion note, currently worth about US$30 (£20), state media reports.

Other notes in trillion-dollar denominations of 10, 20 and 50 are also being released to help Zimbabweans cope with hyperinflation.

However, the dollarisation of the economy means that few products are available in the local currency.

On Thursday, the opposition leader said he was still committed to power-sharing intended to rescue the failing economy.

Since September, when the deal was signed, talks have stalled over who should control key ministries.

Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai said he was due to hold talks with President Robert Mugabe "within this coming week" to try to resolve the political crisis.

He described Mr Mugabe as "part of the problem but also part of the solution".

The latest annual figure for inflation, estimated in July last year, was 231m% - the world's highest.

Not exactly in the mood for "change"

2009-01-13T11:27:00.000-08:00

It looks as if Barack Obama will need to come to terms with the fact that the Khomeinists in Tehran may not be as willing to chat it up with him as he has thought. In these photos, hardline supporters of Khamenei and Hamas burn Obama's photo and drive a car over it, just as they have done with Bush these last 8 years.

But here is where it gets interesting, and this shows how divided Iran really is. Instead of putting his trust in Khamenei, he should reach out to Iranians like these brave citizens:

The Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip has sparked a predictable wave of protest throughout the Muslim world. (Somebody please call us the day a similar protest is held against al Qaeda's mass murder of Muslims in Iraq or Pakistan.) But theirs aren't the only voices making themselves heard on the subject of Gaza...

...an Iranian student group is pointing the finger at its own government. "Those who have armed and encouraged groups like Hamas . . . have innocent blood on their hands," read a communiqué published December 30 in an Iranian newspaper and translated by the invaluable Middle East Media Research Institute. "Israel's current crimes in Gaza are strongly to be condemned -- but it is equally [important] to condemn the terror organizations that use kindergartens and hospitals as a shield against [Israeli] attacks."

The Iranian government shut down the newspaper that published these remarks the next day. We can only hope for the safety of the authors. They have shown a great deal more clarity, and courage, than the protestors on the other side.

The bulk of this very insightful article can be read here, in the Wall Street Journal.

A lot more going on than one might think, isn't there?

Conscious ignorance

2009-01-11T20:31:00.000-08:00

Many despotic and theocratic regimes in the Middle East will deflect attention away from the brutal treatment of their people by blaming all the problems on Israel. All the while, the crimes of the anti-Israel crowd, including Hamas and the other thuggish rulers, remain ignored.

Have a look at this horrific video, taken back in 2007 shortly after Hamas ousted the Palestinian Authority from the Gaza Strip in a bloody coup. Watch, and you will see Palestinians singing a song at a wedding ceremony. Moments later, armed Hamas policemen storm in, guns blazing, on the backs of pickup trucks. Gunfire goes of, innocent people are savagely beaten, and the ceremony is broken apart as police vehicles drive over tables and chairs.

Where were the angry protests taking place across the world for this? Obviously, there are none. Anyone who thinks that these people--Hamas--actually care about the welfare of Palestinians, are blissfully ignorant. If the Gaza offensive is stopped, and everything goes back to status quo, is this brutal treatment of innocent people to be excepted? Are lost Palestinian lives only a tragedy if they are killed by an Israeli bomb as opposed to a gang of bearded lunatics wielding guns and screaming "Allah Akbar" as they attack the people they want to "liberate"?

Another stunning example:

Yemen is a country filled with weapons...more guns than people in fact. It ranks as one of the poorest nations in the world, and its people are struggling for food. The government is largely corrupt, and the threat of extremism is never far. Have a look at this laughable accusation by the Yemeni authorities. This is just plain ignorance...Al-Qaeda inspired Salafists are targeting innocent Muslims in mosques, police patrols, schools, and even foreign embassies, and the blame immediately shifts to the Jews. Unless the people of Yemen (and many, many other countries) except that their so-called "Arab brothers" are responsible for many of the problems they face, the country is going to continue meandering down a path of poverty, violence, and starvation.

SANAA (AFP) — A Yemeni court began on Saturday the trial of three Islamists accused of establishing contact with Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and offering to collaborate with the Jewish state.

The three men are accused of operating under the name of Yemen's barely-known Organisation of Islamic Jihad and spreading false news of attacks on government buildings, embassies and foreign interests in Yemen between May and September 2008.

The prosecution charged the main defendant, Bassam al-Haidari, 26, of writing directly to the prime minister of Israel by email, offering to work for the Jewish state.

"We are the Organisation of Islamic Jihad and you are Jews, but you are honest, and we are ready to do anything," Haidari said in the email sent to Olmert, the prosecution charged.

The list of charges say that Olmert responded to Haidari, also known as Abu al-Ghaith, welcoming his offer to collaborate.

"We are ready to support you to become an obstacle in the Middle East. We will support you as an agent," Olmert was quoted as writing back.

The group, which includes Imad al-Rimi, 23, and Ali al-Mahfal, 24, has also claimed in Internet messages signed by Abu al-Gaith that it prepared 16 car bombs to attack governmental buildings and embassies, according to the charges.

The three defendants denied all the charges and demanded a lawyer. The court agreed to their demand and adjourned the hearing to January 17.

Yemeni authorities rounded up six suspects in Sanaa shortly after a September 17 attack on the US embassy that killed 18 people.

The interior ministry said at the time that the arrested group included Abu al-Ghaith al-Yamani, who was the signatory of an Islamic Jihad claim of responsibility for the attack on the US mission.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh later that an Islamist "terrorist cell" with links to Israeli intelligence had been dismantled.

Hmmm...I think that President Saleh should be more concerned about his neighbor to the north, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where a deranged and incorrect interpretation of Islam is exported through fiery, angry clerics eager to march off young Arab men and women to their deaths as "martyrs".

I want to make perfectly clear that I am posting this story because of my concern for the Arab people, not to be pro-Israel. Anyone who reads my work knows I am a strong supporter of both Arabs and Israel, and that terror groups like Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and Hamas are the bane of my existence. The Arab people are never going to be able to unify if such blatant hatred continues to run through even the highest of government officials and others who would otherwise be respected.

Turkish Hypocrisy:

One final point I feel compelled to make is the hypocrisy of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan. He has been a fierce critic of Israel's operation in Gaza, even though his own country is engaged in a war for its security. Last year, Turkey felt the need to send soldiers across the border into Iraq to protect its citizens from a Kurdish separatist group known as the PKK, which desires an ethnic homeland for Kurds in Turkey and elsewhere. Exactly, how is this different from Israel's decision to move against Hamas?

Basically, Erdogan wants to believe that Turkey can do whatever it wants to protect its citizens, even if it means destabilizing a peaceful region like Iraqi Kurdistan. The Turks will point to bombings and other terror attacks by the PKK in order to justify the operation...its almost a mirror image of Israel's operation in Gaza. However, when Turkish tanks rolled over the border into Iraq I don't recall any masked protesters in San Francisco waving PKK flags and calling for Turkey to be "radiated", as some haters have gone so far to say about Israel.

International law expert pwns Al-Jazeera Anchor

2009-01-07T11:58:00.000-08:00

This guy seems to have it right.

Stuck on stupid

2009-01-04T14:23:00.000-08:00

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, invited Iraq's Prime Minister into his bubble of ignorance today, holding a strongly-worded meeting on the Security Pact known as SOFA and warning Maliki about what he sees as the "treacherous" United States. Khamenei made his usual statements about the US being responsible for everything that is happening in Iraq, and blaming the continuation of violence on US troops that are still operating inside of the country.

Meanwhile, as Khamenei blasted the US, a suicide bomber attacked Iranian pilgrims who had gathered near a shrine in Baghdad, killing dozens of them. The idiot bomber no doubt harbored the same anti-Shia/Persian sentiment expressed by those who have kidnapped and killed Iranian police and bombed military buses INSIDE of Iran's borders. It was the "treacherous" US who joined side by side with Iraq's exiled Shia community (also with Iran's blessing) to overthrow Saddam Hussein. Let's not forget that it was also the "treacherous" US that routed the Taliban, Iran's other nemesis, from Afghanistan...the same Taliban that kidnapped 9 Iranian diplomats back in the 90's, crammed them into a box, and executed them in a hail of gunfire. Things were certainly going great for Iran before the "treacherous" US barged into the region, weren't they?

Iranians inspect the damage after Sunni insurgents, likely based in Pakistan, bombed a bus transporting a Revolutionary Guard Unit.

I'd like to note that I believe the anti-Shiite sentiment that is taking place around the world today is akin to a new form of anti-Semitism. I've heard Baathist sympathizers, right-wing conservatives, and the the so-called "antiwar" movment all express the same anger towards Iran, as well as Iraq's majority Shiite population that played a critical role in overthrowing Saddam Hussein and now maintains a majority in the democratically-elected government. The Shiite Islamic Republic has no doubt been a destabilizing force in Iraq and elsewhere these last few years, but if Khamenei had a brain, he would realize that his country and the United States share many common interests and working together to accomplish them might not be such a bad idea.

What's happening in the Middle East right now is mind boggling, so much so that its difficult for a single mind to try and make sense of it all. Its sort of like trying to figure out how the Universe came to be and what lies beyond it...its enough to drive someone mad.

As if the above story isn't enough, have a look at this post from my good friend Iraqi Mojo about the situation in Gaza and the hypocrisy among the "resistance".

A song that changed the world

2008-12-31T22:32:00.000-08:00

Bob Marley's friend and songwriter, Vincent Ford, died today in Jamaica...he is the writer of what might be one of the greatest songs ever written: No Woman no Cry, a Reggae classic. May he rest in peace.

To welcome in the new year, I have posted a live performance by Bob Marley singing the song at a concert. It is amazing...Marley died almost 28 years ago, and yet his music only seems to grow in popularity.

"In this great future, you can't forget your past, so dry your tears, I say"

Hamas does not care about Palestinians

2008-12-28T12:16:00.000-08:00

I'm sure that many (although not all) of my Arab friends are likely to disagree with my analysis on the fighting that is raging in the Gaza strip right now, but I need to express what I believe is the truth: Hamas, the terrorist group that has hijacked the religion of Islam to use it as a shield to justify its actions, does not care about what is happening to thousands of Palestinians right now. I honestly believe that Hamas' leaders would sooner sit back and watch every Palestinian in Gaza starve to death before they would even consider halting the rocket fire into Israel, most of which lands in open fields at best, or at worse, misfires and kills Palestinian civilians instead, something that tragically happened the other day.

A bomb shelter built to protect Israelis from rocket fire in the border town of Sderot. Its not uncommon for children to flee to these during recess at school.

Israel can only put up with this for so long. Last month, I posted an excellent video about the Kassam Rocket strikes that rain down on southern Israel and terrorize the local population. The "cease-fire" was a joke to begin with. Hamas was able to claim it was not firing rockets, although its leaders did absolutely nothing to stop fellow terrorist thugs, like Islamic Jihad and the PFLP, from firing some half a dozen rockets into Israel each day. How many children need to be maimed while playing outside before Israeli leaders take action?

I hope that the citizens of Gaza have realized that Hamas has done nothing to help them. They were elected to power back in January of 2006 on a platform of standing up for Palestinians, while the rival Fatah Party was seen as corrupt and incompetent. Hamas only knows how to be a terrorist group--meaning the only thing they are useful for is terrorizing and killing innocent people--it has proven itself to be an inept governing force.

Hamas and Zarqawi:

I would like to post a link from the major English-language newspaper Aswat Al-Iraq to show that Hamas is indeed an enemy of the Arab world. Back in June of 2006, when arch-terrorist Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi received poetic justice in the form of two 500-pound bombs falling from the sky, Hamas actually issued a statement mourning the death of Zarqawi, praising him as a figure of "resistance", and outraging many Iraqis. Next to Saddam Hussein and the Taliban, Zarqawi may have been the biggest mass-murderer of Shia Muslims the modern world has seen. As Gaza burns, the patriotic "resistance" in Iraq has been up to its own antics, attacking rallies in SUPPORT of the Palestinians. Maybe Al-Qaeda should release a few more videos and explain exactly how this is "resisting" anything.

The making of an Iraqi hero

2008-12-18T12:16:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of the year, I remember reading a story both tragic and inspirational.

On January 6th, 2008, Iraq held a parade honoring its military. Crowds gathered along the streets to see the powerful Iraqi Army show off its skills. Lurking in the crowds was a suicide bomber determined to turn what was supposed to be a day of patriotism into a bloodbath. As the bomber pushed deep into the crowd, two very brave Iraqi soldiers spotted him. Knowing something was wrong, they threw themselves on top of the terrorist, wrestling him to the ground. The attacker managed to set off his explosive belt, killing the two soldiers and 9 bystanders, although it could have been far worse if the bomber had not been confronted. These two Iraqi patriots--the soldiers who gave their lives knowing what was going to happen to them--are heroes.

And yet, they are nameless and largely forgotten. Instead, an angry shoe-tossing journalist is built up as a "hero". While the Iraqi Army and police are volunteering to protect their country, a man who attempted to assault a foreign leader is given prestige and honor he does not deserve. To Muntathar Al-Zaidi, I ask you...how many widows and orphans did that above-mentioned suicide bomber create? If it wasn't for the filthy "resistance" seeping in over Iraq's borders to mass murder innocent civilians, Iraq would be a successful and free society right now.

But I have an even bigger challenge for Al-Zaidi. If he is able to avoid prison time, and he is begging for that as we speak, what will he do if Al-Baghdadiya assigns him to cover a press conference with a Saudi cleric in downtown Riyadh? Better yet, what if Saudi Arabia re-opens diplomatic relations with Iraq, and Al-Zaidi is sent to cover a press conference between, let's say, President Jalal Talabani and the Saudi ambassador. If Bush deserves two shoes for destabilizing Iraq, then it would only be fair if Al-Zaidi tosses a truckload of shoes at the Saudi ambassador, since that country has turned a blind eye to the hundreds of suicide bombers who have crossed over the border into Iraqi towns to mass murder innocent civilians and continues to export Wahabbi fundamentalism across the region, which creates exactly the type of sub-human murderers mentioned at the beginning of this post.

As beautiful as it might seem, as many as 61% of suicide bombers in Iraq are said to come from Saudi Arabia, according to the LA Times.

Al-Zaidi also claims to have visceral hatred for Iran. But remember, President Ahmadinejad made a trip to Baghdad earlier this year and Zaidi's shoes stayed on his feet during that trip. Just think of all the Iranian-backed death squads who have terrorized Iraqi civilians. The journalist feels he can place all of that blame on George Bush. If it wasn't for Bush, Zaidi wouldn't be reporting freely on subjects, and if he had thrown that shoe at Saddam, he would have gone through a wood chipper by now...if Saddam chose to go easy on him.

There are many forces that are actively trying to destroy Iraq today, and many who were doing so before 2003. If all of them were to get the shoes tossed at them they desrve, there wouldn't be any left over to throw at George W. Bush.

Some thoughts on Bush's legacy

2008-12-14T16:05:00.000-08:00

I, along with many others, watched on TV the spectacle in Baghdad where Iraqi journalist Muntathar Al-Zaidi hurled his shoes at President Bush during a news conference with Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki. Some find this comical, others find it obnoxious and rude, but I found it to be a perfect example of the freedom and the courage that the Iraqi people have, as they take control of their country and stand up against those who want to destroy it. If Al-Zaid had done this to Saddam Hussein, it can be said with almost absolute certainty that the Iraqi journalist would be bound and gagged in a Republican Guard Compound. Across from him, Uday and Qusay would be blazing up a box of cigars as their Fedyeen minions chopped off his feet and served them on a silver platter to his grief-stricken family. Instead, Zaid had the chance to make a political statement to the world and live to tell about it.

I have given up all hopes that President Bush is going to leave office with a better public image than he’s had these last five years. I think this is very unfortunate, but at the same time, I will never back down from believing he has done the right thing, even though it has cost him the media-touted “approval rating” that far too many of the President’s critics have used against him.

Bush stood against the misguided message an American population swayed by poor media coverage conveyed to him after the 2006 midterm election, when “Bush lied, people died, so get-the-hell-out-of-Iraq” fervor was on a rampage across the world. He wouldn’t give up, he was not going to walk away from his mission to bring freedom to Iraq and forever liberate it from the most horrendous forms of human life. Even as his approval rating was crushed, he sent more troops to Iraq to work directly with the besieged people of Iraq, and they have succeeded. Barack Obama may be the president now, and the genocide-advocating Democratic Congress may have followed suit—but their message failed. The “new direction” in Iraq they pushed for went down in flames as the lions of the Iraqi Army and the Awakening councils drove the insurgency all the way back to the sands of Saudi Arabia and their sanctuaries in Iran. Harry Reid was left looking like an utter buffoon as he desperately tried to prolong the struggle, accusing General Petraeus of being in the tank for the Bush Administration while citing the Pope, who has never set foot in Iraq, as a legitimate source that nothing good was happening in the Land of the Two Rivers. I almost want to say its too bad no one was there to throw a shoe at him back then, but such behavior should be rightfully condemned, no matter how much they might deserve it.

Bush has courage, unlike many other politicians. The Democrats were able to win the election, but this time, they avoided the so-called "antiwar" movement like an infectious disease, choosing to verbally assault the President on the economy instead, a crisis which they are just as guilty for as he is.

Sometimes, those who want to do the right thing don’t receive the response they deserve. Just think of Bob Marley, who tried to bring his message of peace and hope to the people of war-ravaged Jamaica only to be shot for it. Last year, Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan to use democracy as the greatest weapon against terrorism and perverted religious fundamentalism. Even before she landed, the Taliban already had suicide bombers waiting to welcome her in the crowds. President Bush had a very insignificant encounter, in the grander scheme of things.

Bush has given everything he has to do the right thing. He corrected the terrible mistake his father made in 1991 when the Gulf War was abruptly ended and the Iraqi people, who revolted against Saddam in 14 of Iraq’s 18 provinces, were left to die in a scorched-earth holocaust when the Republican Guard came down on Karbala and literally burned it to the ground. Clinton added insult to injury, slapping Iraq with sanctions, which Saddam used to further his campaign of genocide against his own people.

Ten years from now, when Iraq is being led by a well-educated and determined generation shining and bustling with life, the history books may judge Bush differently. I hope so.

Standing with our ally

2008-12-03T19:24:00.000-08:00

I understand that I have been fixated with what has been happening in India this last week, so I felt the need to post this article by Christopher Hitchens. I agree with him that we need to maintain a close partnership with India. He is also correct in saying that India acts as a good "counterweight" to Russia and China, although I do not necessarily agree with him about Pakistan, seeing as Pakistan is suffering from terrorism too.

I should note that this is from the center of the article...the full piece can be seen in the link below. Enjoy Hitchens' writing :)

Our friends in Bombay

by Christopher Hitchens

I hope I am not alone in finding the statements about Bombay from our politicians to be anemic and insipid, and the media coverage of the disastrous and criminal attack too parochially focused on the fate of visiting or resident Americans. India is emerging in many ways as our most important ally. It is a strong regional counterweight to Russia and China. Not to romanticize it overmuch, it is a huge and officially secular federal democracy that is based, like the United States, on ethnic and confessional pluralism. Its political and economic and literary echelons speak English better than most of us do. Its parliament in New Delhi—the unbelievably diverse and dignified Lok Sabha—was viciously attacked by Islamist gangsters and nearly destroyed in December 2001, a date which ought to have made more Americans pay more attention rather than less. Since then, Bombay has been assaulted multiple times and the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan blown up with the fairly obvious cross-border collusion of the same Pakistani forces who are helping in the rebirth of the Taliban.

