The Plight of Ayaan Hirsi Ali

The price of criticizing Islam in AMSTERDAM = EVICTION (from Dhimmi Watch)—

Liberal Party MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali has been ordered to vacate the high-security home she is renting in The Hague within four months.

An appeal court sided with her neighbours who complained her presence put their own safety at risk and caused disruption to their lives. Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner broke the news of the court decision at an EU meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday.

Somali-born Hirsi Ali is known as a critic of aspects of Islam and she went into hiding in November 2004 when filmmaker Theo van Gogh was murdered. They had finished work shortly before his murder on Submission, a short film about the ill-treatment of women under Islam.

Hirsi Ali and fellow MP Geert Wilders spent several months in hiding in secret locations due to death threats made against them because of their stance on Islam. "I think this is dreadful, horrible to have to move. I am happy living here and I feel safe," Hirsi Ali said in response to the judgement.

The neighbours lost their case initially but they won on Thursday when an appeal court accepted Hirsi Ali's presence meant they no longer felt safe in their own apartments or in the communal areas of the complex.

The court ruled that is contravened Article 8 of the European Convention of
Human Rights which guarantees respect for a person's private and family life.
The Dutch State had contravened these rights by moving to the apartment
complex without seeking their consent and without taking measures to diminish
the neighbours' valid fears, the court said.

Justice Minister Donner said he is considering appealing the decision to the Supreme Court "otherwise it will create difficulties for the protection of various people".

The neighbours said in a statement that their court action had not been directed against Hirsi Ali personally, but against the State for exposing them to danger.

When duly elected members of your Parliament are threatened with DEATH, you protect them. You dont put them on the run. You dont make them scramble for a place to live, you stand by them. They become the symbols of your freedom. If they are hurt, your democracy is hurt accordingly.

Pull out every pea shooter you have in your arsenal to make sure they are no longer intimidated. Otherwise your democracy crumbles. Make things right or many many will avoid your freedom hated country.

Fjords of Faroe

Rush is Guilty

No he AIN'T.

Religion of Peace Body Count Update II

First I posted about the death count from terrorist attacks.

How about the death count from 'honour' killings? (via Religion of Peace)

KARACHI: Fifty-eight people, both men and women, lost their lives in 2005 only because they had married on their own will. They were among 1015 people murdered in the name of honour in the same year, said a report issued by the Madadgaar Help Line database recently.

The report, based on news clippings from twenty-six newspapers of Urdu, English and Sindh languages, says that despite the enactment of a law to curb violence against women, cases of karo kari or honour killing are still going on unabated.

The report says that the data does not necessarily presents the real picture. according to an estimate, only 10 percent cases of honour killing are reported in the media.

Put this in the "I can't believe my eyes file"

Illegal immigrants sue N.Y. village for right to solicit work [surprised they got the 'illegal' part right]:

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Six illegal immigrant day laborers sued a Westchester village in federal court Thursday, claiming they were being harassed by the police to keep them from soliciting work in public places. The workers claimed that new Mamaroneck village regulations and the selective enforcement of them were infringing on their right to free speech. They said it was unconstitutional to keep them from speaking with contractors who drive by to hire manual labor for repairing and landscaping area homes.

The plaintiffs all used the name John Doe because they are illegal immigrants, said John Garcia, a spokesman for the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, which represents them.

Police abuse? Pigs on a power trip?

Three months ago, the village, which is 23 miles north of New York City, closed a parking lot area near Columbus Park that had been designated since 2004 as a day laborer pickup spot. Mayor Philip Trifiletti, who is named as a defendant, said Thursday that the area had attracted workers from far beyond Mamaroneck and as numbers reached 200 workers a day there were incidents of fighting, drug use and harassment of women.

Yes, you read it correctly. A lawsuit has been filed by illegal immigrants against the police and Mayor because their freedom of speech rights have been violated because they weren't able to illegally contract on a street corner.

Religion of Peace Body Count Update

Terrorists Killed More Than 14,500 People in 2005, Report Says

Terrorists killed more than 14,500 people in 11,000 attacks across the globe last year, the U.S. State Department said in its annual report on terrorism.

Fifty-six of those killed were Americans, the report said. Three thousand of the deaths were attributable to 360 suicide bombings. There were 25,000 people wounded and 35,000 people kidnapped, the report said.

``We saw indications of an increase in suicide bombings,'' the report said, noting that the July 7, 2005, bombings in London that killed 54 people were the first such attacks in Europe.

Al-Qaeda Threat

The al-Qaeda terrorist network remains a threat, with plans to attack the U.S. in a manner to match ``or even surpass the terror of 9/11,'' Henry Crumpton, the U.S. State Department's anti-terrorism chief said.

Is there a silver cloud in this grim report? Yes.

Yet while al-Qaeda's leaders continued to inspire terrorist activity in 2005 and their group is resilient and can adapt to counter-measures, they were not able to direct it as fully as in the past, the report said.

``Al-Qaeda is not the organization it was four years ago,'' the report said. The group's leaders are scattered and on the run, while its Afghan safe haven is gone. Its relationship with the Taliban has diminished, and its finances and logistics have been disrupted, Crumpton said.

For these reasons, ``al-Qaeda and its affiliates are desperate to claim Iraq as their own,'' Crumpton said. ``We and our allies, along with the emerging Iraqi government, must deny Iraq to al-Qaeda.''

Maybe the Murthas and Sheehans will see why we need to continue our engagement in Iraq and finish what we have begun. I suspect that our success in keeping al-Qaeda on the run is directly linked to the CIA's efforts in ferrying al-Qaeda leaders around the world, a practice which is in deep jeopardy due to the McCarthy, Priest and their cabal.