It would be good to hear from the president and the president-elect that we regard attacks on the fabric and society of India with very particular seriousness, as assaults on a close friend that was battling al-Qaida long before we were. In response, it should be emphasized, our military and financial and nuclear and counterinsurgency cooperation with New Delhi will not be given a lower profile but a very much higher one. The people of India need to hear this from us, as do the enemies of India, who are our sworn enemies, too.

The inevitable question arises: Did our nominal ally Pakistan have a hand in this atrocity? In one sense, to ask the question is to answer it. Whether we refer to al-Qaida "proper," or to any of the armed Kashmiri formations that have lately been mentioned, we find some pre-existing connection to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency, or ISI. Another conceivable suspect, the former Bombay crime lord Dawood Ibrahim, wanted by the Indian authorities on suspicion of blowing up the Bombay stock exchange and killing 300 civilians in 1993, has long been a fugitive from justice living safely in Pakistan's main port of Karachi. Not a bad place from which to organize an amphibious assault team that acted as if it had been trained by serious military professionals.

We need this now more than ever

2008-11-29T00:18:00.000-08:00

A good way to lift our spirts with the events that have been happening these last few days.

This is the song "Peace Train" being performed by Cat Stevens (today known as Yusuf Islam). It really brings forth a feeling of hope.

Indians remember fallen police chief

2008-11-28T23:06:00.000-08:00

As terrorists stormed through Mumbai in a bloody rampage, Hemant Karkare stepped in to try and stop it. Karkare was the chief of Mumbai's anti-terrorist unit. He tragically lost his life in the horrendous mass killings that have sowed terror on the city for days, but his death will not be forgotten and his colleagues are remembering him. From what I have read, he is one of those guys who loved what he did for a living...the type of person I hope to be one day :D The moment the attacks took place, Karkare rushed to the scene, as you can see in this photo from CNN. He was killed not long after it was taken. He is shown on the left putting on a helmet.

From CNN:

(CNN) -- Hemant Karkare, Mumbai's slain terror chief, was a shrewd and unflappable investigator whose death is a blow to a police force that has difficult work ahead, his colleagues said this week.

According to accounts in Indian newspapers, Karkare, 54, was credited with solving many crimes and did his job apolitically and with the utmost integrity.

"The state Anti-Terrorism Squad has lost a daredevil officer in Hemant Karkare," Peter Lobo, chief inspector of the Anti-Terror Squad in Pune, told The Times of India on Thursday.

Karkare, head of Maharashtra state's Anti-Terrorism Squad, was heading home Wednesday when he learned gunmen were attacking the Oberoi hotel in Mumbai, Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister R.R. Patil told The Hindu newspaper.

Karkare later got word the situation at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus was more serious. The terror chief and two other officers -- armed with automatic weapons -- jumped in a jeep and rushed to take on the terrorists, The Hindu reported.

What a great man. I can say that he inspires me, and hopefully the great city of Mumbai, to do good things in the world. Karkare sounds like one of those truly dedicated people who would do his job for free because of his motivation. Not only was he looking out for his country and his people, he jumped into this tragedy to help people from all over the world, including Americans.

Rest in peace Hemant, and don't worry about the state of this world. Those of us all across it thanking you are prepared to take it from here :)

Rescue operation underway

2008-11-27T18:48:00.000-08:00

At this hour, Indian commandoes have raided a Jewish culural center in Mumbai besieged by terrorists. Israelis are believed to be among the hostages and some are reported to be freed.

This dramatic photo from Reuters India shows the rescuers drop into the building from a helicopter.

I need to give my thoughts on this...an attack like this by fundamentalists is almost unheard of. The most similar event I can think of is the 2004 Beslan School Siege in Southern Russia. I have been hearing repeatedly that the terrorists came in from the sea, as if this situation is not disurbing enough.

India is a great country...I trust its brave security forces are doing everything they can to bring this tragedy to a close.

Terror sweeps through Mumbai

2008-11-26T15:48:00.001-08:00

It is very saddening to see a beautiful city burn at the hands of extremists. This great tragedy is still unfolding as I write...it is equally disappointing that the world has taken its eyes off of this inhumane threat. I'm watching CNN now, and one report even suggests that the terrorists might have followed rescue workers to a hospital and attacked there. Just remember that terrorism doesn't go away when the markets are struggling, and they are always willing to remind us of this. Let's pray that the hostages are rescued and the brave Indian soldiers and police bring this to a close.

From the BBC:

Gunmen have carried out a series of co-ordinated attacks across the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay), killing at least 80 people and injuring 200 more.

At least seven high-profile locations were hit in India's financial capital, including two luxury hotels where hostages were reported to be held.

A fire is sweeping through the Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai's most famous hotel which is now ringed by troops.

Police said four suspected terrorists have been killed and nine arrested.

The situation is still confused but the main train station, a hospital, a restaurant and as well as the two hotels are among those places caught up in the violence.

There are reports of gunfire and explosions taking place elsewhere in the city.

Commandos have now surrounded the two hotels, the Taj Mahal Palace and the Oberoi Trident, where it is believed that the armed men are holding dozens of hostages.

One eyewitness said that the attackers had singled out British and American passport holders.

If this report is true, our security correspondent Frank Gardner says it suggests that Islamic militants are behind the attack.

A claim of responsibility has been made by a previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen.

The motive is far from clear - but the attacks come amid elections in several Indian states, including in disputed Kashmir.

In the latest developments:

-Police say an explosion heard inside the Oberoi was from a hand grenade, and flames and a massive plume of smoke are billowing from the Taj Mahal hotel

-The head of Mumbai's anti-terrorism unit and two other senior officers are among those killed, according to local TV

-The US and the UK have both condemned the attacks and Washington says it is "assessing the hostage situation"

-Gunmen opened fire at about 2300 local time at the sites in southern Mumbai.

Indonesian Justice

2008-11-08T23:24:00.000-08:00

I think its safe to say these 3 terrible human beings will not be missed. On one hand, the world is a better place...3 less bad guys to blow up innocent people. But on the other, their executions might inspire future unrest. Muslims of the world must remember that these men and all of their supporters are Islam's greatest enemies, and I feel very confident that most do. Indonesian Muslims were not spared Al-Qaeda's savagery in the Bali attacks.

From Fox/Associated Press:

Three Islamic militants were executed Saturday for the 2002 nightclub bombings on Indonesia's resort island of Bali that left 202 people dead, many of them foreign tourists, officials and relatives said.

Imam Samudra, Amrozi Nurhasyim and his brother Ali Ghufron were executed at 11:30 p.m. several miles (kilometers) from their high security prison on Nusakambangan island, said Qadar Faisal, one of their lawyers.

Their bodies will be taken by helicopter to their home villages for burial early Sunday.

The Oct. 12, 2002 attacks — allegedly funded by al-Qaida and carried out by members of the Southeast Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiyah — thrust the world's most populous Muslim nation onto the front lines in the war on terror.

The three men never expressed remorse, saying the blasts were meant to punish the U.S. and its Western allies for alleged atrocities in Afghanistan and elsewhere. They even taunted relatives of victims at their trials five years ago.

Concrete playgrounds

2008-11-07T14:47:00.000-08:00

Israeli children in Sderot have been forced to have recess inside of concrete playgrounds for fear of Kassam rocket strikes by Palestinian militants along the Gaza border.

Americans and westerners who criticize Israel should be asked the same question this reporter asks...would our country tolerate this? Would any parent in the United States want to send their child off to school everyday in an environment like this?

Time to be one nation again

2008-11-07T14:17:00.000-08:00

How good and how pleasant it would be, before God and man, to see the unification of all Americans (borrowed of course from the great Bob Marley's 'Africa Unite')

Seriously, more than anything at all, this is what I want. If Barack Obama can manage to accomplish this, I will be the first one in line to offer him praise. Nothing angers me more than politicians who put their party ahead of the good of the country. Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, is a good example. I really hope that Obama will move away from actions like Reid's. At the moment, I'm still trying to decide if Rahm Emanuel was a good pick to be Obama's Chief of Staff. On one hand, the man can be mean, angry, and extremely partisan, but on the other, he is of Israeli descent, and speaks fluent Hebrew. Could this be a signal to Israel that he intends will uphold America's alliance to the Jewish State? I hope so. I also hope that it will be a slap in the face to scumbags like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who embrace Obama's victory as a victory for criminal regimes across the world.

Say hello to Rahm, our president-elect's new chief of staff. He speaks Hebrew and his father immigrated to the United States from Israel.

Throughout my blog posts, I have always been consistent with my belief that hating the president gets us absolutely nowhere--in fact, I think that the violent hatred the anti-Bush/war movement has created the last few years is partially responsible for the situation the country and the world are in today. I want President Obama to exceed and I, like all Americans, am honored to see history made...that does not mean that our new president should be given a free pass. My greatest fear is that he will follow through on his commitments to the "antiwar" groups and pull our soldiers out of Iraq, even after so much sacrifice from both Iraqis and Americans. Thankfully, it appears Barack will not do that...the heroes of Iraq have already triumphed over the forces of terrorism.

There is another thing I am very thankful for...I am so happy to see the election process over with. After two years of obsessive reporting on the news, it has finally come to an end. Now, let's try to solve the issues with something other than words.

Wow...

2008-11-03T22:15:00.000-08:00

I'm going to give my thoughts about the presidential election before I head to the polls tomorrow. Until then, check out this video...its a little creepy, I must add.

Thank you, Colombia

2008-10-25T22:16:00.000-07:00

Americans might be pre-occupied with the economic crisis and don't have much time to focus on the drug smuggling and gang-related activities making their way from Latin America over our borders, but our allies certainly do. Colombia just announced the seizure of 10 tons of Cocaine in a Caribbean port city. Just think of it this way...this is 10 tons of cocaine that won't be making it into our cities and our schools.

If you read the article, you will see that it mentions Venezuela is playing a very negative role in the fight against drug smuggling. Isn't it nice that Hugo Chavez looks the other way when these thugs hide out over the border in his country?

Huge Cocaine Seizure in Colombia

Colombian police have seized a 10-tonne consignment of cocaine with a street value of $200m (£126m) which was reportedly about to be sent to Mexico.

The drugs were found in the Caribbean city of Barranquilla in two trucks where they were camouflaged in boxes filled with children's modelling clay.

The drugs were headed for the city of Veracruz in Mexico.

They allegedly belonged to one of Colombia's top traffickers, Daniel Barrera, nicknamed "The Madman".

The cocaine was seized after a six-month intelligence operation which tracked a drug route up to Barranquilla.

The drugs were moved in two containers travelling on trucks that were to be put on a ship and dispatched to Mexico.

Gen Oscar Naranjo, the chief of Colombia's police force, said that the consignment belonged to "The Madman".

The trafficker is known to move through the eastern plains of Colombia and into Venezuela where he often bases himself out of reach of the Colombian security forces and the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the DEA.

President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela does not co-operate with the US anti-drug agencies.

Colombian drug lords have taken advantage of this not only to turn Venezuela into one of the principal transit nations for cocaine, but to use it as a refuge, the BBC's Jeremy McDermott reports from Colombia.

Iraqi Security Forces take control of Babil Province

2008-10-23T10:56:00.000-07:00

From the BBC:

Iraqi forces have been handed control of security in the province of Babil by the US military.

It is the 12th of Iraq's 18 provinces to be handed back to Iraqis.

Congragulations, Iraqis! !مبروك

Aid workers under attack

2008-10-22T21:54:00.000-07:00

People sometimes forget how anyone can be fair game in a violent conflict...and aid workers, the people who try to help and put a smile on the face of the innocent people they are protecting, are no exception. In the last week, there have been several attacks and assassinations carried out by various thugs and terrorist groups operating in countries ranging from Africa to south Asia.

The latest example is an attack by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam against two ships carrying aid supplies to war-ravaged northern Sri Lanka. LTTE "suicide squads" rammed two motor boats packed with explosives into the vessels, damaging one and nearly sinking the other. The ruthless Tamil fighters are growing more violent as the fighting intensifies with the Sri Lankan government.

A UNHCR convoy rumbles through the countryside in Uganda

Earlier this week, aid worker Gayle Williams, a native of London, was gunned down by Taliban militants in Kabul. She was heading off to work when two men on a motorbike opened fire...the Taliban later claimed responsibility and boasted about her killing, saying the aid worker was "spreading Christianity", whatever that is supposed to mean. Williams' charity organization is now considering withdrawing from the country amidst the deteriorating security situation. I hope the Taliban feel proud of what they have done to the Afghan people and those who are trying to help them.

Also earlier this week, suspected rebels from the Al-Shabab insurgency in Somalia shot dead Muktar Mohamed Mohamoud, an engineer working for the children's organization, UNICEF, in front of a tea shop. The attack came after another worker from the world food program was killed as he stepped out of a Mosque in Mogadishu.

It is a tough, dangerous, and even life-threatening line of work, but someone needs to be there to make the world a better place...even when the rest of the civilized world is too afraid to do anything about it, or too ignorant to look past their own borders.

The children of Africa

Barack Obama and his support for Raila Odinga

2008-10-21T22:56:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, the presidential election is only two weeks away, and Barack Obama mania has affected many of my friends, family, and fellow bloggers. I continue to resist it though. The reason I cannot cast a vote for Barack Obama next month comes down to one reason...and that is his poor judgement. His list of relationships with questionable characters seems to keep growing, and in my mind, his relationship with Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga stands out the most.

Forget about Obama's friendship with all-around racist Jeremiah Wright and domestic terrorist/genuine slimebag Bill Ayers. I want to know why Barack traveled to Kenya to campaign for Odinga at taxpayer expense. Obama claims that he will be tough on Al-Qaeda and aggressive in the war on terrorism if he gets elected, but the Kenyan leader he has pushed for wants to end Kenya's alliance with the US in confronting Al-Qaeda-backed Al-Shabab militia fighters in neighboring Somalia. Given AQ's slaughter of hundreds of Kenyan's back in 1998 and a dozen others in 2002, I don't understand how that's possible. Odinga does claim to be Obama's cousin, however.

For those of you who don't know, Odinga was widely suspected of having a hand in the acts of genocide that rocked Kenya earlier this year. The country descended into a state of ethnic and tribal warfare after Odinga lost a presidential election bid to incumbent Mwai Kibaki by a very narrow margin. A subsequent power-sharing deal followed, which allowed Kibaki to remain president and appointed Odinga as Prime Minister.

Is Obama's relationship with Odinga a preview of what his policies will be like should he get elected on November 4th? It certainly seems that way.

A new dawn rises over Anbar

2008-10-18T09:45:00.000-07:00

...and the sun has set for the forces of terrorism who worked so hard to destroy it. At least that's the way it seems now that the Iraqi security forces are running things and the Marines who have trained them look back on a job well done as they get ready to go home.

I think its safe to say that there was very little hope for Iraq's Al-Anbar province between the 2004 Presidential election and Saddam Hussein's execution in 2006. If there was one city the so-called "antiwar" movement could point to as proof that Iraq was a lost cause, Fallujah was that city. But by early next month, the US Marines will be completely withdrawn from the city and most of the other cities in Anbar Province. Of course, most of the media has continued its scorched-earth policy regarding positive news in Iraq, and is instead focused on Muqatada's rallies in Baghdad.

Maybe Mookie should take a deep breath, because it looks like the Iraqi people are taking their country back...and the Marines are doing everything they can to help them.

Marines begin withdrawal from Iraqi cities.

WASHINGTON — When Marine Maj. Gen. John Kelly deployed to Iraq in February, the violence had fallen so low in Anbar province that he began figuring out how to start closing bases and prepare to go home.

In the last 10 months the Marines in Fallujah have done what was unthinkable before the surge began — they have quietly transferred out of one of Anbar province's largest cities. FOX News has learned in an exclusive interview with Kelly from Fallujah that 80 percent of the move is complete. In February there were 8,000 Marines living at Fallujah base. Now there are about 3,000 left. By Nov. 14 there will be none.

"We will shut down the command function here and I will move; my staff has already started to move," Kelly, the commander of Multinational Force-West, told FOX News in an exclusive interview via satellite. "We will turn the lights off here."

They will hand the Fallujah base over to their Iraqi counterparts on Nov. 14, having relocated themselves and thousands of combat vehicles to the desert base of Al Asad to the west. Marines will no longer be seen in city centers such as Fallujah — a major step toward leaving Iraq, and one step closer to Iraq's goal of having U.S. troops out of its population centers by mid-2009 — one of the key points enshrined in the Status of Forces Agreement being reviewed on Capitol Hill today.

On Wednesday, to little fanfare, the Marines quietly closed down Al Qaim base near the Syrian border. Now it is run by Iraqis.

In Fallujah, where the U.S. Marines once had three large mess halls to feed troops, they are now down to one. The Marines have quietly disassembled the entire infrastructure of the base.

"We probably had several thousand of those large metal containers — tractor-trailer containers," Kelly said. "I bet we don't have 200 of them here now."

Of the thousands of vehicles once parked at the base, now there are only 300 left. Their transfer occurred at night, between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., over the past 10 months so as not to disturb Iraqi drivers and clog the roads.

They dubbed it "Operation Rudy Giuliani" because they were cleaning the streets up and returning Fallujah to normalcy — taking down barbed wire and tearing down checkpoints and Jersey walls that made Anbar look like a war zone.

"There is almost no barbed wire left anywhere in Fallujah," Kelly said. An Iraqi no longer sees barbed wire when traveling in and around the city.

Between 300 and 400 concrete barriers that divided the city were removed by Navy Seabees.

One of the big changes Kelly made when he took command in Anbar was to remove fixed checkpoints, and Iraqi vehicles no longer had to pull off to the side when a military convoy was on the road. His troops risked car bombs, but the gamble paid off in what had once been Iraq's most dangerous province. The new road rules instantly lowered the tension between military and locals. Soon he transitioned to moving military convoys only at night, so they would not encounter locals. This also stymied many of the insurgents laying IEDs or roadside bombs, which they often had done at night.

Another change for the better since Kelly arrived in February: He pushed the central government to provide more fuel to the people of Anbar, so the mostly Sunni population is now happier. In February, Anbaris were receiving only 8 percent of their allocation of fuel from the central government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Now it's 90 percent — eliminating one of their main gripes.

But perhaps the biggest sign that the situation has changed for the better for Sunnis living in Anbar: With the help of the Marines and the Iraqi police, nearly 100 percent of the eligible voting population were registered a month ago to vote in upcoming provincial elections.

The rest of this story can be viewed here.

Background information

2008-10-16T21:59:00.000-07:00

Recently, I saw the movie "Munich", which came out on DVD back in 2006. I didn't really like the film because of its failure to focus more on the event that led to the Mossad assassinations against organizers of the terrorist network "Black September", a group that kidnapped and executed 11 Israeli athletes in the 1972 Olympics. The impression I got were that both events were simply acts of senseless violence following each other, when in fact, the massacre at the Olympics deserved a lot more than a simple pledge to do better next time.