Eminent Domain

The bloated, cud chewing windbag Mayor of Riviera Beach Florida has a novel new approach to dealing with the people in his community's less affluent areas. Kick them out. All 6,000 of them. Rid the neighborhood of the the vermin.

RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — When Mayor Michael Brown envisions the future of this struggling city, he sees no poverty, no drug dealing, no prostitution and none of the 1,700 buildings where many of his poorest constituents live and work.

Up to 6,000 of Riviera Beach's 31,000 residents would be sent packing in the city's effort to revamp its marina district with condominiums, houses, shops, offices and yacht slips. To enraged owners of property slated for condemnation, Brown says the sacrifice is necessary for progress.

"(Italian philosopher Niccolo) Machiavelli said it best, the hardest thing to do is to sustain and change the order of things," Brown says. "I will use every ounce of energy I have to fight to make a better life for these people. There will be no more lower class. "For all those who don't like it, tough."

I really hope that somebody stops this piece of shit. Soon.

Mexicali Blues

The California State Senate endorsed a resolution endorsing this Monday's proposed boycott of schools, jobs and stores:

California's state senators on Thursday endorsed Monday's boycott of schools, jobs and stores by illegal immigrants and their allies as supporters equated the protest with great social movements in American history.By a 24-13 vote that split along party lines, the California Senate approved a resolution that calls the one-day protest the Great American Boycott 2006 and describes it as an attempt to educate Americans "about the tremendous contribution immigrants make on a daily basis to our society and economy."

Don't learn, don't work and don't patronize California businesses.

State school officials, entrusted with the safety and well being of the state young'uns, scrambled to do damage control:

State Superintendent for Public Instruction Jack O'Connell encouraged students nterested in the immigration issue to voice their opinions by participating in protest activities but only after attending their classes.

"If students need to protest, they should feel free to do so after school," O'Connell told students and reporters at San Jose High Academy. "We want students to exercise free speech, but not at the expense of their education."

Why should they be worried?

School officials in San Leandro, meanwhile, said Thursday that rising tensions over the immigration issue may have contributed to a series of brawls between Hispanic and black teenagers.

Over a dozen San Leandro High School students were taken into custody Wednesday following the fights that started on campus and spilled over into the parking lot of a nearby convenience store.

Funny how undereported minority on minority race riots go. But a touch of lawlessness is acceptable if you know you are right (shades of Mary McCarthy - the law is secondary to the latest liberal folly):

America wouldn't have been created without illegal action, said Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-Van Nuys. "They dumped a bunch of tea in Boston harbor, illegally. God bless them," he said.

Just another case where the left overplays their hand. Hopefully the timid Republicans will see the light.

New Black Panther's Join the Duke Lacrosse Fray

Snarkists have to chuckle at the headline. But apparently it is true. When in need of credibility rehabilitation, where would one go but to the New Black Panther Party?

The alleged victim in the Duke lacrosse rape case is getting support from the New Black Panther Party.

Members are on Durham street corners, handing out fliers to drum up support for the cause. The fliers have mugshots of Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann, the two lacrosse players accused of raping the stripper at a party on March 13. The fliers say, "Had enough of disrespect and racism from Duke University?"

Who's the next in the parade of fools? Beetlejuice? KKK guy? Talkleft thinks it might be the shrillest and most attention starved voice in femipunditry, Gloria Allred.

UPDATE: The purported reason for the arrival of the New and Improved Black Panthers was to protect the accuser's family due to the death threats they were receiving. Apparently, there have been no death threats.

Thirty Years Since Monday Saved the Flag

It has been thirty years since Chicago Cub outfielder Rick Monday rescued an American flag from two pissants who sought to burn it in the outfield during a game. A couple of cleat shots to their cabezas would have been nice but this still stands out as a great symbolic moment. Thank you Rick.

This from a great piece in USA Today:

The hand was trembling, the voice was quivering and tears were running down
his face.

The World War II soldier, who survived the Pearl Harbor attack, looked Rick Monday in the eyes, slowly raised his right arm, and saluted him.

"Thank you," Monday recalls the soldier telling him last year. "And thank you from all of my shipmates."

What would you do on Hitler's birthday BUT stab a Jew

(thanks Atlas Shrugs) Sick bastards the world over. This one not from one of the usual hotspots but from the Ukraine.

The Fashionable Fascism

What is a fascist to do these days? Nazism is way uncool. Shaved heads are so 90's. All fashionistas know that Jackboots haven't been in since Spandau Ballet was topping the charts. What's a fascist to do? What ideology systematizes violence against those who think diffrently than they do? Oh how obvious. Become a Muslim. (hat tip lgf):

In an internet essay entitled From Neo-Nazi to Muslim, Myatt asks: “How was it that I, a Westerner with a history of over 25 years of political involvement in extreme right-wing organisations, a former leader of the political wing of the neo-Nazi group Combat 18, came to be standing outside a mosque with a sincere desire to go inside and convert to Islam? “These were the people who I had been fighting on the streets, I had swore (sic) at and had used violence against — indeed, one of my terms of imprisonment was a result of me leading a gang of skinheads in a fight against ‘Pakis’.”

In a later interview, Myatt supports the killing of any Muslim who breaks his oath of loyalty to Islam, and the setting up of a Muslim superstate. He describes himself as having been “staunchly opposed to non-white immigration into Britain and twice jailed for violence in pursuit of my political aims”. He added: “I spent several
decades of my life fighting for what I regarded as my people, my race and my
nation, and endured two terms of imprisonment arising out of my political activities.”