I found this documentary on youtube and I thought it was very enlightening, delving into the background information that Steven Spielberg only touched on. Watch this and see for yourself. Did the kidnappings merit a response from Israel?

Personally, I believe that the terrorists who kidnapped the athletes not only betrayed the religion they claim to embrace, they also smeared the Olympic message of peace and goodwill and only brought more suffering to their people.

By the way, this documentary contains and interview with the one Palestinian terrorist who lived through the hostage taking and the subsequent Israeli assassinations.

In the company of insanity

2008-10-12T21:56:00.000-07:00

I visted San Francisco on Saturday with my brother and his friend. It was a beautiful day in the city, except for the mobs of tourists crowding Market Street. As we made our way through Union Square, a rally was taking place behind the cable car turntable...and it was organized by the 9/11 truth movement.

I have seen them before on TV...I have visited their crazy websites and seen them protest before Bill Clinton and Bill Maher. I have seen Bill O'Reilly shout it out with them on his program on several occasions. But until Saturday, I had never actually seen one of them in real life. But there they were, roughly a dozen of them, armed with megaphones, DVD's, and pamphlets to "educate" the Bay Area community about what they believe really happened on September 11th, 2001.

My amateur journalistic skills got the better of me and I just had to approach them. I talked to several representatives from the group, and I asked them the question I have always wanted to ask these nutjobs: What about the planes? They have plenty of theories about "controlled demolition" but despite devoting overwhelming thought into defying reality, the fact that four planes were hijacked on that terrible day cannot be pushed aside. Here are some theories they offered me...

"Bin Laden is really a CIA Agent!"
"The plane's were remote controlled...it would take a pilot several tries to hit the Pentagon"
"Neocon agents willing to die for Cheney's imperialism hijacked the planes, not Arab terrorists"

But the craziest theory of all came from two girls decked out in their 9/11 truth gear. They suggested to me that the passengers aboard the hijacked plane were gassed unconscious and robots then took control of the plane. Really, I just can't make this stuff up...

One guy I talked to was obviously high on marijuana, I could tell by the look in his eyes and his repeated use of "who knows?" after offering up each conspiracy theory. So then I figured out how these people make sense of their delusional nonsense: they blaze up a joint before each rally. After all, how else would you actually believe that robots, not Al-Qaeda terrorists, were the hijackers on 9/11.

Truthers march in a 2007 rally in Los Angeles. The rally I observed wasn't quite this big, but nevertheless, it was equally disturbing to watch. I'll download some of my pics when I get them.

I would have burst out laughing at these theories if it weren't for the enormous disrespect it generates for the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. If any of this is accepted as reality, what does it say about the heroes on United Flight 93?

But the "truther" nutjobs have no respect for real heroes anyway. They explained to me that the attacks were carried out in order advance an imperialist agenda across the world, and then stated that the terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan who blow up innocent men, women, and children are "defending their country". I asked them if Salih Al-Ajmi could really have been a CIA agent, and they said "its certainly possible. For those of you who don't know, Al-Ajmi was a former Guantanamo Bay detainee who was released, traveled to northern Iraq, and promptly blew himself up outside of a military checkpoint (manned by Iraqi soldiers) when the opportunity presented itself. They believe that the overwhelming majority of detainees are innocent Bedouins and Nomads being rounded up by the U.S. Government.

Finally, me and my brother brought home a copy of one of their free DVD's and it featured an "architect" in a suit explaining how the buildings came down via demolition explosives, as if some moron with a tie actually adds more legitimacy than mangy, dirty, San Francisco protesters shouting into a crowd with a megaphone. I quickly threw the DVD where it belongs--in the trash.

What makes my blood boil more than any deluded theory these kooks conjure up is the notion that they are somehow patriotic. They ask how people like myself could "question their patriotism" when they suggest that the US government is responsible for mass murder on the streets of New York or defend the actions of the terrorist scumbags in Iraq who strap women and children with explosives.

At the end of the day, this is about dislike of Bush. The 9/11 truthers hate him so much that they need an excuse to justify their blinding hatred for the man.

What happened after "Black Hawk Down"?

2008-10-07T00:03:00.000-07:00

I have been busy working on several articles for some local newspapers, so I'm sorry that I haven't been able to update my blog. One of my articles focuses on the west's policy toward Africa and as I was doing some research, I found this story on BBC about Somalia. In a just world, this story would be at the top of the headlines, above economics and the financial crisis. No amount of foreclosures or bad lending can ever stack up to this.

Somalia is "most ignored" tragedy

The world should be shocked at the systematic destruction of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, and its residents, says lobby group Human Rights Watch.

The organisation told the BBC the city had become a zone of free-fire between government and insurgent forces.

It said if such a situation was happening anywhere else in the world, like Georgia or Lebanon for example, it would be considered a travesty.

Instead Somalia was the most ignored tragedy in the world today, HRW said.

Meanwhile, a group of 52 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has issued a statement saying the international community had "completely failed Somali civilians".

The aid groups estimate that almost 40,000 people had been displaced from Mogadishu in the last few weeks, with 1.1 million uprooted in the last nine months.

Eerie

BBC World Affairs correspondent Mark Doyle recently visited Mogadishu and says the city on the Indian Ocean, which was previously one of Africa's trading hubs with the Middle East, is dying.

Now whole swathes of it are rubble or skeletons of buildings without doors or windows or roofs, he says.

He adds that the most shocking, eerie aspect of it is that in many parts of the capital all the people have fled.

The fighting is between the US-backed government and Islamist and nationalist insurgents, who Washington accuses of having links with al-Qaeda.

There are no international aid workers left as they are threatened with kidnap for ransom or are murdered.

The fighting has been much worse for the ordinary residents of Mogadishu than even the infamous period in the early 1990s that spawned the film Black Hawk Down, a portrayal of US troops killed in Somalia at that time, our World Affairs correspondent says.

In the early 1990s not a night passed without explosions lighting up the sky, he says.

But even that did not empty the capital of Somalia like the daily fratricidal confrontations now taking place between the government and its armed opponents.

I suppose there is no interest in this conflict since American soldiers are no longer involved. I hope we do not make this same mistake with Iraq, especially with all the recent success...or just the same, Afghanistan.

Back in the news

2008-10-03T12:35:00.000-07:00

Could Russian Intelligence agents seeking to maintain a strong presence in Georgian territory be responsible for this? Or are angry Georgians anxious to get back at Russia for its week-long bombardment of their territory the perpetrators. Whichever it might be, both governments are trading blame back and forth. The most likely scenario is that this is the work of a group as opposed to a government. Whether that group is pro-Russian or pro-Georgian, I don't know.

My personal thought is that one of S. Ossetia's rebel groups could be responsible. They need a pretext to keep Russian soldiers in the region and prevent Georgia from reclaiming it.

Russia and Georgia trade blame in South Ossetia attack

A blast in Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia killed seven Russian soldiers, a Russian commander says.

The soldiers died when a car full of explosives blew up near a Russian military base in the regional capital, Tskhinvali, local officials said.

Georgia said Russia organised the explosion as a pretext to delay withdrawing troops from South Ossetia.

But Russia blamed Georgia, saying it was an attempt to undermine a ceasefire agreement between the two sides.

Tension remains high in the region following the conflict between Russia and Georgia over the summer.

Seven other soldiers were injured in the blast, the Russian military commander in South Ossetia said.

According to a statement from the South Ossetian breakaway government, Russian troops had confiscated the vehicle that blew up from an ethnic Georgian village because it was carrying weapons.

Russian television footage showed a black plume of smoke rising from behind metal gates at the base.

An unidentified Russian foreign ministry official said forces "striving to destabilise the situation" were behind the blast, Russian media reported.

South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity went further, describing it as "a deliberate terrorist act prepared by the Georgian Security Ministry", Russia's Itar-Tass news agency said.

Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili rejected the allegation.

"I think this is a provocation with the aim of keeping Russian forces in Georgia," he told the AFP new agency.

With tensions threatening to flare up into another conflict, I think that the presidential debate on Tuesday should focus on foreign policy for the first 45-minutes. 21st century Russia under Czar Putin and his protege is very dangerous, and Americans deserve to know exactly what our next president is going to do to about it.

Glory and praise to our dear leader

2008-09-30T15:59:00.001-07:00

I've never been the guy who believes that bashing the president, or a presidential candidate excessively gets us anywhere. However, I watched these two videos and I must say that the experience terrified me to the very depths of my soul...

In this rather unique video, young children sing praise to Barack Obama and talk of how spectacular his presidency will be...

Now, this video is from Pyongyang, North Korea, where young children have been brainwashed into believing that their "dear leader" Kim Jong Il, is the greatest there is. His portrayal in the movie "Team America" is not all that off the mark from reality, from what I can tell.

Scared now? I know I am! I repeat, this is not about politics...these videos are creepy and I certainly hope that Barack Obama is not relying on a fast-growing cult to get him into the White House.

Is there any discernable difference between Obama's children and Kim's?

Iran's young people

2008-09-24T15:51:00.000-07:00

In this BBC radio interview, three Iranian college graduates speak out about the current situation in Iran, voicing their concern for women's rights and the Islamic Republic's restriction of internet access to the misguiding phrase "Islamic fascism" and Iran's image abroad.

It is the Iranian people who can help us the most in this current political stand-off with Iran. One of the Iranians interviewed even talks about the sanctions being imposed on Iran and how the government could care less about what it is doing to the economy, because in the end Khamenei's government is able to prop itself up with revenue earned from the country's vast oil exports.

Since a military option would most likely energize support for the Ahmadinejad and Khamenei, the US should openly invite as many Iranian students as possible to study here in American colleges. The Iranians in this video talk about the wonders of studying abroad and how much they enjoy meeting new people from other cultures.

The only solutions we seem to be hearing about to confront Iran in the US media are A) bomb their nuclear installations and start another war B) sit down and have a nice chat with the rulers of the bloody theocracy while their uranium centrifuges continue to spin and money is channeled from Tehran to terrorist causes across the globe, or C) ratchet up the sanctions, something that in the end is only hurting the Iranian economy, which has already been ravaged by Ahmadinejad's failure to fulfill his promises to the Iranian middle class (he sidestepped that in his rant on Tuesday). In regards to the three options above, I say let's go with "none of the above" and instead reach out to all Iranians who desire peace and freedom.

Iranians and Americans going to school together and working for a better tomorrow...that sounds like the best idea to me.

Something we should all unite for

2008-09-22T22:19:00.000-07:00

America is divided today...perhaps more so than ever. The event below is one issue America and the world should be able to unite together for, but apparently those further on the left (and the right, in some cases) were too afraid of being called a "neocon" to express their outrage over Iran's actions in the Mideast. But most importantly, if only the US would reach out to the Iranian community, and have some Iranian flags being waved by Iranian exiles longing for freedom, mingled in with this protest. I would like to stress very much that I do not believe Iran--a country that I love--is the enemy. Only the madmen in control of it who continue to threaten their neighbors, including Iraq and Israel, as well as their own people.

Thousands attend NYC anti-Iran rally

Efforts by the Jewish organizers of a New York City rally against Iran Monday to keep the event free of politics failed to stop protesters from voicing their avid support for the Republican presidential ticket of Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin.

Interspersed with Israeli flags and placards calling for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to "take your hate back to hell" were a fluttering of blue McCain-Palin campaign signs along with more strident handmade ones sticking out above the crowd, including one that read: "Prevent a nuclear Iranian Holocaust on Israel, vote McCaine-Palin [sic]."

The event, organized by Jewish groups including the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the United Jewish Communities, the UJA-Federation New York and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, drew several thousand cheering students and activists from as far away as Baltimore and Detroit to protest the Iranian government and its nuclear program.

"These weapons will not only threaten Israel, they will threaten Riyadh, Paris, London and New York," Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik told the cheering crowd.

"The free world must not allow the threat of destruction like this without taking proper action to stop him. We have to stop him, to stop him, to stop him!" she exhorted.

"When I hear these threats I see the concentration camps, I see the horrors, I see the gas chambers," Itzik said. She described Ahmadinejad as "the man who has brought this nightmare back, the man who is responsible for bringing back the horrors of the past."

The time for cooperation is now

2008-09-21T12:46:00.001-07:00

Tensions have been exacerbated between the US and Pakistan in recent weeks, after US special forces crossed into Pakistan to pursue Taliban militants who use the "sovereignty" of northwestern Pakistan to their advantage. There are two things that Pakistan needs to realize...first of all, the NW regions are anything but sovereign territory of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Much of the area is a "no-go" zone for the Pakistani security forces, and the Taliban is able to operate freely. Second of all, while the Taliban leaders claim that their fight is directed at America, the violence--the bombings and terror attacks that continue to rock the country--are going to continue as Pakistan remains on the track of democracy. The election of Benazir Bhutto's widower...Asif Ali Zardari, angers Baitullah Mehsud and Uncle Ayman just as much Pakistan's cooperation with the US. A Taliban mini-state in the northwest and a democratic Pakistan will never be able to cooperate together.

So the point is, as long as the US and Pakistan refuse to cooperate and draft a real plan to finally crush the Taliban safe havens, this will continue to happen...

This horrific attack against the Marriott Hotel killed scores of people--including two Americans and the Czech Republic's ambassador to Pakistan. Dozens of Muslims celebrating the breaking of the fast (during the month of Ramadan) were also killed, proving once again that Muslims and westerners alike are in this fight together. As can be seen in this photo, the hotel is said to be in danger of collapsing, and we can only pray that no one else is trapped inside.

Pakistan has already lost control of its sovereignty, and its time for Pakistan's leaders to realize this. Perhaps no one knows better than Asif Ali Zardari...who lost his wife, Benazir, to these people last year. Pakistan should immediately join up with NATO and launch a joint-operation into the lawless frontiers, and at the same time, an aggressive political campaign must be put together to convince the tribal leaders in Pakistan's northwest that the terrorists they are sheltering--Bin Laden ,Zawahiri, and Mehsud--are Islam's greatest enemies. It would be similar to the effort that brought Iraq's Anbar province away from the grip of Al-Qaeda, and back under the control of Iraqis. But in the end, breaking ties with the US will NOT free Pakistan from terrorism...it will only make it weaker.

Pakistan's steps to solving terrorism:

I believe Pakistan could make headway in fighting terrorism and regaining control of its north provinces if it followed steps like these.

-Continue the ongoing operations against the Taliban...but not alone. Pakistan, Afghanistan, and NATO should sign a joint agreement to move freely in pursuit of extremists across the border. The rugged mountains make this hard enough as it it is--the diplomatic BS is only tying things up and benefit the Taliban, who have no respect for any of that anyway.

-Convince the Pakistani people that terrorism is Islam's greatest threat, not the US. Iraq has run a series of anti-terrorism public service announcements on TV, and has had great success in turning the tide on "Islamic" fundamentalism.

-Work to improve relations with Afghanistan and India...it would be a tremendous blow if Al-Qaeda and their affiliates realized they have failed in their efforts to keep the region divided. Recent events--the Marriott attack, the serial bombings in major Indian cities, the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul--are clearly meant to cause political chaos. India and Pakistan are historic enemies, but in today's dangerous world, they face a common enemy.

-Don't give up the fight...savage acts of terrorism like the Marriott attack are going to continue, unfortunately. It is important that Pakistan and its allies move against the Taliban and don't pull back. Zardari is right to label terrorism as "a cancer", because if left unchecked, the cancer of terrorism will eventually consume its host--in this case, Pakistan's new democracy--and replace it with an enemy regime on the scale of the 1979 revolution in Iran.

...this last suggestion is for the US and Pakistan's critics who claim Pakistan "hasn't done enough in fighting terrorism...

-Stand with Pakistan and its people! Pakistan is a victim of terrorism, even more so than America. This is why I get so angry when I hear American politicians criticize Pakistan for failing to confront terrorism from the safety of their offices in Washington. Musharraf's government repeatedly tried to go after the Taliban, but the campaign of violence directed at major Pakistani cities these last two years is what I believe led to his eventual collapse. The Taliban cannot confront Pakistan's military, but they can turn the tide of public opinion by directing their attacks on the Pakistani people. Saturday's attack on the Marriott was not the first...last year, a suicide bomber killed a hotel guard who bravely prevented the terrorist's entry into the building.

Accusations by India and Afghanistan's President, Hamid Karzai, that Pakistan is supporting terrorism against their countries are certainly adding fuel to the fire. Pakistan's intelligence agencies have unfortunately been infiltrated by Taliban sympathizers, but the Pakistani government and its people are suffering just as much as their neighbors. In closing I will quote Bob Marley..."unite for the benefit of your people".

Fighting for peace...

2008-09-19T16:27:00.001-07:00

Some good news to report out of Sri Lanka...the government forces have made headway into the rebel-held Tamil Eelam mini-state, although it has cost the lives of almost 700 soldiers. Because the fighting has gotten so intense, the government has ordered all Aid workers out of the country. While the LTTE may be in its last throws, in order to successfully win the peace, the government needs to make sure the thousands of Tamil civilians who have been injured and displaced are taken care of. Even with the loss of their state, the LTTE will manage to survive if it can still draw up support from the local community...

Tigers on defensive as Sri Lanka military closes in

COLOMBO (AFP) — Tamil Tigers were once regarded one of the world's most ruthlessly efficient rebels, but they risk losing their mini-state as Sri Lankan forces make a determined push after decades of bloodshed.

After months of bitter fighting, security forces have reached the outskirts of the Tiger political capital -- Kilinochchi -- the six-kilometre (four-mile) long township along the main A-9 highway to the Jaffna peninsula.

Aid workers who evacuated Kilinochchi this week -- in line with a government order to leave ahead of an expected military show down -- said bombs and artillery shells were landing just within the political offices of the Tigers.

"The military advance is getting closer to Kilinochchi and the Tigers may simply melt away," an aid official who declined to be named said soon after leaving the north.

Sri Lanka's top brass had said they want to take Kilinochchi before the end of the year, but defence analysts argue that it must be done sooner as monsoon rains could intensify and render heavy armour ineffective from about October.

For the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Kilinochchi is the show piece town where they hosted visiting foreign dignitaries and peace brokers.

The Tigers also maintain their 'police headquarters,' their 'high courts' and their 'Bank of Eelam' which functions as the quasi monetary authority of the de facto separate state within Sri Lanka.

Back to reality

2008-09-17T12:12:00.000-07:00

These past few days, the presidential campaigns, as well as the American media have been overwhelmingly focused on the economy. Today's violence in Yemen should remind everyone that there are even more frightening things to worry about than the prospect of another buyout or the Dow losing 200 points. That is all serious stuff--but for all the fear and uneasiness many Americans have about their future, at least they don't have to wake up to Takfiri fanatics on their doorstep, as many US embassy workers and the people of Sanaa did early Wednesday...

Perhaps its one thing to be thankful for, and let's not forget about the families of those killed in this attack (all of them were Arabs). Even in the times when they are not the target (most often they are) Al-Qaeda sees Muslim blood as being cheap and expendable.