But his belief is now that: “The pure authentic Islam of the revival, which recognises practical jihad (holy war) as a duty, is the only force that is capable of fighting and destroying the dishonour, the arrogance, the materialism of the West . . . For the West, nothing is sacred, except perhaps Zionists, Zionism, the hoax of the so-called Holocaust, and the idols which the West and its lackeys worship, or pretend to worship, such as democracy.

McCarthy Denies Leak

Were the earlier reports wrong, or is Mary McCarthy and her defense attorney plotting a defense for possible criminal charges:

April 24, 2006 - A former CIA officer who was sacked last week after allegedly confessing to leaking secrets has denied she was the source of a controversial Washington Post story about alleged CIA secret detention operations in Eastern Europe, a friend of the operative told NEWSWEEK.

McCarthy's lawyer, Ty Cobb [sic], told NEWSWEEK this afternooon that contrary to public statements by the CIA late last week, McCarthy never confessed to agency interrogators that she had divulged classified information and "didn't even have access to the information" in The Washington Post story in question.

She doesn't dispute her relationship with Dana Priest:

After being told by agency interrogators that she may have been deceptive on one quesiton during a polygraph, McCarthy did acknowledge that she had failed to report contacts with Washington Post reporter Dana Priest and at least one other reporter, said a source familiar with her account who asked not to be identified because of legal sensitivities. McCarthy has known Priest for some time, the source said.

Is the CIA backtracking on its initial statements linking McCarthy to the Priest articles?:

A counter-terrorism official acknowledged to NEWSWEEK today that in firing McCarthy, the CIA was not necessarily accusing her of being the principal, original, or sole leaker of any particular story. Intelligence officials privately acknowledge that key news stories about secret agency prison and “rendition” operations have been based, at least in part, upon information available from unclassified sources.

Coming Soon: Sharia Gyms

Islamic 'modesty' rears its head in the states. Not in the schools, or the University, or the City Council, but at the local gym. Stop the melodrama. Go to Curves.

Politics Make Strange Bedfellows

A union between patriotic white suburbanites and black homeless advocates?

Black Activists Join To March With Minutemen:

CBS) LOS ANGELES Several black activists plan to join members of the minutemen Project to protest illegal immigration, which organizer Ted Hayes touted as the "biggest threat to blacks in America since slavery."

The protest, organized by Hayes Crispus Attucks Brigade and the American Black Citizens Opposed to Illegal Immigration Invasion, is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.

Hayes, a homeless activist, alleged that most homeless people in Los Angeles are black and illegal immigration compounds the problem since blacks refuse to accept the slave wages" that many illegal immigrants accept.

The activists are right. The whole "immigrants do the jobs Americans don't want to" mantra is a farce. They do them at a price that American workers wouldn't settle for. That depresses wage rates and hurts those on the lowest socioeconomic ladder the most severely. More power to them.

Duke's Dunces

Houston Baker, a Duke English Professor certainly wasn't shy about weighing in on the Duke rape case controversy:

Houston Baker, a Duke English professor, demanded in an open letter that the panicked Duke administration do more to stop the "drunken white male privilege loosed amongst us" by expelling the entire lacrosse team and its coaches.

Bigot.

Or how about this stoop:

"A lot of people get focused on her identity, and we kind of lose a little bit of how this is a crime against women," said Robert Korstad, a history professor at Duke.

"People are using this [issue] to advance their own agendas," Kunkel said. "A girl was probably raped. She should be the one getting the attention and the support."

Should we ignore the fact that 2 Duke students have been charged with a crime that they in all likelihood did not commit.

Yes, Yes, Another PETA Protest

Res Ipsa Locquiter

Ahmadinejad and Hezbollah

If this isn't food for an immediate beat down then I don't know what is:

Iran leader met top terrorist
Abraham Rabinovich
Jerusalem
April 24, 2006
IRANIAN President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met one of the world's most notorious terrorists in Damascus earlier this year to discuss retaliatory attacks on Western targets in the event that Iran's nuclear sites were struck, according to intelligence experts.

A report yesterday in London's The Sunday Times said Mr Ahmadinejad, during an official visit to Syria in January, conferred with Lebanese-born Imad Mugniyeh -- commander of overseas operations for Hezbollah, the Iranian-affiliated Shia militia in Lebanon.

Mugniyeh is said to have been responsible for the deaths of more Americans than any living person prior to al-Qa'ida's attack on the US on September 11, 2001. His operatives bombed the US embassy in Beirut in 1983, killing 63 people.

Six months later, he directed a suicide bombing of a Marine Corps barracks in Beirut that killed 241 Americans. He is also held responsible for the torture killing of a CIA station chief in Lebanon as well as the bombing of the Israeli embassy and a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires in the 1990s, successful attacks that took scores of lives and established his reputation as a formidable terrorist capable of executing attacks outside the Arab world.

He would subsequently blow up US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania with car bombs.

The Sunday Times said US officials and Israeli intelligence sources believe that Mugniyeh, who is on the FBI's most-wanted terrorists list, has taken charge of plotting retaliatory attacks against the West in the event that US President George W.Bush orders a strike against Iran's nuclear sites.

Five U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iraq

This headline has become too matter of fact, is too frequently ignored and is too often buried in other news about the developments in Iraq. Prayers for the families and friends of those who died today. Godspeed and thank you to our troops, the fathers, mothers, sons and daughters of so many of us in the States. We live comfortably without the terror and fear they experience on a daily basis. Again, thank you.

Durham's Keystone Cops

The defense attorneys and criminal law experts are questioning the photo identifications used in the Duke rape case:

However, an eyewitness identification expert believes the police lineup procedure was flawed because no non-lacrosse players were included.