US embassy in Yemen bombed

From Al-Jazeera English:

At least 16 people have been killed in an attack on the US embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa by a suicide bomber and armed fighters, the country's interior ministry has said.

A suicide bomber on Wednesday morning drove a car close to the embassy before detonating his explosives, witnesses said, leaving part of the building on fire.

Armed men then attacked the embassy from a second car, they said.

Six guards, four civilians and six attackers died in the assault, the interior ministry said.

A group called Islamic Jihad in Yemen has claimed responsibility for the attack and threatened to target the British, Emirati and Saudi embassies in Sanaa, reports say.

A vehicle was on fire on the road near the embassy compound's perimeter and police sealed off the area, witnesses said.

Roads leading to the embassy were closed after the attack.

Mohammed al-Qadi, a political columnist for the Yemen Times, told Al Jazeera: "The attack came at about 9.30 in the morning, when there were not so many people passing in the streets outside the US embassy.

"Otherwise, the casualties could have been a lot more."

Washington accused al-Qaeda of being behind the attack.

"I think it is safe to say ... the attacks bear all the hallmarks of an al-Qaeda attack," Sean McCormack, the US state department spokesman, said.

Who's the real enemy?

2008-09-14T22:34:00.000-07:00

This post is a plea to the people of Iraq. Anyone has read any history of the Middle East obviously knows that Israel and the Arab states are historic enemies. A member of Iraq's parliament, Mithal Al-Alusi, could face prosecution for visiting Israel to attend an anti-terrorism conference. While the two state may have their differences, there's no question that Israel and Iraq face the same common enemy: political fundamentalists justifying murder under the religion of Islam. In fact, Al-Alusi's two sons were murdered at the hands of terrorists in Iraq.

Iraqi soldiers take part in a counter-terrorism drill.

The terrorists who are capitalizing off of this violence will never be defeated unless the countries of the world can find away to put aside their differences and confront them.

Sadly, two of the lawmakers pushing for Al-Alusi's punishment are Sunni and Shia. This is not how unification should work. Personally, I think that Maliki's government is getting way to close to the regime in Tehran. Iraq will forge a relationship with a country it fought a bloody 8-year war with, in addition to Iran's support for extremists in southern Iraq, but apparently its too much to cooperate with Israel in fighting terrorism. For the sake of a peaceful future for the Middle East, Iraqi lawmakers should drop any and all charges that might be coming against Al-Alusi.

Iraq punishes MP for visiting Israeli conference

by Jpost and AP

Iraqi legislators said Sunday that parliament had voted to lift the immunity of a Sunni Arab lawmaker who visited Israel.

The parliament has also banned Mithal al-Alusi from traveling outside Iraq or attending parliamentary sessions, they said.

Sunday's punishment was confirmed by Osama al-Nujeif, a Sunni Arab lawmaker, and Haider al-Ibadi, a Shi'ite lawmaker.

The two men said Alusi's trip was illegal and a humiliation for Iraqis who see Israel as a historical enemy. Without parliamentary immunity, Alusi could be subject to prosecution.

Alusi, chairman of Iraq's Democratic Party, Mithal al-Alusi, surprisingly arrived at a conference on terror in Herzliya last Wednesday, calling for the establishment of a joint intelligence network with Israel and the United States.

"In Israel, there is no occupation, there is liberalism," Alusi said to the sound of roaring applause.

Alusi made his first trip to Israel in September 2004 to participate in a counter-terrorism conference. Apparently as payback, extremists murdered his two sons, 22 and 30.

The terrorists "will try to kill more. They will try to stop us. It should give us power to continue, to believe in ourselves," he told The Jerusalem Post in an interview at the time.

Alusi was given the American Jewish Committee's Moral Courage award following his sons' deaths.

Iraq could benefit by following India, which is seeking Israeli help in curbing a resurgent militant threat in Kashmir. What does either side have to lose right now?

Dear Mr. Obama...

2008-09-11T10:42:00.000-07:00

This is perhaps one of the most emotionally moving videos I have ever seen. I will admit, I had tears in my eyes when I watched it.

Smile, Haiti

2008-09-09T22:18:00.000-07:00

Singer Wyclef Jean, who is a Haitian national, is putting together a relief effort for the people of Haiti, where a series of hurricanes have devastated the tiny Caribbean nation. Hundreds have died in one city alone, and the receding floodwaters are bound to reveal even more destruction as the days go by. Wyclef Jean moves me emotionally with his actions to try and make the world a better place.

It makes me think of Bob Marley's "Smile Jamaica" concert, which took place in 1976 and helped redefine the meaning of "one love". In an attempt to stop the civil unrest in Jamaica with the love of reggae music, Marley organized a concert in Kingston only to be wounded just days before the event, when gunmen broke into his residence and also injured his wife, Rita, and a friend. However, it did not stop him from going on stage for a full performance and bringing a smile to the faces of Jamaicans. I've always thought that Marley would be proud of Wyclef Jean and the Fugees' rendition of "No Woman no Cry" and I feel that without a doubt he would be proud of these efforts, too.

Wyclef's song "million voices" about the Rwandan Genocide gives me chills every time I listen to it.

Al-Qaeda stands alone

2008-09-08T22:01:00.000-07:00

AQ's deputy leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri has released a new videotape, and in it, he condemns the actions of Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas. Its clear now...AQ is getting desperate, and they are now forced to lash out at anyone...even grotesque regimes that have in the past been sympathetic to their cause. The article below the attack on Iran shows the measures Al-Qaeda needs to go to in order to continue their campaign of violence.

Al-Qaida blasts Iran for working with US

Al-Qaida marked the anniversary of the September 11 attacks Monday with an hour-and-a-half video message summarizing the state of jihad, or holy war, around the world and slamming Iran for collaborating with the United States.

In the short excerpts aired on the Arab satellite news channel Al-Jazeera, al-Qaida Number 2 Ayman al-Zawahri accused Iran working with US forces.

"The guardian of Muslims in Teheran is cooperating with the Americans in occupying Iraq and Afghanistan and recognizes the two hireling governments there," he said.

Zawahri also criticized the Shi'ites for not "issuing any fatwa (edict) inside or outside Iraq calling for jihad and carrying arms against the Crusader occupier in Iraq." In militant postings, "crusaders" is shorthand for US troops in Iraq.

Zawahri has been increasingly singling out Iran and Shi'ites in his messages, most recently in April, describing the "Persians" as the enemy of Arabs and complicit in the occupation of Iraq.

The latest video featured clips of al-Qaida operations in the various fronts around the world, including Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, with prominent figures from the movement discoursing on their accomplishments over the year, Al-Jazeera said.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Pakistan...

From the Pakistan Dawn:

Teenage ‘suicide bomber’ held in Nowshera

NOWSHERA, Sept 8: Security personnel arrested on Monday a teenage boy they claimed was on a suicide mission and defused his explosives-lined vest. The boy was near a church in the Cantonment area when he was apprehended.

Officials said that 14-year-old boy, Mir Janan, was from Makeen area of South Waziristan.

During interrogation, the boy is said to have claimed that he belonged to Baitullah Mehsud’s Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.

According to officials, he said that he had been brought to the area by a man on a motorbike.

The Inter Service Public Relations said the bomber was about 17 to 18 years old and his target was a security convoy.

He was spotted by two junior cmmissioned officers, Subedar Mohammad Naeem Akhtar and Naib Subedar Mohammad Rafique, who got hold of him.

The ISPR said that the boy was wearing a suicide vest packed with 10 to 15 kilogrammes of explosives. The vest was defused by bomb disposal personnel.

It is learnt that the boy also carried a hand-grenade and he tried to use it by removing its safety pin, but he was prevented from doing so.

Later, bomb disposal personnel had tactfully persuaded the bomber to take off the vest.

Security agencies are on the lookout for accomplices of the young terrorist.

Uncle Ayman doesn't have much to say about this in his tape. You would think someone like Baitullah Mehsud (Pakistani Taliban chief, alleged assassin of Benazir Bhutto) would have many "brave" martyrs on hand instead of having to convince 14-year olds to blow themselves up amongst fellow Muslims. A similar case like this happened in Iraq last month, involving a 16-year old girl.

Make no mistake, although AQ takes a beating every time the world sees their true face (that they kill children and target Muslims more than any other group), they did score a tremendous victory with Musharraf's ouster. Zawahiri points to this in his tape, specifically.

A stunning achievement

2008-09-08T21:18:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama's supporters must be beaming with pride to receive an endorsement from this freak...MTV host Russell Brand. If this guy REALLY wanted to inflict some damage on President Bush's legacy, he should endorse everything the president has ever done, which would in turn force Bush's supporters to wallow in shame knowing that such a pathetic "retard" like Russel Brand is is actually supporting them.

Okay, maybe what I'm saying sounds immature. But seriously, is it any worse than the moronic statements he is making about Sarah Palin's daughter? I'm going to do Barack a favor and offer him some advice...whatever this weirdo does, please do the opposite. This is giving people yet another reason not to cast a vote for Barack Obama...in addition to the fact that he is nothing but media and celebrity hype. It's strange, but when I watch the above video, I feel prouder than ever to support John McCain's bid for the White House.

My fear is the young Americans who watch garbage like this might be encouraged to vote for Obama...for the wrong reasons. The truth is, all of England should be wallowing in shame at the sight of this. By the way, here's my advice to Russell Brand...Bugger off!

Condi's new friend

2008-09-05T23:20:00.000-07:00

Now here's a nice story about hypocrisy...

Just look at my post last month, about Condoleeza Rice's attitude towards former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who she threw under the bus because of his decision to declare a state of emergency in a country that is being overtaken by terrorist violence.

But wait a sec, look who Condi wants us to get along with...

So its okay to dine with Gadafi? Rice will beat the drums over a state of emergency (which we would have done to, if such a threat hit the US) but she's okay with overlooking Lockerbie and the other hiddeous acts committed by her new friend?

Sad. So sad.

Tribute to a great man

2008-09-05T23:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked two years since the death of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin--a man who devoted his life to trying to make the world a better place for people and the animals we share it with. I look forward to his children, Bindi and Bob, leading the next generation down the same path.

May he forever rest in peace...and he can do so knowing that all of his supporters, family, and friends will always be here to keep his message alive.

Here's a good perspective remembering Steve, from his homeland of Australia.

Its true, it really does feel like his death was only yesterday...I remember I first heard of his death late at night, when it was still a day earlier here in the US. The news hit me very hard, and the next 24 hours felt as if they weren't really happening.

A great man, with a true passion and an amazing story.

Musharraf's legacy and how the US should look back...

2008-08-18T20:28:00.000-07:00

Pakistan's President Musharraf has stepped down from office, finally falling victim to relentless pressure by Taliban fundamentalists and misguided opponents. With his departure, its time the US thinks long and hard about how it treats its allies.

Earlier, I heard a report that Condoleezza Rice put down any suggestion that the US would be willing to give sanctuary to the Pakistani President, who is under threat of impeachment from the recently elected "coalition" government, led by the late Benazir Bhutto's husband, Asif Zardari, and Nawaz Sharif, a former Pakistani prime minister. First of all, let me just say that I am completely disgusted with Rice's statements, and the US should be ashamed of itself, given the decision by Musharraf's opponents to attempt to negotiate people who blow up innocent people-security forces, civilians, Shia AND Sunni Muslims. When I thought about writing a post on this subject, I wanted to begin by saying that Nawaz Sharif is a vindictive, fat-headed moron (Musharraf ousted him in a coup almost ten years ago, and he has gone so far as to say Musharraf should be sentenced to death), but then I read this letter.

An Open Letter to Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari

I AM writing this to you sitting outside a coffee shop in Virginia, a little outside Washington. I hope that my letter will be taken in the spirit in which it is written — from someone who deeply loves Pakistan and sincerely cares about it.

Over the years, I have watched the situation in Pakistan, analyzed it and have come to the conclusion that the problems of Pakistan can be solved by the people of Pakistan themselves provided they set aside emotions and self-interest. A country of about 150 million people facing so many dangers from within and without cannot afford to be hostage to the whims and caprices of anyone — even elected leaders.

Sitting thousands of miles away but emotionally present in Pakistan, I feel that the time has come for everyone to rise up and confront the danger, reject revenge, put aside personal ambitions, remove malice and enter into a new phase of reconciliation.

I read in the papers here of calls for the impeachment of President Pervez Musharraf. I read of statements saying he will not be granted safe passage. I read of charge sheets being prepared against him by hitherto unknown politicians. I also read about the president calling for reconciliation.

I tell you in all honesty that Pakistan does not have the luxury of time or money to embark on an impeachment move. Neither is it the time to focus on such divisive issues. Suddenly political pundits and inexperienced lawmakers are seen making statements. They talk about the interest of Pakistan. What interest, I ask them. It is good for the ego to get 15 minutes worth of fame by talking to a local television network or The Washington Post.

HOWEVER, it is more difficult to show generosity and tolerance by reaching out and closing ranks, and history is full of such examples.

And I will start with our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who forgave all his enemies. It was he who told the Archangel Gabriel that he would forgive all those who threw stones at him in Taif. Let us honor ourselves by following him.

Let us take a great man of our time — Nelson Mandela. After 27 years in prison, he spoke of truth and reconciliation. Mandela sat with Pik Botha, who served as South Africa’s foreign minister in the last years of the apartheid era, immediately after his release and helped guide South Africa to its promising future. After the black majority came to power, Mandela’s followers did not go on a rampage. They did not burn or loot. Mandela commanded respect.

I asked him was there any rancor or hate in his heart for those who oppressed him and his people. He replied that South Africa was too important for him to feel anger. Imagine what would have happened if Mandela had taken the road of personal revenge.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is indeed on his way down the dark pathway of revenge...and in the process is dragging his country with him.

Now allow me to offer my thoughts. Musharraf is obviously not a perfect man, but I think he understands the nature of the situation his country his facing. Condoleezza Rice feels the need to go off on him for declaring the much vilified state of emergency, but there is no doubt in my mind that President Bush (or any world leader, really) would take the exact same course of action if thousands of soldiers had died on his nation's soil, if suicide bombers were victimizing American cities on a daily basis, and if countless civilians continued to fall pray to terrorism in a savage attempt to disrupt the political process. If this was happening in the United States, what would we do? Please Ms. Rice, would you be willing to answer this question? I suppose this could be my open letter to Condoleezza Rice, or even the Bush Administration in general.

Musharraf tried to do the right thing...he wanted to do what the US asked of him while trying to put his country first. I believe what ultimately led to his political was the targeting of Pakistani civilians by militant groups based in the Northern mountains, which turned the population against him. Many far-left and so-called "antiwar" groups also allege that Musharraf "wasn't doing enough to fight terrorism". To me, that is complete nonsense, given the above scenario, Musharraf was probably afraid of a full-scale confrontation because of the bloody backlash it had against his people.

All I can say now is that I hope that Nawaz and Zardari will heed the calls in that letter, because the very last thing Pakistan needs is more tension. Sharif's vengeance may ultimately prove to be just as divisive as the bombing campaigns ordered by Taliban warlords, who are very likely laughing it up in a cave somewhere in the mountains right now...

Russia threatens Poland...

2008-08-16T16:21:00.000-07:00

After what they unleashed upon Georgia, should we actually believe Russia when they suggest madness on this scale? I think this was one factor is the KGB's (Kremlin's) decision to invade Georgia--to try and intimidate the international community into having things their way.

Poland is a target, says Russian general

POLAND: POLAND HAS "100 per cent" made itself a potential target for a Russian attack after agreeing to host part of a US anti-missile system, according to a leading Russian general.

Under the preliminary agreement signed on Thursday night, the US will install 10 interceptor missiles at a base in northern Poland linked to a radar station in the Czech Republic, to be used to intercept missiles fired at the US and Europe.

The Kremlin yesterday attacked the system that is scheduled to go online in 2011 and this is likely to overshadow Polish-Russian relations for many more years to come.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has cancelled a September trip to Warsaw that was, ironically, part of a strategy to improve traditionally difficult relations between the two countries.

Polish radio claims that the Kremlin has frozen all contacts with Polish institutions, including a bilateral committee investigating the 1940 Katyn massacre, when the Red Army killed almost 22,000 Polish soldiers.

"By hosting these [missiles], Poland is making itself a target. This is 100 per cent [certain]," said Gen Anatoly Nogovitsin, deputy head of Russia's armed forces, to the Interfax news agency.

"It [Poland] has become a target for attack. Such targets are destroyed as a first priority."

Other officials said the timing of the agreement - during the crisis in Georgia - confirmed Russian suspicions about the plan.

Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's Nato envoy said, "Of course the missile defence system will be deployed, not against Iran but against the strategic potential of Russia."

A cultural crossroad

2008-08-14T20:32:00.000-07:00

It can almost be called Al-Qaeda’s Tibet…China’s western Xinjiang Province, home to the ethnic Uighurs, a mainly Muslim minority in China. Chinese repression of the Uighur people has given extremist groups an opportunity to exploit this suffering, and turn it into a political tool. The East Turkestan Islamic Movement has carried out at least three violent attacks against Chinese police in security forces during the month of the Olympics, killing dozens of people, primarily ETIM fighters and policemen.

Seeing as I have never had the chance to come face-to-face with an ethnic Uighur separatist, I am not sure if liberating the Muslim people of western China is truly something they care about (terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda in Iraq or the Taliban routinely put this notion to rest by blowing up innocent Muslims, often dozens at a time, almost every day). Regardless, the attacks that have occurred during the Olympic Games have only provoked the Chinese regime into forcing its ironclad grip even tighter on the Uighur community who would like to have the chance to exercise their religion, language, and culture freely.

Below is a very interesting article I found on Al-Jazeera about this tense situation…note the map of the province above, which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan. It’s alleged that some ETIM fighters are receiving training in the mountainous tribal areas of these countries.

Xinjiang tense in wake of attacks

By Tony Cheng, in Kashgar

With the eyes of the world on the Olympics in Beijing, a lockdown is in force across China's western Xinjiang province.

After three separate attacks in recent days, the Chinese government is unsure who they can trust in this restless region, more than 2,000 km from the Chinese capital.

At a checkpoint outside the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar, a short distance from the site of Tuesday's fatal stabbing of three security officials, we found police relaxed, but no one was allowed to pass unchecked.

Heading back into the city, security was much tighter, with armed police forcing passengers to disembark from buses and cars to have their ID cards electronically checked.

Foreigners had their passports photocopied and their details entered into a computer.

A total of 31 people have been killed in just 2 weeks in the deadliest upsurge in violence seen in Xinjiang for many years.

Uighur exile groups based in Germany say the government has detained dozens of innocent Muslims in the wake of the attacks.

On August 4, Kashgar, close to the frontier with Afghanistan, saw the deadliest of the recent attacks when two men drove a truck directly into a group of jogging border police outside a small boarding house.

They threw what the authorities described as grenades, and continued the attack with knives.

By the time the attackers were overpowered, 16 policemen lay dead.

Reports in Chinese state media said police later found papers detailing a plan for "holy war" in the attackers' belongings.

It was a severe and bloody assault but with apparently very few witnesses - the owner of a nearby boarding house said she saw nothing.