Gary Wells, president of the American Psychology-Law Society, described it as "a multiple-choice test without any wrong answers."

By including "fillers," or non-suspects, in a police lineup, an accuser has to pick past the filler to choose people who actually might have committed the crime. "Without fillers as a control, the process has no internal credibility check," Wells said.

David Rudolf, a North Carolina defense lawyer and adjunct professor at Duke and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, believes the procedures may be problematic to the point of being inadmissible in court. "I have significant doubt that this will be admitted in court," he said, "and no doubt defense will challenge it vigorously."

The issue, Rudolf explains, is that due process prohibits evidence from lineups that are unnecessarily suggestive and conducive to mistaken identity.

>"When you take the only suspect group and put it in front of the victim," Rudolf says, "by definition you're suggesting it was one of the 46 people in that group."

How could the lineup have been done differently? Police could have used pictures of male Duke students to construct 46 lineups -- each one with a lacrosse player and five six students with similar features who are not lacrosse players. From those lineups, one could determine whether the victim picks out those who allegedly attacked her.

"At that point, you have a lineup that's not unnecessarily suggestive," Rudolf says. "You'll have students who are clearly not at the party."

Defense attorneys had their own criticism about how the lineup was done and have said they would suppress the results of the lineup. Sources close to Seligmann also point out that he and other members of the team look alike, casting doubt on the alleged victim's ability to single out her alleged attacker.

A lineup without controls?

Bad lineup, no DNA, no witnesses and timestamped evidence which completely destroys the prosecutor's timeline. At least Nifong has charged two people. Maybe he will win that primary after all.

New 'Rights' for Katrina Victims

Sweetness & Light discovers some new rights, courtesy of the Louisiana chapter of the NAACP:

NAACP: Rights violated at park

Cessation of meal services, propane delivery spurs charges

By SONYA KIMBRELL
Advocate staff writer
Published: Apr 22, 2006

Emergency officials in Baker asked for cooperation from FEMA Thursday, to make plans to evacuate Renaissance Village in the event of an emergency.

The NAACP collected affidavits Friday from residents at the FEMA Renaisssance Village in Baker that contain complaints alleging lack of services, harassment and intimidation.

Kwame Asanté, director of the Louisiana chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said NAACP representatives have been going to the village council meetings.

“There are a lot of people who feel that their rights have been violated,” Asanté said Friday afternoon.

About 1,650 hurricane evacuees have been living at the 572-unit trailer park on Groom Road since it opened in October. Most residents signed an agreement that would allow them to live in the park for 18 months.

Initially, FEMA provided three meals daily in a communal kitchen and paid for the propane that is necessary to run the trailers.
The trailers have electric lights but propane is used for bathing, cooking, refrigeration and heat. FEMA stopped providing propane in February and ended the meal service two weeks ago.

Transportation is an issue for many residents, especially older ones, who don’t have vehicles.

“Many of these people lived in communities (before Katrina) where they didn’t need a vehicle. We’d just like to see the government change the way we address these situations,” Asanté said.

According to a news release from the NAACP, James Ross, president of the village council, said the residents’ complaints center on the promise from FEMA that they would receive 18 months of assistance with meals and propane.

Ross and other residents also have complained that FEMA representatives have been asking residents for proof that they are looking for employment and seeking other places to live.

Thou hath the right to free meals, free propane and freedom from questions while on the public dole. I am second to nobody in my sympathy for Katrina sufferers but I also believe in self-reliance. I understand that many will have a difficult time getting back on their feet again, but ultimately they will only be able to overcome their suffering is through their own energies. I applaud FEMA for making sure they are trying to do just that. If FEMA promised them 18 months of free food and propane, they should receive 18 months of free food and propane. But it is by no means a right. It is a gift.

Culture of Corruption - Ohio Democrat Style

Democrats turn corruption attacks on themselves in primary :

WASHINGTON - Democratic candidates in one House race in Ohio - the state Democrats have declared the epicenter of Republican corruption - have turned to criticizing each others' integrity. One candidate's special-interest travel is under fire, and another is getting flak for her testimony in a bribery trial.

Adding to the party's concern, Lorain Mayor Craig Foltin, the likely GOP nominee, has had strong Democratic support each time he was elected.

Three Democratic candidates have raised doubts about rival and shopping mall heiress Capri Cafaro, whose father was sentenced to probation in 2002 for bribing former Rep. James Traficant, who was convicted of taking gifts and kicked out of Congress.

Cafaro invoked her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself during a grand jury appearance, but her lawyer, David Betras, said that was just part of the normal process for receiving immunity.Cafaro acknowledged in her testimony making political donations using her father's money and receiving reimbursement from him after making donations. Campaign finance law prohibits skirting individual contribution limits by making donations through others, but Betras said the money from Cafaro's father was simply her college
allowance.

One candidate, Gary Kucinich, the brother of U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, put out a pamphlet questioning why Cafaro received immunity if she was innocent. In response, Cafaro's lawyers sent letters to her rivals and some media outlets threatening defamation lawsuits if they stated or published that she received immunity but had done something illegal. After newspaper editorials criticized the letter, Cafaro's lawyer said it was not intended to threaten the media, just her opponents.

Dems redefine 'unclean hands'.

Don't Let a Baby's Life Get in the Way of Dhimmitude

Original article from the UK Times.

I'll liberally lift from Michelle Malkins post because this needs to be shown:

A BANGLADESHI woman who shook a baby boy so violently that he suffered brain damage walked free from court yesterday because a judge conceded that she did not know how to behave in the West. Rahella Khanom, 24, caused the five-month-old boy in her care to suffer fractures to his breast bone and ribs as she tried to rid him of evil spirits, Southwark Crown Court was told.

The injuries inflicted on the child over several weeks had caused one side of his brain to shrink. It was believed that the boy would have been screaming in agony for eight weeks because his injuries went untreated.

Khanom, from Poplar, East London, said that she had wanted to purge the baby of evil spirits as it cried and cried. She was not found to be mentally ill.

The court was told that Khanom, a Muslim, did not understand that shaking a helpless baby would not exorcise an evil spirit.

Judge Rodney McKinnon told Khanom: “Normal and right-minded people will be horrified by this. Everybody must recognise how serious it is to treat children in this way and to use violence.” But the judge said that Khanom’s strong cultural and religious beliefs, and the fact that she had been forced by her husband to live in isolation since coming to Britain from Bangladesh, meant that there were exceptional circumstances in her case.

I was always taught that ignorance of the law was no excuse. I missed the Dhimmi exception.

Attention Pulitzer Committee

My first recommendation for one of next year's Pulitzers:

EU uncovers no evidence of illegal CIA activity
BRUSSELS, Belgium

Investigations into reports that U.S. agents shipped prisoners through European airports to secret detention centers have produced no evidence of illegal CIA activities, the European Union's anti-terror coordinator said yesterday.

Nor have the investigations turned up any proof of secret renditions of terror suspects on EU territory, Gijs de Vries told a European Parliament committee investigating the allegations.

RELATED: CIA officer fired after admitting leak

WASHINGTON - In a rare occurrence, the CIA fired an officer who acknowledged giving classified information to a reporter, NBC News learned Friday.

The officer flunked a polygraph exam before being fired on Thursday and is now under investigation by the Justice Department, NBC has learned.

Intelligence sources tell NBC News the accused officer, Mary McCarthy, worked in the CIA's inspector general's office and had worked for the National Security Council under the Clinton and and George W. Bush administrations.

The leak pertained to stories on the CIA’s rumored secret prisons in Eastern Europe, sources told NBC. The information was allegedly provided to Dana Priest of the Washington Post, who wrote about CIA prisons in November and was awarded a Pulitzer Prize on Monday for her reporting.

How many moonbats are actually upset now that their little pet story is unraveling. Let the heads continue to roll.

RELATED: Pulitzer Prize winners don't always make honest bloggers.

Gumbelspeak

Did I just hear Bryant Gumbel, host of Real Sports on HBO refer to 'asthmatic-Americans'. This acid reflux-American is not amused.

Feinstein's Folly

The dimwitted Senator Dianne Feinstein of Calexico decides that she is going to undertake the Herculean task of uniting mainland China and Taiwan. How, you ask? How about a pimp slap for Taiwan:

Feinstein, who in 1979 as mayor of San Francisco brokered a sister-city relationship between San Francisco and Shanghai, blasted Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian in her speech. Chen, she said, has taken what she characterized as a provocative and belligerent stance toward mainland China, all for his personal political gain, in hopes that he can be hailed as the savior who stands up to Communist Chin.

At first I was horrified at her remarks. But I never realized that she had "brokered a sister-city relationship". This suck up almost makes the President's pale in comparison. But her words are the babblings of a dim and ineffectual Senator. The President's capitulation matters.

Coptic Christians and Muslims Clash in Egypt

So says the headline from the New York Times over the riots whic took place last Sunday. A little scufflin from both sides. Tit for tat. We have to wait until we get to the sixth paragraph of a seven paragraph article to discover:

this attack was the first in recent memory in which Muslims attacked Christians inside the churches while they were praying.

You would think a fact like that might warrant a little more attention in the article. You would think.

If beating Christians during prayers doesn't tickle your fancy, how about setting fire to the local YMCA.

Georgia Tech'sters tryin to kill us...

FWIW.... Sucking in football means killing Americans. Go Tech!!!!

Madeline, you've been holding out on us...

But what can she bench??

Tehran the next Tianamen Square?

Iran Students Asking Regime To Suspend A-Bomb Effort

CAIRO, Egypt - Iran's largest and oldest student organization is publicly urging the Tehran government to suspend uranium enrichment and cooperate fully with the international community.

A statement released Tuesday by Tahkim Vahdat's central committee called for a "temporary suspension of nuclear activities," Voice of America's Persian Service reported and an Iranian-American activist with close ties to the student organization confirmed.

The statement from Tahkim Vahdat came less than a week after President Ahmadinejad appeared on Iranian national television to announce "the good news" that the regime's scientists had enriched uranium to levels suitable both for use in bombs and nuclear power plants.

The students' public criticism of Iran's nuclear activities could make them vulnerable to crackdowns by the country's national security service, which is commanded by loyal allies of the Holocaust-denying president.

Also Seen on the Surf

Gateway Pundit debunks Cindy Sheehan with a daisycutter. That hurt.

Atlas Shrugs about US Military bullet selection in Iraq. PC bullets seem a little strange.

Wizbang on the Ten Commandments on the Courthouse lawn. Mais non.

In an exhausting, overblown, longwinded, disjointed, and stupid piece, Orincus likens Michelle Malkin to the fellas who lopped off heads with machetes in Rwanda. How dare she post the numbers which came in a press release and were published all over the internet by America hating thugs who wanted to illegally drive military recruiters off campus.

The Daily Duke Lacrosse Roundup

UPDATE: Key Evidence Supports Alibi in Potential Rape Defense for One Indicted Duke Player:

Around midnight the night of March 13, Seligmann was already at the party when two women hired from a local escort agency arrived to dance for the boys — $400 each for a two-hour performance. A series of time-stamped photographs viewed by ABC News show the girls dancing at midnight and at 12:02 a.m.