When I asked a local shopkeeper how 16 people had died without his seeing any thing, he told me to go and ask the government.

The government itself has said little, despite claiming several months ago that there was a very real possibility of an attack from Muslim Xinjiang-based fighters targeting the Olympics.

But the simplicity of the weapons used - trucks, homemade bombs and knives - does not suggest the operations of a global "terrorist" network.

And the nature of the attacks appears more spontaneous than highly planned.

Kashgar's famous bazaar is still bustling with life, but in the wake of the recent violence everyone there seems a little more wary.

Putin's little circle of comrades

2008-08-12T21:21:00.000-07:00

Here is an excellent documentary entitled "Murder by Numbers in Putinland" that delves deeply into the Russia that is currently being run by Vladimir Putin and his KGB buddies. As Georgia smolders in the aftermath of the brutal Russian invasion and the scope of the violence is unveiled in the coming days and weeks, it is important to see just who these people are—people like Putin, his hand-picked successor Medvedev, and other, more shadowy figures. One might wonder if Medvedev, the current Russian President, is spending more time in his office feeding his fish while self-appointed Prime Minister Putin runs things. The violence in Georgia is only the latest in a disturbing chain of events that can be traced back to the Kremlin.

How nice it was that this violence (the Georgia fighting) started on the opening day of the Olympics, as if the event was not overshadowed enough by China’s repressive actions in Tibet and the emerging threat of ethnic separatists targeting the games.

This documentary was released on youtube just days before Russia decided to flex its military power in the world stage against its tiny southern neighbor, and primarily deals with the assassinations of high level Putin critics, including ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvenenko and journalist Ana Politkovskaya. Unfortunately, people have a tendency to die when they speak out against Putin and his close circle. The killings that took place in 2006, along with Russia’s attack on Georgia, its support for the most despotic regimes (such as Zimbabwe’s Mugabe and Khamenei’s Iran), and its belligerent, Cold-War style actions are plenty of reason to put the west on edge. When Russia threatens to respond to the missile defense plan the US and NATO are trying to put forth in Eastern Europe, should we take them a lot more seriously?

The documentary has five parts to it and can be viewed here, for those of you who would like to see more.

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

*More News*

It's about time we show some support for our allies outside of a few "strongly worded statements"...

From Al-Jazeera English:

US military to take aid to Georgia

George Bush, the United States president, has said he is sending US military aircraft and naval forces with humanitarian supplies to Georgia.

Speaking from the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington on Wednesday, Bush said: "Russia must keep its word and act to end this crisis."

He said: "The United States of America stands with the democratically- elected government of Georgia, [and] insists that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia be respected."

He also said he was sending Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, to Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, to show his support for the Georgian government.

Flanked by Rice and Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, Bush warned Moscow against breaking its pledge to halt its military action and announced that a US humanitarian aid flight was already on its way to Georgia.

'Unwavering support'

He said he had spoken to Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, and Mikheil Saakashvili, the Georgian president, amid a peace push by Paris, which holds the rotating European Union presidency.

Religions cannot only reject terrorism, they need to stand up against it, together

2008-07-27T21:35:00.000-07:00

When writing this post, my first thought was Saturday's brutal terror attacks in the Indian city of Ahmadabad, but this can apply to all settings and religious backgrounds. The followers of a religion must do more than simply reject the use of extremism in the name of their faith. In addition to speaking out against the use of violence, they must stand beside different religions, especially when extremists seek to create tension between said religions, often by simply killing as many people as they can, holding their breath, and hoping it will create mayhem and panic. We've seen it in Iraq many times...what appeared to be nothing but a country descending into chaos and civil war was initiated by Al-Qaeda's specific targeting of religious institutions and provoked a conflict that has shaped the political world in a way never imagined.

With things taking a turn for the better in Iraq, it looks like a another target has emerged...central and south Asia. In India and Pakistan, the continued use of terrorism has done considerable damage to the people of these countries, and has wrecked havoc in marketplaces, bus stations, cafes, and other public places. India is one of the most populous countries in the world, with one of the largest GDP's in the world and a formidable military power. Yet somehow, a rag-tag band of so-called Islamic fundamentalist can bring the country to its knees and create shock waves of panic across the nation of more than one billion. By strapping dozens of crudely made explosive devices to bicycles and bins and blowing up as many people as possible, fear is everywhere. In a country like India, where many cities are overcrowded with millions of people, the attackers can fall back into the shadows, leaving the population afraid and vulnerable.

The sick people who carry out these attacks are hardly Muslim at all (I know, I make this point on my blog almost weekly). The attacks happening in India and Pakistan are designed to create as much tension and animosity between rival religious groups (Hindus and Muslims) and rival political parties (AQ and the Taliban's targeting of Benazir Bhutto, Musharraf, and their supporters). Sometimes they succeed, as they managed to do in Iraq for sometime, until the Iraqi people finally stood up and said "Enough!", and other times they stand in solidarity, as they have managed to do in India's religiously diverse communities. Despite dozens of attacks, including Saturday's bomb blasts, there has yet to be large-scale violence against the Hindu and Muslim population. This is the good news, and the fact that their barbaric form of "resistance" has failed to do what's intended must hit back at the forces of terrorism.

Photos from CNN/AP

"Blood Metals"

2008-07-25T20:42:00.000-07:00

The video above offers some insight into the situation currently taking place in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or the DRC. For those of you who have very little knowledge of just how serious this conflict is, please watch it, and then think of it together with the story below. The article says the demand for this so-called "coltan" has tapered off (not too many people are buying a Playstation 2 these days) but it also reminds us that Africa is full of plenty of other resources genocidal militias and despotic regimes would love to get their hands on and sell to unsuspecting prospective buyers in the west.

The ongoing violence in Eastern Congo could very well threaten another regional war if a catalyst would set the stage for one. Who's to say the latest must-have piece of technology won't be it?

Did Rare Metallic Ore Fuel African "PlayStation War"?

Remember the 2006 movie Blood Diamond? Academy Award nominated flick starring Leo DiCaprio and Jennifer Connelly about conflict diamonds mined in African war zones and sold to diamond manufacturers to profit warlords and fund brutal wars involving shocking human rights violations? According to a report by progressive media site Toward Freedom, subtract diamonds and insert Sony's international sales-record-trouncing PlayStation 2.

Blame it on a dull black substance called coltan, also known as columbite-tantalite, also occasionally dubbed "black gold." Coltan has been a source material in the manufacture of cell phones, DVD players, computers, and you guessed it: game consoles. Earlier this month, Toward Freedom claimed the metallic ore had exacerbated a decade-old conflict in the Congo, controversially rebranding it "The PlayStation War."

The allegations include charges that hundreds of millions of dollars worth of coltan was stolen from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during its bloody 1998-2003 conflict, mostly by Rwandan military and militias supported by the Rwandan government, but also by several western-based mining companies, metal brokers, and metal processors that allegedly partnered with the Rwandan factions.

A glimmer of hope for justice

2008-07-12T12:30:00.001-07:00

In my opinion, strongly worded language like this is *long* overdue if we are to get anywhere in resolving the conflict in Darfur. I say they should bring out the handcuffs for this guy.

Pursuit of Sudan’s Leader Incites Debate

UNITED NATIONS — The International Criminal Court’s pursuit of Sudan’s president set off fierce debate at the United Nations on Friday, with the Sudanese ambassador accusing the court of trying to destabilize his country and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressing concern about the safety of United Nations personnel in the African nation.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the chief prosecutor at the court, is expected to announce on Monday that he is seeking an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan in connection with the widespread killing of civilians in the Darfur region since 2003. The United Nations estimates that the conflict has left 300,000 people dead and 2.7 million displaced, and some diplomats worry that the Sudanese will retaliate against the prosecutor’s move by evicting the relief agencies that the civilians depend on to survive.

In anticipation of Monday’s announcement, United Nations officials and diplomats said, tense meetings were held throughout the day, with China, Russia and the African Union arguing that the indictment should not proceed, and the United States and Europe countering that the judicial process had to be allowed to work independently.

This just might be the most beautiful country in the world

2008-07-09T20:42:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks back, I wrote a post about the complex relationship between the United States and Iran. Needless to say, I am rather alarmed by the already strained tensions that have increased since then, which is the reason I decided to write this post.

The Iranian government has once again demonstrated its desire to create instability in the region with Tuesdays launch of several long-range missiles...including the Shahab 3, a ballistic missile capable of striking almost anywhere in the Middle East, and even southern Europe. However, as the West's standoff with Iran intensifies, I think it is important that people, especially Americans, get to see that Iran--as a country, people, and culture--is not evil, and that there are other options besides violent conflict. Personally, I believe that reaching out to the Iranian people and their amazing culture is the best option we have, as well as making sure that the democratic governments in Iraq and Afghanistan--Iran's most significant neighbors--flourish. I remember a broadcast of the Rush Limbaugh program one time, where the conservative host put together a parody song of the democrats. While I found that hilarious, since I am disgusted with "leaders" like Reid and Pelosi, he also went far enough to suggest that Iranians somehow hate the USA. Seeing that Iran is considered to be the largest state sponsor of terrorism, and routinely threatens Israel, it might not be hard to believe this. But fortunately for those of us who want to see a free Iran AND an absence of a third war in the region, there just might be hope.

First of all, look how beautiful these photos are. I have never had the honor of visiting Iran and experiencing what appears to be a breathtaking culture, but I certainly hope I do...perhaps in the not-so-distant future.

Azadi Tower, what a sight to see.

Before I began following events in the Middle East, I once believed Iran was a "desert". While some of it may be, this fresh fallen snow is just as beautiful as anything you might come across here in California--lake Tahoe--or my former home states, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

There is something to remember here: as Iran's Revolutionary Guards continue to come up with more provocative antics to antagonize the west, and the United States and Israel draw up military plans of action to strike Iran, all sides should realize that the first things to be destroyed will not be Iran's brutal theocratic government...it will not be the state of Israel...it will not be the American way of life...and it will not be the forces of terrorism that has infested Iran's borders and exported their bloody ways to other countries. No, instead, the first thing to be destroyed will be Iran's most beautiful sights, places to visit, and welcoming people.

By the way, I hope that this article reflects the true nature of Iranians--that they are not sympathetic to the ways of their government, at least when it comes to having closer relations to the west

What?????

2008-07-03T16:34:00.000-07:00

Last week, I was about to get a Coca-Cola when I noticed the company is "proud partners" with Beijing 2008. After seeing that, I had to put it down (I like Pepsi better anyway). Below is an example of precisely why I am so angry with the Chinese and what they have been doing.

Now is this a fair demand? China is insisting the Dalai Lama renounce violence and Tibetan Independence. Am I reading this correctly?

BEIJING (AP) — China insists the Dalai Lama prove he doesn't support Tibetan independence or disruption of the Beijing Olympics, telling two envoys for the spiritual leader that such "positive actions" are needed before further talks, a state news agency said Thursday.

The demand made by a top Chinese official in two days of meetings indicated no change in Beijing's position toward the Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has long spoken against violence but is frequently demonized by China's Communist leadership.

Beijing has accused him and his supporters of fomenting anti-government protests that rocked Tibet and other Tibetan-inhabited areas of China in March.

The charge has been repeatedly rejected by the Tibetan government-in-exile, which said Thursday that the Dalai Lama had been "tireless" in expressing his commitment to nonviolence.

"He has also gone out of his way to publicly announce his support for the Beijing Olympics. He has even said that he would like to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics to show his support," said Thupten Samphal, a spokesman for the exile government in Dharmsala, India.

Asking the Dalai Lama to "renounce violence" is like asking Al-Qaeda to "renounce peace". If anyone should be renouncing violence, it is the Chinese...through all they have been doing to his people, the Dalai Lama is still looking for dialogue with China, yet they actually have the nerve to accuse him of fomenting the violence that has plagued Tibet in recent months.

One vote is all it takes

2008-06-30T21:04:00.001-07:00

In this video, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is seen casting a ballot in his one-man presidential election, trying to make the impression that his country is somehow embracing democracy (opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is currently holed up in the Dutch Embassy, fearing for his life as armed Mugabe supporters await him outside).

I don't even see why Mugabe is even bothering to hold an election, his vote he is casting is the only one that matters, and the only one that will count, in his form of "democracy".

I recently read that Americans are less concerned with foreign policy, and are more focused on domestic issues, like the economy...well, in Zimbabwe, inflation has soared to unimaginable levels, unemployment is rampant, and the people are heavily reliant on food aid. Now, when a leader has failed the people in a way like Robert Mugabe has, the people have a responsibility to remove that leader from office. America's problems pale in comparison to Zimbabwe's, but nevertheless, in November, Americans have the chance to chose a leader they believe will be the most productive, whether that be John McCain or Barack Obama. No doubt the percentage who fail to see their candidate elected will take this right for granted.

With Zimbabwe, the options are clear--vote for Mugabe, or risk having a militia come to your home to torture, kill, and dismember you and your family. In the end, it doesn't really matter, because more of Mugabe will bring the latter with it no matter what.

Also, note the mobile phone footage that was taken for this video, where a police chief is seen sifting through the votes of his fellow officers during the election, only approving those that have checked off Mugabe's name.

I suppose this is just another day in Africa...

The friend of our enemy is our friend...the complex and ironic relationship between the United States, Iraq, and Iran

2008-06-21T21:26:00.000-07:00

While writing this post, I was unable to get the lyrics to Bob Marley's renowned song One Love out of my head...it just seemed so fitting, yet so far off (Okay, I was actually playing it on my iTunes).

The position that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki and the Iraqi government are currently in is quite an interesting one. Just think, recently, on a trip to Iran, Maliki visited the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini, while not long before that, he was over here in the United States visiting with the families of U.S. service members getting ready to deploy to an Iraq, something the Iranians are vehemently opposed to--and make clear on a daily basis. I often wonder to myself why this question is not asked more often. Sure, it does come up, but seriously, look at these two pictures below.

Here, PM Maliki is meeting with President Bush, with the flags of Iraq and the United States proudly displayed across from one another. The Iraqi government has reiterated its support for American troops to remain in Iraq to counter the insurgency, rebuild the country, and set it on the right path towards democracy. American currently has over 150,000 troops in Iraq, and even with an upcoming presidential election, that number is unlikely to be greatly reduced anytime soon (even if Big O becomes the next president, I think he'll even acknowledge the importance of staying in Iraq)...and this is at the request of a democratically elected government headed by the Islamic Da'wa Party, of which PM Maliki is a member of.

And who is one of Dawa's biggest supporters: Iran.

That is right--Iran. Here, you can see Maliki and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad holding hands in brotherly affection. I couldn't imagine that Ahmadinejad is not well aware of the fact that his Iraqi brother has stood by the side of President George W. Bush, whom Ahmadinejad routinely attacks, and vise-versa. Indeed, Iraq is in quite a precarious position between what the United States has labeled as "The Axis of Evil" and what the Revolutionaries in Iran have labeled as "The Great Satan".

On his recent trip to Iraq, Ahmadinejad stated that it was a good thing to see Iraq free of Saddam Hussein...okay, so who does he think removed Saddam Hussein? It certainly wasn't Muqtada Al-Sadr, or any other Iraqi nationalist figure with connections to Tehran. In fact, this is often tied into the debate over whether or not the United States should have gone into Iraq...some critics of President Bush believe he empowered the Iranians by removing Saddam Hussein, and there is no argument that Iran's influence in the region has grown without Saddam's regime on its western border. Yet for some reason, relations between the United States and Iran could not be at a lower point, never mind that both of them have benefited from the removal of Saddam's Hussein's regime in Iraq, as well as the ousting of the Taliban in Afghanistan, where the United States and Iran actually worked together! Much like the Government of Iraq, Afghan President Hamid Karzai is also a strong supporter of the positive influence he says is coming from Iran and the United States.

So here's what I am wondering. First off, why won't the American and Iranian government face the reality that is inconvenient when the two nations trade barbs, accusations, and threats at each other? Second, why can't Maliki and Karzai bring this issue up, whether they are walking down a red carpet outside the White House or at a receiving ceremony in Tehran? If Iran and the United States truly see Iraq and Afghanistan as strategic allies, then perhaps it is time they trust them to play a much needed role as mediator...a positive role at mediation amongst allies could be the difference between more violence, conflict and war, and a partnership that could prove to make the world a better place in the end.

The United States and Iran will not be able to settle their differences on their own...the leaders of both countries have gone out of their way to make it as difficult as possible, unfortunately. Just look at the recent breakdown of U.S.-Iranian talks on Iraqi security. However, this appeal I am making is to the allies of both countries. A mention of this at a press conference by Al-Maliki or Karzai (whether they be with Bush, the next U.S. President, Ahmadinejad, or Khamenei) would certainly put the issue to the forefront, because it is a reality that cannot be ignored while Iran and the United States battle it out on many fronts to achieve power on the world stage.

Iraqis rally around their soccer team

2008-06-14T13:51:00.000-07:00

Iraqis are rallying around their soccer team after Iraq's victory against China. Even amidst futile attempts by terrorists and thugs to sabotage the happiness in Iraq, Iraqis are demonstrating just how strong they stand.

TIANJIN, China, June 14 (Reuters) - Iraq kept their 2010 World Cup hopes alive and buried those of China after Nashat Akram's second half goal gave them a 2-1 win in the third round of Asian qualifying on Saturday.

Emad Mohammed scored a first half equaliser for the Asian champions but it was Akram's 66th minute strike that ensured that Iraq would go into their final group match against Qatar in two weeks with a chance of progressing whatever the result of the Qataris match against Australia later on Saturday.

"The score does not tell the story, this was a difficult game for us especially after going a goal behind," Iraq coach Adnan Hamad told reporters.

"But we are very happy that we delivered on our promise to go back home with three points."

China, who needed to win to remain in the hunt for the second trip to the World Cup finals after 2002, had the best of the game, but after taking the lead in the first half through Zhou Haibin, wasted too many chances and will remain in the international wilderness until at least 2014.

Iraqis, enjoy your victory today in soccer...I hope you will enjoy your victory over the forces of terrorism even more, and we can only hope that will be soon.

By the way, here is yet another example of Al-Qaeda's growing desperation to cause chaos and break the will of the Iraqi people. Much thanks is to be owed to the brave policeman who is mentioned in the above link.

Tim Russert: 1950-2008...rest in peace

2008-06-13T23:01:00.000-07:00

Tim Russert was once of the few media personalities who still upheld the values of traditional journalism...he had a way of being balanced with his guests, and he always focused on the most important issues. Reading the news of his death was no doubt shocking, and I hope that he will be remembered for his qualities and ability to keep his viewers and fans informed about the day's most important events. Today's media could certainly use many more people like Tim Russert, and it is a tragedy that he has been lost. The media has definitely reached a low point between the endless stories of meaningless news, celebrity gossip, and political bias, and Russert offered a much needed alternative and a step back into the way it should be with his insight. My Grandfather has a good saying about Russert's program (He was, and still is, a big fan of Tim Russert): "No matter what side his guests were on, he had a way of holding their feet to the fire". That, I must say, was very true. But it was always in a respectful way, not in the way you might see Keith Olbermann or Bill O'Reilly handle it. Tim Russert was a very good man, may he rest in peace. I will very much miss his political analysis, as will all of those who enjoyed his views, TV show, and his personality.