By 12:24 a.m., a receipt reviewed by ABC indicates that Seligmann's ATM card was used at a nearby Wachovia bank. In a written statement to the defense also reviewed by ABC, a cabdriver confirms picking up Seligmann and a friend a block and a half from the party, and driving them to the bank. By 12:25 a.m., he was making a phone call to a girlfriend out of state.

What did Seligmann do after leaving the bank? The taxi driver remembers taking him to a drive-thru fast-food restaurant and then dropping him off at his dorm. Duke University records show that Seligmann's card was used to gain entry at 12:46 a.m.

Ouch. Unless Nifong contests the credibility of this taxi driver, the case against Seligmann is dead in the water.

Police search dorm rooms of two Duke players accused of rape. Prosecutors still seeking to build a case against a third player. Defendants maintain their innocence.

The Righteous Honorable Jesse Jackson vows to pay for alleged victim's tuition, whether or not she is lying about the charges. No statement as to whether or not he will pay the legal bills of the defendants if she is lying.

In a revelation ex-Duke Lacrosse Mike Pressler must have anticipated before quitting - Coach was warned last year on player conduct .

The class aspect of the case hasn't been forgotten: Duke suspects had privileged upbringings
Finnerty, Seligmann from world of multimillion-dollar homes, golf courses

TalkLeft discovers in the sealed indictment that the defendants face a minimum sentence in the mitigated range of 144 - 182 months in jail and sees some fairy tale likeness in the process.

Duke Lacrosse Photo Timeline

From the local Durham, N.C. ABC affiliate:

The photos are believed to be authentic and taken by one of the students at the March 13 party. The time stamps on the photos appear to be accurate. Pictures of a wristwatch magnified for clarity correspond with the time on the photos. The players are sitting on three couches in a semicircle with the dancers in the middle.

11:02 p.m.: The first picture shows at least 10 students hanging out in a living room, apparently waiting for the dancers to arrive. Most of the students appear to be drinking. By the number of people in this photo, it appears only a fraction of the 47 lacrosse team members are there.

12 a.m.: This is the first picture of the strippers. Students are watching the show, but not grabbing or attempting to touch the women. Bruises are clearly visible on the legs and thighs of the alleged victim.

12:00:40 a.m.: Another picture taken 40 seconds later shows bruises on the accuser's knees. Her right knee appears to have an open cut.

12:03:57 p.m.: About four minutes after arriving, a picture shows the strippers leaving the room. The photo clearly shows that the alleged victim left behind one of her shoes.
Between 12:10 a.m. and 12:30 a.m.: No photos were taken between this time.

12:30:12 a.m.: The next photo shows the alleged victim on the back porch, carrying what appears to be her purse and a makeup bag. Her clothes are intact.

12:30:47 a.m.: A photo taken 30 seconds later shows the alleged victim on the porch and she appears to smile.

12:31:26 a.m.: But 30 seconds after that, a photo shows the alleged victim stumbling down the back steps of the house.

12:37:58 a.m.: A series of photos are taken, all showing the woman lying on her left side on the back porch, seemingly passed out or asleep. She had visible cuts on her legs and buttocks that did not appear in the previous photos. The cuts may be from falling. The cuts on her buttocks line up with the edge of a screen door she may have hit on the way down.

12:41 a.m.: The final photo shows the accuser and the second dancer in a black car. The accuser is in the passengers seat.

Many of the photos taken on the back porch show pink splotches, which the defense says is undried nail polish. They claim the accuser was polishing her nails in the bathroom between 12:10 a.m. and 12:30 a.m. - - not being raped.

The Daily Duke Lacrosse Roundup

Two Duke Lacrosse players, Reade Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells, N.J., and Collin Finnerty, 19, of Garden City, N.Y., were arrested today in the alleged rape of an unnamed female. The District Attorney is seeking a third player might be arrested but whose identity has not been revealed. Attorneys for the defendants are furious are blowing steam and claim that at least one of the accused will be vindicated by "multiple witnesses and a commercial transaction":

Bill Thomas, a lawyer for a player who has not been charged, said that one of the two men under indictment did not even attend the party. He would specify which one, saying only that "multiple witnesses and a commercial transaction" would provide an alibi.

According to a filing made by the district attorney's office, the residents of the house where the party took place told police that Seligmann was one of six players who did not attend the party.
Another attorney, Robert Ekstrand, who represents dozens of players, said neither Seligmann nor Finnerty was at the party "at the relevant time."

The indictment represents "a horrible circumstance and a product of a rush to judgment," Ekstrand said.

Can't quite tell yet what media spin we will get on this. Does the title of this AP piece give us an indication? - Duke rape suspects come from money . In this AP article, the writer couldn't even couldn't even cough up the name of the accused before opining:

Two Duke University lacrosse players were arrested on rape charges Tuesday in a scandal that has rocked one of America's elite campuses and raised explosive questions of race, class and the privileged status of college athletes.

The article continues with more salient information:

The two players _ both graduates of Northern prep schools _ were promptly booked
and released on bail.

The impeccable objectivity continues:

Well before the scandal, the nationally ranked team had a reputation for a swaggering sense of entitlement and boorish frat-boy behavior that included public intoxication and public urination. After the scandal broke, the university announced an investigation into whether it put up with such behavior for too long.

What about the behavior of the stripper? The whole team has been indicted by the AP and the conduct if the accused is wholly ignored. And I thought this case was about whether those young players raped a young woman.

John Broderick Hehman Rugrat Robbery Update

Some background on the case here.

The latest: Four Teens Formally Charged In NYU Student's Death:

The four teens accused of chasing an NYU student to his death during a failed robbery attempt in Harlem earlier this month were formally charged in connection with the case Monday.

The teens - two 13-year-olds and two 15-year-olds - appeared in Family Court, where they were hit with a series of criminal charges, including felony murder, second-degree manslaughter and two counts of attempted robbery.

Despite the harsh allegations, the boys are being tried as juveniles facing a maximum of five years behind bars. Under New York law, a 13 year old cannot be charged with a felony so that boots out the cases of two defendants. The other two 15 year olds can be tried for a felony but only for completed crimes (i.e. not for attempt nor conspiracy, etc.) In this case, the grand jury found that the robbery was not completed since the victim fled the scene before the defendants could obtain his property. Ergo, second degree murder and robbery charges are whittled down to robbery to be tried in family Court. The worst they'll get? Five years. Does a robbery charge jive with this?

One of the teens suspected of trying to rob an NYU student who was killed in traffic while fleeing the gang told cops he robs for kicks - not money, a city lawyer said yesterday.

The revelation came as a Manhattan Family Court judge refused to release the four Harlem teens from a secure detention center to the custody of their families. The city lawyer, Laurie Smith, said that the boys, two 13-year-olds and two 15-year-olds, "got together that day and decided to 'do someone,'" noting that the April 1 crime was spontaneous.

The four are accused of attacking Broderick John Hehman, 20, on 125th St. by grabbing him in a bear hug and punching him in the head. When Hehman broke free, they allegedly chased him into the street, where he was hit by a Mercedes-Benz and thrown into the air. He died four days later.

Smith said the boys laughed after the car accident. One of them, whom she did not identify, told cops he doesn't "do robberies for money, but for entertainment," Smith said.

The Reality Check.org hears from one of NYC's finest who aint buyin it:

One NYPD police officer said, on condition of anonymity, "This is a travesty. These street punks are getting a slap on the wrist. They did complete a felony -- assault -- when they grabbed the student and punched him. They just didn't want to throw the book at these kids."

He also said, "They didn't want to charge them with a bias crime because they don't want the [crime] stats to show a black-on-white bias crime. You can be sure if the roles were reversed -- if it were a white-on-black incident --it would have been treated as a bias crime," he said.

Other takes:

New York Post: Priest Cries for NYU Kid

Seen Around the Sphere

Lawhawk updates us on the political and economic aftermath of Katrina.

In what promises to be an outstanding resource for bloggers, Blackfive invites us to the introduction of Milblog Wire, a group blog with some familiar names blogging about Iraq and military issues.

Protein Wisdom posts about the Saddam files and laments that the story doesn't have the legs one would have hoped.

As mentioned below, TalkLeft is doing an outstanding job blogging the Duke lacrosse rape case.

Duke Lacrosse Rape Case Update

***IMPORTANT*** Please scroll down for updates

Doesn't look good for at least two players:

Courthouse sources tell WRAL that a grand jury has returned sealed indictments against two Duke University men's lacrosse players in connection with an exotic dancer's allegations that she was raped.

Because the grand jury meets in a closed session not open to the public, it is not known which members of the lacrosse team were indicted. Defense attorneys, who have said they expected indictments Monday, said they do not know who was charged. That information will not be made public until arrests are made in the case.

Of course an indictment is a far cry from a conviction, but this case ain't going away any time soon. Wait for the racial profiteers to once again put all of white America on trial.

TalkLeft gives us some insight into sealed indictments. In their opinion, it is prosecutorial grandstanding:

Ordinarily, when Indictments are sealed, no one other than the prosecutors and grand jurors and the arresting authority responsible for executing the arrest warrant would know until the first person is arrested. It's doubtful the prosecutors would tell the defense lawyers. What's so silly about this is that sealed indictments are usually handed down to avoid tipping off a suspect who might flee if he got advance word. The prosecutor seems to be milking this for all it's worth.

UPDATE: As always seems to happen in this case, the initial reports are wrong. Sing, We Won't Get Fooled Again three times and take two aspirins.

But notice this odd sequence in the courthouse:

Just after noon, Nifong emerged from his office and walked straight across the hallway to the bathroom. Reporters swiftly surrounded the bathroom door, a crowd that included five television cameras, three still photographers, sound men with boom microphones and at least a dozen print reporters.

When the toilet flushed, the group tensed, raised cameras and prepared.
Nifong did not emerge with news.

"I no longer get to go anywhere in my community without people knowing who I am," Nifong said. "I wish you could find me a way to give me my anonymity
back."

Hey dopey, if you want your anonymity, don't become a PUBLIC prosecutor. And, while we cannot say who is really the victim yet, we know that IT IS NOT YOU.

UPDATE: Lawyer: 2 Duke Lacrosse Players Indicted . Wth?

Cartoon War, Italian style

Keep it coming:

ROME, APRIL 16, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Opus Dei described as "deplorable" the publication of a cartoon showing the prophet Mohammed in hell, published by the magazine Studii Cattolici, edited by one of its members.

The cartoon, based on a passage of "The Divine Comedy," shows Italian poets Dante Alighieri and Virgil on the edge of a circle of flames looking down on Mohammed, whose body is cut in half. Dante comments that the prophet is cut in half because of the division he brought to society.

It will argued how this is just piling on. Maybe it is. But people out there still need to understand freedom of speech, and learn how not to kill people that draw a cartoon.
UPDATE: Michelle Malkin posts the offending cartoon:

Will someone please tell me what Israel has done to Iran.

But now everything is nice.