Barack Obama, Israel, and Iraq

2008-06-04T11:11:00.000-07:00

I am already tired of hearing about the presidential election...seriously, you can only listen to so much of it, and it starts to get depressing. I have been trying to watch Fox News and CNN lately and I would say about forty percent of the time, the news is either about Barack and Hillary, fifty percent is about unnecessary stories most informed people would have no interest in, nine percent of the news is about John McCain, and lastly, you could squeeze in just a little bit of international news (which is what I watch the news for in the first place) to make up the remaining one percent. I am no media analyst, but this is the rough impression I get from when I watch the news. There is a reason why I prefer international media--the BBC, the Dawn, etc.

Anyway, this was an interesting story from BBC:

Barack Obama has pledged unwavering support for Israel in his first foreign policy speech since declaring himself the Democratic nominee for president.

He told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), a prominent Jewish lobby, Israel's security was "sacrosanct" and "non-negotiable".

He also said he would do "everything" to stop Iran getting a nuclear weapon.

As the Democrats' primary season ended, Mr Obama received the support of enough delegates to clinch the nomination.

His rival, Hillary Clinton, has yet to concede.

Okay, great...Barack Obama is pledging support for Israel. He has also stated he wants to go after Al-Qaeda in the tribal belts of Pakistan. Now, if only he would make a pledge like this to support Iraq no matter what...and stand beside the Iraqi people, regardless of poll numbers or what his left-leaning base says. I would sleep a lot better if I knew that both candidates--McCain and Obama--were saying the right things on foreign policy. Obama has made history being the first African-American to secure the democratic nomination for president, now I suggest he do something just as symbolic...he should take McCain up on his offer for both of them to visit Iraq and see first-hand the amazing progress that is taking place over there. They could meet with American and Iraqi commanders on the ground, and promise that no matter what, the United States will support Iraq in its battle against Al-Qaeda and Muqtada's boys in Sadr City.

Both McCain and Obama have repeatedly stated they want to unite the country and end "partisan" politics, and I think that a joint visit to Iraq to make a promise to the Iraqi people would be the best way to do that.

Separating Islam from Al-Qaeda

2008-06-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

It is widely speculated that a massive car bomb attack against the Danish Embassy in the Pakistani capitol of Islamabad on Monday is reaction to the Danish cartoons that have been the subject of great controversy in recent months. The first thing on everyone's mind will be the notion that Islamic extremists are somehow "defending Islam" by driving a car packed with explosives into a foreign embassy, but let's remember something--there are over 1.2 billion Muslims in the world, and even if only 10 percent of them embraced Al-Qaeda's beliefs, the world would quickly be brought to its knees in a sea of destruction. The suggestion by some that attacks like this are the mainstream view in Islam are incorrect, the numbers themselves prove that wrong. Instead, controversies like the Danish Cartoons and the Dutch film "Fitna" give Al-Qaeda and other extremists a chance to recruit followers by convincing them that their religion is being insulted...and also put more distance between Muslims and westerners, who should be embracing each other in the fight against extremism. Anyone who reads my writings knows that I am a strong supporter of Islam and believe that the faith has been twisted into a sadistic ideology by some to advance certain beliefs--beliefs that are far from what is taught in the Koran. Someday, Al-Qaeda's lasting legacy will be the horrendous destruction it has brought upon Muslim countries and the religon it claimed to be fighting for, and not necessarily the attacks it has succeeded in carrying out in the west, which pale in comparison.

There's another reason not to believe the speculation that this is only about "blasphemy". Consider that AQ's #2 man Ayman Al-Zawahiri has openly declared that the Danish cartoons merit a response from Muslims, but why is it that Mr. Zawahiri doesn't have much to say when his Taliban allies in Pakistan's northwest blast their way through crowds of worshippers in mosques to target security officials and politicians? Surely, that is FAR more degrading and harmful to Islam than anything a Danish newspaper can print or anything Geert Wilders can say in his misguided film, yet Al-Qaeda and their fellow extremists do so with glee not only in Pakistan, but in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other Muslim countries. Al-Qaeda is exploiting this issue--and I strongly suggest the Dutch film "Fitna" and other anti-Muslim propaganda should be pulled, but by the looks of it, Al-Qaeda is far more interested in killing innocent people (mainly Muslims) and bringing about destruction in Muslim countries, so it isn't fair to say they are standing with their "fellow Muslims" to defend a religion they have greatly perverted.

Here's the story about the attack from The New York Times. Keep in mind Pakistan's government is trying to engage in "peace talks" with the Taliban, including militant leader Baitullah Mehsud, who is believed to be responsible for some of the many suicide bombings that have plagued Pakistani cities the last year and a half--including the assassination on Benazir Bhutto and the previous attempt on her life that killed scores of her supporters two months earlier.

A powerful car bomb exploded outside the Danish Embassy in an upscale area of the Pakistani capital Monday, badly damaging the building and killing at least six people, according to reports from hospitals.

A senior official at the Interior Ministry, Rehman Malik, said one foreigner was among the dead, but he did not give a nationality. Casualty lists posted at two hospitals said that six people had died and more than 20 had been injured. Mr. Malik said the police were investigating whether the blast was a suicide attack. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The blast, heard around the city at about 1 p.m., was the second effort to single out foreigners in Islamabad in the last few months and came as the civilian government has signed a series of peace deals with Islamic militants in the nation’s tribal areas.

Several European bomb experts who examined the blast site said that the bomb appeared to have contained about 110 pounds of explosives and left a crater nearly three feet deep. It was powerful enough to wreck cars up and down a street that is home to many diplomatic residences, schools and a nearby shopping center.

Sometimes it might take a perspective from the other side of the world...

2008-06-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

The most obvious goal of a blogger should be to write posts that people will want to read. With that, it might seem difficult to convince Americans that their country can learn a lesson from a tiny island nation off the coast of India...a country that many Americans probably can't even locate on a map, name its capital, or have a good understanding of what is happening on the ground over there.

The quote below might seem sound like it is coming from a center-right candidate running for president here in the United States, or they may sound like the work of a "neocon" strategist, or maybe even George W. Bush. But they are not, instead, they are the words of Sri Lanka's Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona, a name which by all means would leave just about any voter casting a ballot this November scratching their head and wondering "who?"

"There is no room for terrorism in this modern world. Terrorism is an unacceptable means of political expression"

Take a minute to realize that Kohona is a foreign minister of a country that faces terrorism on a daily basis...Sri Lankans are reminded of the grim reality of fanaticism regularly, even when we Americans are most concerned Barack Obama or John McCain accepting endorsements from a controversial figure or making "gaffes" on non-isses. The stakes will be very high in the coming months as American voters chose the next leader of the free world...and the most important issue of all remains terrorism, and the threat it poses to people of all walks of life and from all over the world. There is no doubt the issue has been politicized by both sides--some on the right have used it as a "fear mongering tool", while others on the left continue to deny terrorism is a real threat and beat the drum saying that America is the real villain in the world, and not the homicidal fanatics who blow up innocent people and burn cities. then of course, there are the Ron Paul types, who fear our "civil liberties are being violated" in the name of counter-terrorism.

But at the end of the day, it might not hurt to have a look at a country like Sri Lanka, which is engaged in a violent power struggle with terrorists who are determined to sabotage its democratic way of life. No matter what their political beliefs, Sri Lankans who are trying to make a living and go about their lives need to do so with an eye for danger, even with the simple things, like riding a bus or a train, which is something a disgruntled businessman dissatisfied with President Bush's handling of our efforts in Iraq probably doesn't contemplate much.

Imagine what it might be like for a second to live in Sri Lanka, perhaps in the northern Jaffna Peninsula where the Tamil Tiger rebels engage in fierce battles with government forces on a daily basis while targeting civilians, in addition to plotting the next deadly strike against public transportation.

By the way, here is part of the article in which Foreign Minister Kohona was quoted in, which I provided a link to above. What would things be like if America was faced with a domestic terror threat like this?

Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels are becoming more violent as they suffer setbacks because of a new government offensive, a top official from the war-torn South Asian nation said Saturday.

Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona said the Tigers have shown no interest in negotiating for permanent peace to end 25 years of separatist violence on the island nation off southern India.

On the contrary, there is a "continuing focus on their part to resort to violence and terrorism" — evident from recent deadly train and bus bombings — Kohona told reporters on the sidelines of a regional security conference in Singapore.

"It looks like they are absolutely committed to terrorism and nothing else. Maybe because in the battlefield they have been pushed back methodically by the government and their only response is to blow up civilians," Kohona said.

Public affairs personnel for the Tamil Tigers were not immediately available for comment.

Definitely worth thinking about, isn't it? At least the libertarians out there who fear for our civil liberties can do so in the safety and security of an American city.

One other thing I would like to say...when I mentioned fanaticism up above, notice I was not specifically referring to "Islamist" extremists. As I have noted many times here on this blog, the LTTE--the Tamil Tigers, a terrorist group which was the focus of this post, is a devout secularist group that embraces (and often sets the bar) the same destructive means of committing brutal acts of violence against the most innocent of all people as anyone from Al-Qaeda, Hamas, or the other "Islamic" groups. It is also worth noting that the threat we here in the west are primarily concerned with, so-called Islamic terrorism, is primarily setting its sights on Muslims who refuse to go along with their ideology, which I believe betrays everything the religion of Islam teaches in the first place. The true and good Muslims in this world are in this battle with us just as much as people in Sri Lanka or any other country in the world faced with the threat of terrorism.

This is a reality that cannot be stressed enough.

A sight to see...

2008-05-28T18:15:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder to myself why some of the most beautiful places in the world are faced with the most problems. I look at this amazing picture from Karbala, Iraq, and think to myself how excited I would be if I had the chance to travel there...yet for some reason, amid all those crowds of devoted Shiite worshippers heading towards the mosque, there are forces somewhere in that city that are determined to make it more dangerous and less safe for not only aspiring visitors like myself, but the people who view it as a central part of their religious practice. The idea of Mahdi Army splinter cells planting IED's on Karbala's streets is more than a bit unnerving.

The saddest part is that many of these people (the terrorists and militias) are making it more dangerous in the name of the very religion they end up oppressing. Just think of all the Karbala residents who are afraid to leave their homes for fear of being caught up in a rival militia battle or and Al-Qaeda inspired car bomb attack. By all means, they need to be stopped, so that beautiful culture like the photo above can be appreciated by people the world over. Let's pray that the Iraqi Security Forces and their American allies succeed in routing terrorism from Iraq once and for all. That is closer to happening everyday, but it will take time, and the best way for it to succeed is if we can all stand united together.

I know I have been talking about Iraq a lot lately (my last few posts), but I would like to make the plea once again for everyone to forget about politics or their opinions and think about what's right. Some of you may be the fiercest Bush critics out there, but it doesn't change the fact that you should applaud the Iraqis for fighting against terrorism and feel a sense of happiness when positive news starts coming out of Iraq.

Bringing some good news to the forefront

2008-05-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

Things haven't been positive lately. If you turn on pretty much any news program today you are probably hearing about how "hopeless" things are. Waking up to news every morning and seeing that oil and gas prices have risen to new highs and the the outlook for the economy is "bleak" could certainly give someone the impression that there are few reasons to be looking up.

However, if you push past the morning news and the words coming from politicians who are seeking to translate these issues into votes, you can see that there are some good things--very good things in fact--that are happening.

Consider this...

From Timesonline:

Iraq dramatically increased the official size of its oil reserves yesterday after new data suggested that they could exceed Saudi Arabia’s and be the largest in the world.

The Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister told The Times that new exploration showed that his country has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, with as much as 350 billion barrels. The figure is triple the country’s present proven reserves and exceeds that of Saudi Arabia’s estimated 264 billion barrels of oil. Barham Salih said that the new estimate had been based on recent geological surveys and seismic data compiled by “reputable, international oil companies . . . This is a serious figure from credible sources.”

But that's not all. As its reserves grow, Iraq has the potential to reap in more than $70 billion in oil revenues in 2008. A profit like this means that the Government of Iraq can put more efforts into reconstruction and security improvements.

“We need to recognise after so many decades of mismanagement of the oil industry that we need to call a spade a spade,” he told a group of delegates at the World Economic Forum in Sharm el-Sheikh. “We can regulate it, but we need private investment to develop Iraq’s production capacities.” He said that Iraq was pumping 2.5 million barrels of oil a day at present, earning about $70 billion (£35.9 billion) in revenue this year.

Iraq may be receding in terms of news coverage. Success stories in Baghdad--like Operation Salaam, do not tarnish the current president's image nearly as much as the "struggling" economy do, which precisely the effect many in today's media would like to see. Americans going to the polls will no doubt be most concerned with the events happening in their immediate and everyday lives, like economic problems. Good news from the other side of the world may not be the first thing on voters minds this November, but nevertheless, to the people of Iraq, this current "oil crisis" is a blessing in disguise.

If Iraqi leaders can find a way to work together and use Iraq's commodities to rebuild their country, perhaps Iraq can become a safe and prosperous country. Perhaps this good news could even help to safeguard attempts by a possible Democratic Administration to pull the plug on American aide to Iraq in the coming months and years. Personally, such a notion allows me to breath a sigh of relief.

I can imagine it now--an Iraq that can govern itself, maintain a prosperous and growing economy, secure its cities, and open up to the world its amazing and beautiful culture. Terrorism will be a thing of the past in the streets of Baghdad, and checkpoints and roadblocks will be replaced by cafes and restaurants frequented by tourists from all across the world. Iraq will no longer be a political issue being debated on Capitol Hill...instead, it will be the subject of curiosity and desire to experience all the country has to offer.

It may seem like a dream, but then again, nothing is impossible, right?

Security...something to be appreciated

2008-05-13T17:19:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, I really think that Americans take their security and safety for granted. Just think of all the consumers who will complain about rising prices at the gas station or the supermarket, but for the most part, they remain able to do so without fear of a terrorist attack.

On Tuesday, a series of devastating bomb blasts ripped through several crowded markets and Hindu Temples in the Indian city of Jaipur, killing or wounding hundreds of people.

From the BBC:

At least 60 people have been killed and more than 150 wounded after a series of bomb blasts tore through the city of Jaipur in western India, officials say.

The bombs went off near historic monuments in the crowded old city at one of the busiest times of the day.

The head of state police said it was a terrorist attack. Reports suggest the death toll could rise.

Jaipur, in Rajasthan, is a popular tourist destination about 260km (160 miles) from the Indian capital, Delhi.

No group has admitted planting bombs in Jaipur. It is not yet clear what the motive for attacking the city might be.

Most people in Jaipur are Hindus but the city has a large Muslim minority. Correspondents say it has no history of religious violence.

In the 6 years since 9/11, the United States has been spared the brutal wrath of terrorism...enough time to allow it to become a political punchline at times, mainly among the anti-Bush factions who believe that the president's policies are the biggest threat to global stability. Does anyone remember the movie "Fahrenheit 9/11", where Michael Moore suggests that the terrorist threat is overblown and is being exploited by the Bush Administration? In the months and years that followed that movie, we have seen terrorists blow up commuter trains in the bowels of London, execute school children in Russia, detonate wedding parties in Iraq and Jordan, assassinate leaders in Lebanon and Pakistan, repeatedly decimate cities in Algeria, and target cafes in Israel...the list goes on. Almost on a daily basis, political extremists are taking more and more victims.

But it is not only comments that come from the American left and the so-called "antiwar" movement I take issue with. I often see conservative commentators and Republicans saying the same old phrase "Its better to fight them over there than over here". To me, that is a really dumb phrase, because the entire world is in this together. This is not only an issue of "national security". The one group that has been singled out as the source behind much of the terrorism in the world--Muslims--have also been the biggest victims. Sure, Al-Qaeda and the Takfiri extremists take victims in all forms--they may be westerners, Hindus, or Jews, but more often than not, Muslims continue to be targeted the most. The fact that Muslims have taken the brunt of terrorist violence certainly puts a dent in the beliefs of televangelists like Rod Parsley who claim that Islam is an "evil" religion seeking to topple western civilization.

Showing gratitude

Instead of viewing countries like Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan as the proverbial "over there" some political leaders speak of, we should show tremendous respect to the people of those countries for fighting terrorism...right in their own backyard. While Americans go out shopping with the biggest worry of how much they can spend, Iraqis, Afghans, and others who live "over there" have to do so while fearing for their lives.

Sometimes though, they are not given the respect they deserve. The so-called "antiwar" movement repeatedly downplays the reality that Al-Qaeda is indeed operating inside of Iraq and targeting innocent people in its campaign of mass murder. Instead, they would like to present to the American people (or as they see it, potential voters) that the current fighting is only about ancient hatred, and that Iraqis are lusting for each others' blood and unable to put their country back together. The Iraqi Security Forces are portrayed as incompetent and incapable of handling operations on their own, even as they are bravely fighting against terrorism (in their own country) and taking losses much higher than their American counterparts.

I suggest we show a little more appreciation...and respect. Just because the terror attacks that are wrecking havoc across the globe have not found their way into the streets of an American city these last few years does not mean we should forget about it. Our allies and friends, as well as those who are determined to make the world a more dangerous place are fully participating...and Americans should be as well.

Darfur update...

2008-05-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

Are there any doubts remaining about whether or not the regime of Omar Al-Bashir, the Sudanese President, is actually looking for a peaceful solution to the conflict in Darfur?

From AP:

The peacekeeping force in Darfur said Tuesday it was still trying to evacuate those wounded in airstrikes two days earlier that an aid group reported left 12 people dead, including six children.

The U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Ameerah Haq, called for immediate access to the wounded.

"I am deeply perturbed by the reported bombings of a school, water installations and a market where civilians, especially women and children are present," she said in a statement.

Gen. Martin Luther Agwai, commander of the joint African Union-UN peacekeeping mission, said the bombings were "unacceptable acts against civilians" and said recent Darfur violence reflected a "total lack of commitment" by the government and the rebel groups to the peace process.

U.S.-based Darfur Diaries said six children, ages 4 to 11, were killed in an airstrike Sunday on a school it funds in the village of Shegeg Karo in North Darfur. Six more people were killed when the village's market area was bombed.

Residents reported that a Sudanese government aircraft hovered over the area for some time before repeatedly bombing it, the aid group said.

At the same time, Bashir's government is facing an unprecedented threat from ethnic African rebels, who just recently mounted an assault on the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. Unfortunately, this will only give the Sudanese government another opportunity to continue its scorched earth policy in Darfur.

From Reuters:

Sudanese forces hunted for suspected Darfur rebels in Khartoum on Monday after an unprecedented rebel attack at the weekend and detained Islamist opposition leader Hassan al-Turabi before releasing him.

Bursts of gunfire kept Khartoum on edge. It was the first time fighting had reached the capital in decades of conflict between the traditionally Arab-dominated central government and rebels from far-flung regions in the oil-producing country.

Darfur rebel leader Khalil Ibrahim told Reuters he would keep up attacks until President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's government fell. About 65 people were believed to have been killed in the attack that began on Saturday.

As we head into an election year and news of the economy and rising oil prices take center stage, the Darfur Genocide may very well be disappearing from view. For those of us who still care, we must do everything to make sure the voices of Darfur's victims do not go unheard...because this is far from over. Peace in Darfur will never be possible if the Sudanese government is not revealed for the murderous force that it is.

The West's double-standard

2008-05-07T20:52:00.000-07:00

At this time, the citizens of Myanmar are coping with the aftermath of a devastating cyclone. The death toll from the disaster is estimated to be in the tens of thousands, with many more missing and homeless. Aid Agencies are lining up to send in aid workers to provide much-needed relief, and even U.S. military vessels have been deployed off the coast of the Southeast Asian nation.

Unfortunately, this is not the only time the people of Myanmar have been suffering. Last year, the brutal military regime, known as the "Junta" orchestrated a campaign of ruthless murder against pro-democracy demonstrators.

From Al-Jazeera English:

For some reason, it seems that tragedies caused by mother nature take priority over those being caused by our fellow human beings. I suppose it is easier for people to rally together in the face of a storm or some other natural disaster, but much harder when the human suffering is being caused by a repressive military dictatorship.

Myanmar is not the only example. Is it necessary to invoke the Rwandan Genocide? The response to that spasm of destruction was merely a small presence of UN troops and an occasional voice of concern coming from the Clinton White House. For over three months, no one had the courage to do anything, and over a million people were left to die. Then there's Darfur, where some 400,000 people have been killed by the regime of Omar Al-Bashir. If correct, that estimate would be almost twice as many casualties as the 2004 tsunami that devastated coastal towns on the Indian Ocean. But because of our failure to even fully assess the situation, we may never know the exact number of victims claimed by the Khartoum Government. I probably shouldn't even mention violence-racked Eastern Congo, a nightmare that has claimed more lives than any of the above tragedies (both human and natural) combined. And then there are the occasions where human-caused death and destruction and natural disasters go hand and hand, like the Tamil Tigers' recruitment of child tsunami victims to fight as soldiers in the wake of the disaster.

To be clear, the outpouring of concern for the victims of Cyclone Nargis is a VERY good thing, and we can only pray that the regime in Yangon will accept every bit of aid and relief being offered. But it is a shame the international community can not take the same course of action in the face of threats that do not come from mother nature, but instead from a government that has betrayed its responsibility of protecting its citizens. Sadly, this storm is only salt in the wound for the people of Myanmar.

Some thoughts on Tibet

2008-05-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I visited Chinatown in San Francisco and had the opportunity to observe a man standing on top of a box and shouting out slogans against the Dalai Lama to a small crowd of onlookers. The first thought to cross my mind was how could anyone hate someone like the Dalai Lama, a peaceful man who has done nothing more than call for a peaceful resolution to the Chinese occupation of his homeland.

Since I saw that rather disturbing display, I have been thinking a lot about this issue and I realized one reason why China will probably never voluntarily give up Tibet. For one thing, Tibet is not the only region of China that is seeking autonomy. The Chinese are more than likely fearful that an autonomous Tibet will inspire Taiwan to do the same. Much like Tibet, Taiwan has been trying for years to break free from Chinese rule, all to no avail. Then there are the Muslim regions, such as Xinjiang Province in the far west. Recently, the Chinese have pointed to the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, an Al-Qaeda-linked extremist network, as a potential threat in the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. So basically, if one province falls out of Chinese control, many more could follow. In the end, China could face the same fate as the Soviet Union.

Now, this is merely an attempt to try and understand why the Chinese continue the brutal siege of such a beautiful region. I do not think it would be a good thing if China disintegrated and millions of people were threatened with an economic crash and other problems that would emerge from such a scenario, but that would not be an issue if Mao Zedong and the communists decided against invading Tibet and conquering a people who only know peace in the first place. Is it really that much to ask for the Chinese to at least start a peaceful resolution by meeting with the Dalai Lama and treating him as a legitimate leader? Would it be so much to ask if he could return to his homeland without fear of retribution? These are steps that can be taken one at a time, but the Chinese have no desire to do so.

As the Dalai Lama's envoys are set to meet with Chinese officials, Chinese state media is continuing its criticism of him. With the upcoming Olympics, one might think that the Chinese would be doing everything they can to peacefully resolve this issue. The Dalai Lama is a man of peace...it is not as though China is facing a militant leader threatening to employ suicide bombers against civilian targets, as Israel and Sri Lanka are facing with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal or LTTE (Tamil Tigers) leader Vellupillai Prabakharan.

When the Opening Ceremonies for the 2008 Olympics begin, viewers the world over should remember that the Chinese security forces strolling through the crowds of spectators are not only busy keeping the event safe, but are also in the streets of Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, holding down their ironclad grip on the city while attacking demonstrators who dare to defy them. With every Tibetan activist who is beaten, jailed, or killed, China is only reminding us that instead of a "world power", it is nothing more than another savage and evil regime engaging in acts of brutal violence against innocent people.

Whatever it takes...

2008-04-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry, but I am just a little angry right now. I feel I cannot stand by as the DNC, the far-left, and the so-called "antiwar" movement continue to threaten our efforts in Iraq. The recent controversy with John McCain and his comments about staying in Iraq for the "next 100 years" is ridiculous. To those of you pulling the strings over at the DNC, I say this to you...well, first off, screw you!

Second, which is worse, advocating a solid, 100% commitment to the brave Iraqis who are fighting some of the most evil people out there, or advocating abandoning them for political purposes, as you people have done? If 100 years is what it takes to stop these terrorists, then so be it. I'm not one to say things like this, but if the DNC continues it propaganda campaign by showing images of Al-Qaeda's work and then calling for us to abandon Iraq, I will be happy to watch their party implode within itself as Barack and Hillary battle it out for the nomination. These people certainly deserve it.

Some might say to me, "C.H., your views aren't in line with the views of the American people". Well, I don't really care. I cannot put into words how tired I am with Iraq being a political issue. This is not an issue politicians should be using to get votes. These disgusting ads and statements coming out of the DNC headquarters need to stop, period. Enough with the debate over WMD's, the War on Terror, and whether or not it was right to go into Iraq. At the very least, can all of us, whether liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, or any other affiliation, agree that helping the people of Iraq rebuild their country and fight a savage and evil enemy is the right thing to do? ALL of us should want success in Iraq, no matter who we want to see in the White House.

Empty promises

2008-04-22T22:45:00.000-07:00

Almost four years ago, both President Bush and his opponent, Senator John Kerry, stood in front of a crowd declaring that the atrocities being committed in Sudan's western Darfur province were indeed genocide. The international community decided that action needed to be taken. The phrase "never again" was invoked on numerous occasions. Advocacy groups took root, and promises were made that the people of Darfur would not be abandoned.

Then why, may I ask, is this happening:

From AllAfrica.com:

Five years after fighting first erupted in Darfur between Sudanese Government forces and rebel groups, the world has still not found a durable solution to the suffering of millions of people in the region, the United Nations humanitarian chief told the Security Council today, warning the situation will only deteriorate unless urgent measures are taken.

John Holmes, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, told a Council meeting that he was saddened and angry to inform them that the situation inside Darfur had only worsened in the past 12 months, despite the efforts of the international community.

"We continue to see the goalposts receding, to the point where peace in Darfur seems further away today than ever," he said in a statement. "Further progress in the deployment of UNAMID [the hybrid UN-African Union peacekeeping force], equipped to protect civilians and improve security, will help.

"But only an end to all violence and concrete steps towards a political settlement will make the fundamental difference needed, as the rebel movements themselves above all need to recognize. Otherwise the reality is that the people of Darfur face a continued steady deterioration of their conditions of life and their chances of lasting recovery."

Maybe its time for an end to the empty promises and false pledges of action. How many hopes of peace have been fluttered about only to be smashed beneath the boots of Sudanese government soldiers and Janajaweed militiamen as they burn villages and bury the corpses of innocent villagers in sandy mass graves.

Is an example of "false hope needed"?

From CNN in 2004:

The Sudanese government and rebels in the country's Darfur region have signed security and humanitarian agreements in Nigeria after two weeks of talks, the press officer for Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo has said.

More than 1.5 million people have been forced from their homes because of fighting in Darfur, creating what the United Nations has termed the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

The government abandoned its objection to a no-fly zone in the area to make the security agreement happen.

The agreement moves the government closer to disarming the brutal Janjaweed militias, and it calls on both sides to allow monitors to observe the cease-fire.

But this is not the most recent example. Let us never forget the infamous "Darfur Peace Accord" of 2006. At this stage, there are really only two options left. First off, we can do what needs to be done and take a stand against the regime of Omar Al-Bashir and his hired thugs, or we can be honest with the people of Darfur and declare that, judging by our actions, that we do not care about them and are only worried about the problems happening inside of our borders. Why make meaningless and empty promises of action if we have no intention of following through with it?

It is a moral tragedy that after five years, nothing has been done and no one is putting forth any serious solutions to solve this conflict. Has the world completely lost its nerve? Even in the parts of the world that have had severe repercussions for the west, such as Afghanistan, western countries have become more reluctant than ever to confront those who pose a threat to peace and stability.

During these last five years, this tragedy has been brought up during campaigns and political events. It has been the focus of rallies calling for action...it has been featured on the nightly news, and it has been the subject of many debates. But let's remember one thing: at the end of the day, this is still happening...and no matter how many pledges of action and support we make to those who are suffering, it will not go away if it is followed by inaction and becomes an empty promise.

One less thing to worry about

2008-04-21T17:13:00.000-07:00

A new Gallup poll indicates that Americans are not as concerned about global warming as one might think. According to the poll, just over one third of Americans worry about it "considerably"...which, interestingly enough, is the same percentage as almost two decades ago.

The wrong message

2008-04-16T20:44:00.000-07:00

From Fox News Election Center:

Barack Obama declined to condemn Jimmy Carter Wednesday for Carter’s decision to meet with Hamas but said he supports diplomacy with Iran because it has recognized status internationally.

In a meeting with Jewish community leaders in Philadelphia, the Democratic presidential candidate stopped short of condemning the meeting between the former U.S. president and the designated terror group. However, he said direct talks with the Islamic Republic have practical benefits that are in Israel’s interest.

“Hamas is not a state. Hamas is a terrorist organization,” Obama said, explaining the distinction.

Now, I'm a bit confused here. According to Barack Obama, we should be engaged with a terrorist state, but avoid the terrorist groups that have been funded, or as in some cases, created by it. Iran is the epicenter of the extremist cause that has plunged the Middle East into chaos, from the borders of southern Iraq to humanitarian disaster that is brewing in the Gaza strip, and every action they have taken indicates that Khamenei (Iran's supreme leader) and Ahmadinejad are not peace-seeking individuals. In the end, is there really any difference between a terror-sponsoring state and a terrorist group? Let's not forget, back in 2001, the Taliban was the governing power in Afghanistan, even though only three countries (Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and the UAE) recognized them. Nevertheless, the Taliban embraces the same destructive beliefs as Al-Qaeda and has engaged in the same methods of terrorism against the current government in Kabul.

Barack Obama is right to say that we have no business dealing with Hamas. However, if he expects that a sit-down with the leaders of a country that has financed, supplied, and trained Hamas would be any different, he is misguided to say the least.

I'm all for discussion and diplomacy to achieve peace, but both sides actually need to want it in order for it to work. With Iran, history shows that is just not the case.

The realities of immigration

2008-04-16T16:50:00.000-07:00

This is a documentary I found on youtube about illegal immigration. The question we should all be asking ourselves is why these immigrants want to flee their homeland in the first place, not simply "how do we get rid of them" as many conservative commentators and right-wing activists tend to say. The immigrants in this video seem like perfectly ordinary people who are truly looking for a better life and better place to live. At the same time, many people here in this country are probably wondering how conditions in Mexico can be so bad that millions of people are fleeing over the border.

Obviously, Mexicans are faced with a number of problems, from poverty to drug cartels terrorizing the population in the country's north. It may very well be that the solution to solving this problem will be the actions taken by the Mexican government to solve the drug trade issues and the fierce violence that claimed the lives of thousands of people last year alone, as opposed to any of the solutions being passed around in Congress or in any of the talking points given by Lou Dobbs or Pat Buchanan.

The extreme right (like those mentioned above) seem to think that building a wall across the border and sealing ourselves off will somehow solve this issue. Personally, I would like to see that wall torn down because it alienates this country from the Mexican community and basically sends the message that we do not want to associate with them. To make life better for people on both sides of the border we should be doing the exact opposite--the USA and Mexico should come up with a comprehensive plan to work together in helping the people of Mexico live better lives, instead of having to pack up and flee through scorching deserts and terrain run by drug cartels who have adopted Al-Qaeda inspired tactics.

One way or another, building a wall is not the answer, but developing a closer relationship and working together with those on the other side of the border just might be.

Even the best of intentions can have disasterous consequences

2008-04-10T09:50:00.000-07:00

From the Washington Post:

Former president Jimmy Carter plans to meet next week in Damascus with Khaled Meshal, the head of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, in a direct rebuke of the Bush administration's campaign to isolate it.

The disclosure of Carter's plans by the Arabic-language newspaper al-Hayat and subsequent confirmation by sources familiar with his itinerary instantly placed the campaigns of Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in a political bind.

The campaign of Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the presumptive Republican nominee, was quick to blast Carter's plans and called on both Obama and Clinton to condemn the meeting with what the State Department lists as a terrorist group.

Both Clinton and Obama issued statements with milder language, saying they "disagreed" or did "not agree" with Carter's plans.

Carter's views of the Middle East attracted controversy last year because a book he wrote included tough criticism of Israel's policies. Indeed, a source close to Carter said that the former president favors Obama but that he has decided not to endorse Obama publicly or formally because he fears it would contribute to hostility toward Obama among Jewish Democrats.

My View:

Now I'm going to be honest and speak my mind about ol' Jim's decision to fly over to Damascus to meet with Khaled Meshaal, a terrorist in a suit: his intentions are good. Yes, I believe that Jimmy Carter actually thinks this will lead to progress. After all, people like him believe that Hamas is just misguided and has simply chosen the wrong path. We've seen this before...let us not forget Dennis Kucinich and Nancy Pelosi's adventures in Syria last year, which was a total rejection of not only the Bush Administration's policies, but better judgement and the difference between right and wrong.

In the end, a visit with a former U.S. President will only help Hamas' PR campaign. Before he goes on his trip, I hope that Jimmy Carter has read up on every single attack carried out by Hamas and the savage acts against innocent civilians, both Israeli and Palestinians, it has committed. I also hope he has watched the propaganda videos that on Hamas TV and Iranian hate television that glorify terrorism and encourage young children to detonate themselves in the name of a religion that has been betrayed.

I would be appropriate if the former president has all of that on his mind when his plane flies over the skyline of Damascus and is welcomed by a regime that has hosted a variety of thugs and murderers from all across the Muslim world.

14 years ago...

2008-04-07T16:21:00.000-07:00

I found the video above on Youtube, and I thought it put things into perspective pretty well.

14 years ago, in April of 1994, the tragedy that would become the Rwandan Genocide was underway. In the end, it would become the most efficient killing spree in human history, with some 1,070,000 people killed by the ruthless Hutu militiamen roaming across the countryside. The UN ran away and the international community did nothing. It gave the world yet another opportunity to mumble the phrase "Never Again" after the killings were over. Basically, we said we would do better next time.

But Rwanda was that "next time". Before Rwanda, there was Cambodia, where Pol Pot's reign of terror wiped out a portion of the country's population. And of course, after Rwanda, there was Eastern Congo, which would basically become a sequel to what had happened in Rwanda several years earlier, this time leaving even more bodies in its wake. Today, the people of Darfur find themselves at the mercy of a genocidal madman barking orders to a band of thugs and militiamen from his palace in Khartoum. Somalia is being overrun by fanatical Islamic insurgents who are driving tens of thousands of people from their homes each month and killing anyone who gets in their way, and Iraq is under siege by Iranian-backed militiamen and the murderous force that is Al-Qaeda.

Most of these conflicts we choose to ignore..Darfur, Somalia, and Congo are the best examples. Then in the case of Iraq, we have people who march through the streets waving signs and calling on the US to simply pack up and go home, even though a sudden withdrawal would lead to chaos that would threaten the lives of millions and could very well find a way to follow us back home. I'm not trying to make this a right-wing conservative post, but if we learned anything from 9/11, Al-Qaeda, and Afghanistan, it proved to us that events happening on the other side of the world in some desolate, forgotten region can affect our homeland in ways we never thought possible. It's not only the antiwar (so-called) movement and the American far-left that embrace the "get out now" approach, but the isolationist right as well--the Pat Buchannans and Ron Pauls of the conservative movement who believe that simply building a wall around the country and only focusing on what's happening inside our borders will somehow prevent conflict.

One of my fellow bloggers just recently wrote a great post about the poor decision made by the United States to simply pull back and give up in Vietnam, and I must say, he summed it up pretty good. The sad thing is, its not the only time we made that mistake. Had we finished the Gulf War in 1991 by helping the Kurds and the Shiites like we said we would, there's a very real chance that we never would have had to go back into Iraq in 2003. Instead, we decided it would not be worth it, and we pulled back as Saddam Hussein unleashed his fury on Southern Iraq and the Kurdish north. Two years later, after the infamous "Blackhawk Down" incident in the Somali Capital, Mogadishu, we packed up and went home. We did so to prevent the further loss of American life, but ironically, we gave the extremists and the insurgents of that country a training grounds to coordinate future attacks...and a chance to direct their attacks against the civilian population on a daily basis, although the odds are you are not hearing about this on the Nightly News. In the end, Somalia will not be on the minds of most voters who will be heading to the polls this November.

An old phrase comes to mind: If you do not learn from history, you are destined to repeat it. Well, we've been down that road several times now, and still we have not learned from history. As the world marks the anniversary of one of the greatest human tragedies in history, maybe its time we do so.

Terror in Sri Lanka

2008-04-06T12:15:00.000-07:00

From the Press Association:

A suspected Tamil Tiger suicide attacker bombed the opening ceremony of a marathon outside Sri Lanka's capital, killing a powerful government minister, a former Olympian and 12 others, the military said. Nearly 100 were wounded.

The bombing, the second this year to kill a senior government official, showed while the rebels might be on the defensive against a military onslaught on their heartland in the north, they retained the ability to launch devastating attacks deep in government territory.

The rebels have fought since 1983 for an independent homeland for ethnic minority Tamils after decades of marginalisation by governments run by the Sinhalese majority. More than 70,000 people have been killed.

Scores of runners and onlookers gathered at the starting line of the marathon in Weliweriya, about 12 miles, from Colombo, part of the national celebration of the upcoming Sinhalese New Year.

Yet again, another reminder of how dangerous the world has become.

Defying the system of economics

2008-04-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

I drove past the gas station the other day and I couldn't help but notice that the price of fuel went up 11 cents OVERNIGHT, bringing the overall cost to $3.56 a gallon. That of course, is just at Arco...at Chevron, the price is $3.65. Those of us in the San Francisco Bay Area have the honor of having some of the highest prices in the US.

I've reached the conclusion that the "law" of supply and demand is no longer relevant. For one thing, fuel supplies have been up, oil production is strong, and the demand for gasoline has been going down...yet the prices continue to rise, completely defying the system of economics. The question is, who's to blame? Some blame the oil companies, others blame the government, whether it be the Republican Administration OR the Democratic Congress (both of whom have done very little). To be honest, I don't really care who's responsible, I just want someone to fix it.

The real issue:

I couldn't help but laugh when I read this. Just recently, another report was released and offered further proof that the hysteria that is global warming is nothing but a crock, just as I have said on this blog many times. It always seems that these global warming predictors are finding ways to contradict themselves, including the back and forth predictions on hurricanes. Instead of running all these adds proclaiming that we need to "solve" global warming, we should be working to find alternative and more efficient energy...without having to make up some fictitious problem starring Al Gore and a bunch of other alarmists. There is no doubt we have an energy problem, but we should be trying to solve it without having another pretense. Talk about the need to cut back on fossil fuel consumption and the need for a new energy source is everywhere, but it seems that its always followed by the warnings and fear tactics about global warming and how it needs to be stopped. In the end, the threat of $4 per gallon gasoline will probably frighten people a lot more than Al Gore getting up on a lift, pointing to a chart, and preaching about how the destruction of humanity is imminent (unless of course, we listen to him).

Please, not another one...

2008-04-02T20:24:00.000-07:00

Last week, Hollywood released its latest propaganda film "Stop-Loss"...and just like the many others that have managed to get into the theatres, it is has tanked at the box office. We all remember movies like "Rendition", "Redacted", "Lions for Lambs", and "In the Valley of Elah"--all of which embraced the same anti-American message and subsequently failed miserably to make a decent profit.

If you read some of the reviews in newspapers like the San Francisco Chronicle, the writers will try to make it seem as though these movies are failing with audiences because of "war fatigue", meaning that people generally agree with the message, but after hearing so much negative news coming in from Iraq, they want nothing to do with it, even watching an antiwar film.

However, I must say that sounds like BS to me. The reason these terrible movies are failing is because the vast majority of Americans who find themselves to the right of moveon.org do not want to pay money, sit in a movie theatre, and hear about how terrible and evil the United States is, regardless of their political affiliation.

I prefer Red Eye Host Greg Gutfeld's analysis, which I must say sums it up pretty good.

Recently, I had the miserable experience of watching the movie "Shooter", the Mark Wahlberg film about a government conspiracy that managed to do a little bit better at the box office. The truth is, my attention slowly drifted away towards the middle of the film, so I don't remember the full plot...just the clever little messages about the Iraq War, Donald Rumsfeld, and the guy wearing the "Che" T-shirt.

In order to achieve real peace, war may be necessary at times

2008-03-31T14:07:00.000-07:00

I found a very interesting article on the "Daily Mirror", a Sri Lankan media outlet. The article is about the escalation in fighting between the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, an insurgent group that is seeking the creation of an independent state and has employed many tactics that have been copied by other extremist organizations around the world. Anyway, there is a big debate in Sri Lanka and among the international community over whether or not a full-scale offensive by government forces to crush the rebel movement is the best option, or if a true peace agreement combined with aggressive diplomacy would be a better road to take. Well, the government and the LTTE have already made up their minds, and have engaged in fierce fighting in the north in recent weeks, along with the LTTE's continued use of bombings and ambushes. The thing is though, much of this was happening even when both sides had signed onto a peace treaty.

When I read it, I couldn't help but think of the debate here in the United States over foreign policy. How often do politicians exchange views over whether or not we should engage Iran and Syria, or demand we withdraw from Iraq even before the insurgency has been defeated. Perhaps the USA has more in common with a tiny island-nation in the Indian Ocean than we might think. The big difference though, is that Sri Lanka's leaders are debating the next step as the fighting rages in their own backyard. Imagine if our leaders were debating the war on terrorism while it was taking place on our homeland and American cities were under siege from mortar shelling, gunfire, and suicide bombers like Sri Lanka has been dealing with for decades.

In my opinion, war is sometimes necessary to succeed in making the world a safer place in the long run, although a complex war like the one in Sri Lanka might be more difficult to address. Decisions like removing Saddam Hussein and the Taliban from power and intervening in Bosnia are certainly critical to achieving peace. No matter how hot the debate gets, sitting back and allowing someone like Saddam Hussein to massacre his own people is far from achieving "peace", and withdrawing from Iraq early would be the same.

Diplomacy is the best option available if the two sides actually want peace. For example, conflicts like the one in Northern Ireland have been resolved by doing so. Israelis and Palestinians seem to want peace, and have been holding talks even as terror groups like Hamas do everything possible to sabotage them. In the end, that conflict will have to be resolved through dialogue, and I believe that both sides understand that given the horrendous suffering the 60-year conflict has caused.

At the same time, we cannot be nieve and live in a fantasy world. Proposals like the one being suggested by Pakistan's new Prime Minister to "engage" with the Taliban (yes, the same Taliban that has been gleefully massacring Pakistanis with nail bombs, assassinating the country's leaders, and setting it on a path of death and destruction) will only lead to failure.

Peace is a difficult road and there is no single solution to acheiving it.

Dancing for genocide

2008-03-29T21:07:00.000-07:00

Found this in the New York Times:

The heavy fighting that broke out last week as Iraqi security forces tried to oust Shiite militias from Basra is reverberating on the presidential campaign trail and posing new challenges and opportunities to the candidates, particularly Senator John McCain .

The fierce fighting — and the threat that it could undo a long-term truce that has greatly helped to reduce the level of violence in Iraq — thrust the war back into the headlines and the public consciousness just as it had been receding behind a tide of economic concerns.

How cute. As the Iraqis finally take a stand against the Iranian axis of terror that has wrapped southern Iraq in a death grip, we have none other than the biased media once again beating the drums of failure. But wait, it gets worse:

The Democrats, who are calling for phased troop withdrawals, are beginning to point to the fighting in Basra as evidence that the American troop buildup has failed to provide stability and political reconciliation — particularly if the fighting leads one militia, the Mahdi Army , to pull out of its cease-fire; that could lead to a new spate of sectarian violence across the country. Some are saying the fighting strengthens their case for troop withdrawals.

Is anyone willing to look past their own personal politics anymore? Do we really have to go back on this road again? Please people, go back to debating issues like abortion...talk about the economy...run vicious campaign ads, but please don't drag innocent people into this. This is a time where we should be supporting the Iraqis' decision to route out these terrorists and criminal elements that are loaded with Iranian cash and weapons. This is not about right and left...its not about George W. Bush, and its not about the presidential election. Instead, its about our moral values and the difference between right and wrong. For the sake of preventing the slaughter of innocent people, let's finish the job and not make the same mistakes we did with Basra in 1991, when we abandoned the Iraqi Shiites and left them at the hands of the Republican Guard.

Culture battles

2008-03-28T20:07:00.000-07:00

In South Thailand, where the Muslim World meets the primarily Buddhist realm of Southeast Asia, the cultural differences have amounted to conflict, war, and bloodshed. Unlike the Middle East and Central Asia, where homicidal fanatics have justified their actions by hijacking the religion of Islam and are using it to accomplish a political agenda, this conflict seems to be happening because of religious issues that are not understood among the opposing sides, and unfortunately, the failure to do so has resulted in the deaths of thousands of people.

On a daily basis, its not uncommon for South Thailand to experience multiple shootings, bombings, or other extremist attacks. Some target security forces, others target schools and religious institutions.

Volunteer Assistance:

The failure to reach an understanding in South Thailand makes it that much harder to try and provide aid to the many people who are suffering due to the violence. For example, Northern Thailand, which is considered to be very peaceful, has numerous community development projects taking place where the locals and international volunteers are working together. If the religious differences in Southern Thailand could be addressed by the local people and the international community, the same action could be taken there as well.

On a personal note, I should add that Thailand is at the top of my list for countries to volunteer in next year, in addition to Tanzania.

Democrat infighting and Iran's antics: Which will be a bigger factor?

2008-03-25T09:52:00.000-07:00

These last few weeks, Senator John Mccain has had the opportunity to prove to voters that he is the best choice for president. Indeed, while Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have been destroying one another in the civil war that is threatening to split the Democratic Apart, Mccain has been traveling overseas, pledging support to our allies, and actively raising money on the campaign trail. Recent Gallup Polls have placed Mccain several points ahead of both Obama and Clinton, especially on Iraq. All the while, he has been facing very little resistance as the left and the democratic party focus their fury on one another.

Still, there are outside forces that can threaten the outcome of the election more than Jeremiah Wright's tirades, Bill Richardson being labeled "Judas", and Bill Clinton being compared to Joseph McCarthy, all of which the democrats have inflicted on themselves with a ferocity that rivals the attacks on President Bush. There are far more threatening challenges out there, and one of them could very well be the Islamic Republic of Iran.

From the BBC:

The most senior US general in Iraq has said he has evidence that Iran was behind Sunday's bombardment of Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone.
Gen David Petraeus told the BBC he thought Tehran had trained, equipped and funded insurgents who fired the barrage of mortars and rockets.

He said Iran was adding what he described as "lethal accelerants" to a very combustible mix

Isn't that just lovely? Once again, now that Iraq has set itself on the right track, Iran has decided that it does not like that idea. As disturbing as it is to suggest, Iran does have the ability to influence the US Presidential election by activating one, perhaps two, Mahdi Army splinter cells in places like Baghdad and southern Iraq. On Friday, the cease-fire declared by Muqtada Al-Sadr was threatened as Iraqi security forces and Shiite militiamen battle it out in the southern city of Basra. If you watch the morning news, you will likely get the impression that the fighting is nothing more than internal instability among Iraq's factions, which could be precisely what the Mullahs in Tehran and their surrogate fighters want.

The idea of a terrorist-state influencing who the leader of the free world will be is enough to unnerve any good American. But why would the Iranians want to do that? Well, for one thing, both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have called for a withdrawal from Iraq and face-to-face meeting with Iran's leaders. They have also labeled Bush's policies as the main reason for Iran's actions across the Middle East, even though Iran has been destabilizing the region with a vast network of terror cells for decades, long before President Bush ever stepped into the Oval Office. With that, an Obama or Clinton administration with a perceived weakness on foreign policy would give Iran the opportunity to dominate the region and increase its standing on the world stage.

Replenishing a shortage of villains:

So what do the terrorists do when they're infrastructure has been destroyed and the people of Iraq have turned against them? Basically, they import some more terrorists, and Iran, Syria, and other countries export death to Iraq's cities. As I write this, I can't help but think of it as a hotline...1-800-Henchmen (remember, DieHard last year?). Well, I think that sums it up pretty good. It's almost humorous to picture Mookie Al-Sadr and the other insurgent groups getting on the phone with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his puppet masters in Tehran to order more thugs, criminals, and murderers over the border. The truth is, that might not be that far off from how it works.

The difference though, is that this is very real. It not only threatens the innocent people caught in the middle of this in Iraq and elsewhere, but the broader world as well. Unfortunately, America and our allies overseas are divided like never before, and the people who want to make the world a more dangerous place are working overtime to exploit that.

Looking for the good in the world

2008-03-23T20:36:00.000-07:00

The news has just crossed the wires that the U.S. death toll in Iraq has hit 4,000. To many though, this will not be a time to reflect on their sacrifice...instead it will be a chance to spin this into some kind of propaganda to use solely for political purposes, whether its the antiwar left, the isolationist right, or Al-Qaeda's media wing, Al-Sahab. The fact that we have reached a point like that is shameful.

However, instead of just counting the deaths of soldiers and Iraqis, I would like to talk about what is really happening in Iraq. Something that the majority of Americans are not hearing about because its just not as important to the Nightly News as the latest body count.

This is from the Los Angeles Times:

The comeback of Fallouja, the site of two major battles between Marines and insurgents in 2004, surprises even the most optimistic U.S. planners.

"It continues to outpace all expectations," said Navy Capt. John Dal Santo, part of a State Department-funded effort called the Provincial Reconstruction Team for Fallouja.

City Council leader Sheik Hamed Ahmed said that he was pleased with the city's progress but that he needed more generators for his neighborhood. Ahmed's three predecessors were assassinated by insurgents, but he has refused to back down.

"Fallouja is alive again," he said.

Restaurants, bakeries, photo shops, tire stores, Internet cafes, a body-building studio and other businesses line the avenues and side streets. BMWs share lanes with donkey carts on congested thoroughfares.

It's amazing, isn't it? A region that was once written off as a lost cause has managed to rise up against the evil that is political terrorism. Less than a year and a half ago, things looked very different, yet the Iraqi people managed to turn the situation around.

The article continues:

There have been soccer tournaments and art contests. And there are plans for a soft-drink bottling plant.

"Fallouja has gone through a metamorphosis -- these people want their lives back," said Lt. Col. Christopher Dowling, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. "Fallouja has its soul back."
Several hundred Marines live side by side with Iraqi police officers in outposts across the city. In five months, Dowling's Marines have carried out 7,000 patrols in the city and its suburbs without suffering a fatality or major injury.

This is just one of the many success stories that are happening in Iraq. Instead of looking for the news that will divide a country that was once unified and bring about more devastation, maybe we should find the stories that will help make the world a better place.

When the facts tell a different story...

2008-03-19T09:17:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, when speaking in Amman, Jordan, Senator John Mccain came under attack for suggesting that Al-Qaeda militants are working with Iran in their effort to bring about instability to Iraq. Sure enough, the critics came out swinging, saying that Iran and Al-Qaeda could never work together because Iran is a Shiite theocracy and Al-Qaeda adheres to a radical Sunni Muslim ideology. But then again, Iran's actions across the Middle East indicate it is a lot more interested in achieving power and influence as opposed to preserving a Shiite system of beliefs. For one thing, Iran is the primary supporter of Hamas, a terrorist group that "adheres" to the Sunni denomination of Islam. Hmmmmm...why would Iran, which is Shiite, want to work with Hamas?

From the Jerusalem Post:

A week after Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin informed the cabinet that Hamas terrorists train in Iran, a commander in the extremist militia admitted as much to The Sunday Times.

Reportedly, the group has been sending gunmen to train with Iran's Revolutionary Guards for the past two years. Currently, the unnamed commander told the British paper, some 150 gunmen are being trained.

Hamas's members enter Iran via Syria and avoid having their passports stamped. Syria is also home to "more basic training" than that given in Iran. Gunmen deemed of outstanding quality receive extra training and return to train others in Gaza.

The most promising members of each group stay longer for an advanced course and return as trainers themselves, he said. Those unfit for combat return to "serve" in a research unit.

To read more about Hamas' admission about the group's involvement with Iran, the Times Online gives a more detailed analysis.

Anyway, so maybe that debunks the incorrect assumption that terrorists who adhere to different beliefs are unwilling to put that aside for the sake of fighting a common enemy, which in this case would be Israel. But Mccain specifically mentioned Al-Qaeda. While any connections to Iran and the notorious Al-Qaeda in Iraq seem more sketchy, it has been documented in the 9/11 commission Report that Iran may have looked the other way as AQ terrorists were passing through its borders. It's also been suggested that Iranian officials maintained contact with AQ's leadership.

Then there's the allegations that suggest Iran is supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan. If you listen to the critics, the Iranians would never do such a thing, seeing as the Taliban, like Al-Qaeda, are "Sunni extremists". But there's one thing Iran might regard as more of a threat than the Taliban--a democratic Afghanistan on its doorstep. Indeed, if the Afghan reconstruction efforts succeed, it could be a severe blow to Iran's attempts to clamp down on the pro-democracy movement inside its own borders. Therefore, is it all that surprising that the Iranian soldiers patrolling the border would be willing to pass off caches of weapons to Taliban insurgents if they knew if was going to be used to kill American and coalition soldiers?

In the end though, these people--Iran, Al-Qaeda, Hamas, and the Taliban--betray everything the religion of Islam teaches by murdering innocent people and justifying violence by holding a Koran in one hand, and an Ak-47 or a bomb detonator in the other. If they are okay with doing that, why would they care if they had to work together with a group that has hijacked a different denomination?

I do not know what Mccain was thinking when he made the statements. Maybe he has researched this issue and read through some of the reports (like the ones I've linked to) or maybe he just assumed that terrorists are all like-minded murderers in the end. One thing's for sure though, no matter what they believe, both Iran and Al-Qaeda are determined to prevent progress towards reconciliation in Iraq, and are willing to kill those who get in their way.

Frightening

2008-03-14T15:23:00.000-07:00

The words of Barack Obama's Pastor, Jeremiah Wright, are disturbing. At times, you have to wonder if this guy actually believes what he is saying. To be fair, Obama has distanced himself from the comments, but nevertheless, these anti-American tirades are frightening.

However, Obama should explain to potential voters why he has been attending this particular church for so many years.

Pakistan in fragments

2008-03-11T20:26:00.000-07:00

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (pictured) and Benazir Bhutto's husband Asif Ali Zardari have decided to form a coalition against President Musharraf in Pakistan. However, since Musharraf's party still controls a number of seats in the parliament, it's likely to result in political deadlock and lots of angry rhetoric between the two sides--much like Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. The terrorists who are targeting Pakistani cities do not seem to care who is in charge though, and they were perfectly willing to remind us of that today.

In my opinion, Nawaz Sharif is unintentionally helping the Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants tear his country apart by taking such misguided actions based on vengeance (Musharraf ousted him from power back in 1999). However, if Nawaz, Zardari, and Musharraf all decided to put aside their differences for the good of the country, shake hands, and pledge to work towards unity even amid clear differences, it would inflict a tremendous hit on the terrorists--because it would send them the message that even after carrying out countless attacks and inflicting harm on thousands of people, they have failed in their attempt to divide the country. Such a move could seriously weaken their morale and their propaganda campaign.

Maybe it would even send a message to the politicians here in the United States, who spend more time looking out for their party than anything. Unfortunately though, this does not look good. If these people find a way to work together, it could bring hope...but if Musharraf is forced to resign and the new government takes ineffective action against the Islamic militants camped out along the border, they could very well be setting the stage for their own destruction. Because with Musharraf gone, and an American ally that could end up electing a president who could take embrace a more "non-interventionist" approach, the opposition might have no one to save them when the Taliban come marching on Islamabad.

Global Warming News!

2008-03-09T12:09:00.000-07:00

When I first came upon this article, it took me a little while to verify that it was in fact real. But apparently, it is.

This is from the Sunday Herald in Scotland:

EVERY CLOUD could have a silver lining in the fight against global warming and the brighter, the better.

Professor Stephen Salter, a renowned engineer working at Edinburgh University, has hatched a plan to produce white clouds over the ocean to halt the catastrophic water heating associated with global warming.

In the worst-case scenario, where global "tipping points" such as the melting of the Arctic ice cap are reached, he claimed launching a fleet of cloud-producing drone ships could save Earth.

Salter, who is famed for inventing the "duck", a device that generates power by bobbing on waves, said: "We've got an explosive with the detonator in it, and when one goes off, it could trigger other explosives. That's why we need to have a number of solutions. I don't mean that we should continue burning coal and then just fix the consequences, that would be terrible. Just as a revolver has many bullets, we need several ideas."

mmmm...a fleet of cloud-producing drone ships ...I think that says it all right there. And to think, they gave the Nobel Peace Prize to Al Gore!