Muslims and Coptic Christians Clash in Egypt

Freedom for Egyptians reports, prayers for the Coptics:

Muslims clashed on Sunday for a second day with Christians angered by the murder of a Copt in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, witnessessaid. At least one person was wounded when around 100 people began hurling rocks and bottles at each other in the city on Egypt's northerncoast, where a Muslim on Friday stabbed six people, killing one of them in attacks at two
churches.

Jesse and the Lesson of Tawana

Jesse Jackson has apparently learned something from the Tawana Brawley case. Hedge your bets:

Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh has suggested that Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton haven't visited Durham because of its "possibility of being a Tawana Brawley situation." He was referring to the 15-year-old black girl who claimed in 1987 she was raped, smeared with feces and scrawled with racial slurs by six white law enforcement officials -- a claim championed by Sharpton but later discredited.

Jackson and others have suggested that even if the rape allegations are proven false, the racial slurs are enough to make this case worthy of such a national dialogue. One witness has said someone at the party shouted, "Hey bitch! Thank your grandpa for my nice cotton shirt."

So a racist remark by a drunk at a lacrosse party mandates a 'national dialogue'. And 'Get Whitey' doesn't'? Who doesn't wish they could get a job as a racial profiteer? Every time some dunce says something offensive, you get another notch in your belt and more money to your 'organization'. The evidence about whether a crime was actually committed here is still in question. If one was, I hope the bastards are prosecuted. If not, who clears the stain on Duke Lacrosse? And where will Jesse be?

Get Whitey

Those two eerie words, uttered by at least one of a group of mini racists triggered a chase which led to the death of John Broderick Hehman, an NYU student:

The background:

The sources said Hehman might have been targeted as a soft mark for robbers after the teenage gang spotted the caring urban-studies major handing pocket change to a wheelchair- bound man near the corner of 125th Street and Park Avenue Saturday night.

The gang of youths, some of them as young as 11, had been smoking pot inside a nearby Popeye's fast-food eatery at 8:30 p.m. when they spotted Hehman walking by and then stopping to help the handicapped man. An anonymous caller later tipped the CrimeStoppers hot line that a group of youths screamed, "Get Whitey!" and ran toward him.

Witnesses said Hehman fled into traffic against the light and was hit by a Mercedes-Benz traveling east on 125th Street. The 38-year-old driver remained at the scene and was not charged.

"When we heard the crash, we thought it was two cars - it was such a loud noise," said a witness. I couldn't believe it was a person," he said.

Hate crime? No, a cute rugrat robbery:

"They didn't call for an ambulance. They didn't call for help. Rather, they stood on the street corner and laughed," prosecutor Joel Seidemann said of the 13- and 15-year-olds who chased Broderick John Hehman into traffic.

Hehman, 20, died four days later from his massive head injuries. And the wolf-pack thugs, who allegedly laid in wait for their victim, could have even more to smile about now. Prosecutors lost their bid to try the teens as adults yesterday when their cases were transferred to Manhattan Family Court - where they face about half as much time behind bars if convicted of the top charge against them, felony murder. Had they been tried as adults, the 15-year-olds would have faced nine years to life behind bars. Now, they face a maximum of five years in "restrictive placement," said Laurence Busching, head of the city Law Department's family court division.

If they're convicted of the lesser charges against them, including manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide, they could get off with as little as 18 months in juvenile detention.

Case: Young white man giving assistance to a wheelchair bound homeless man beset upon by group of black thugs (at least one of which) screaming "Get Whitey". Black youths pursue samaritan. Catch, proceed to rob, and further pursue as he flees. Samaritan struck by car and killed. Pursuers laugh. Just kids bein kids. Just hooliganism. Five years in juvey, read: 18 months.

Value of John Broderick Hehman's life? Eighteen months in a pantry prison.

The Candor of Cynthia Tucker

Cynthia Tucker, editorialist at the Atlanta Journal Constitution demonstrates some startling candor in her ew opinion column, "Idle black men, tragically, aren't just a stereotype":

My younger sister, an architect, appointed her Mexican-born father-in-law, an experienced carpenter (and American citizen), the new general contractor. I was to find men willing to help him paint, lift, scrape, fill, dig. The pay was hardly exorbitant — $6 an hour. But it seemed reasonable for unskilled labor. So I looked among unemployed high school classmates, members of my mother's church and men standing on nearby street corners.

The experience brought me face to face with every unappealing behavior that I'd heard attributed to idle black men but dismissed as stereotype. One man worked a couple of days and never came back. One young man worked 30 minutes before he deserted. Others promised to come to work but never did.

This story is hardly an academic overview. The evidence is anecdotal. But it jibes with the treatises I've read that portray a permanent underclass of black men with criminal records and low educational attainment, with multiple children and little cash.

It is admirable that she would confront these stereotypes head on and honestly report them. I suspect this piece might invite some small tremors in some liberal circles who saw none of what she did but will try try to dispute everything she observed. Those who don't question her observational skills will explain away with soft science claptrap. Some will reach back and make slavery and lynchings the culprit.

Anyhow, Ms. Tucker, thank you for the frank words. I hope you follow up with some honest examination.

Pro Immigration Rallies Proving Successful..

FOR ANTI IMMIGRATION SUPPORTERS:

April 14, 2006 -- IT LOOKS as if voters are starting to tilt toward get-tough Republicans on immigration - and those massive protest rallies by illegal aliens waving flags have backfired.

Republicans are now more trusted on immigration - 37 percent trust them on the issue, while just 31 percent trust Democrats, according to a national survey by the Rasmussen Reports Web site done April 8-9.

That marks a Democratic slide from 10 days earlier, when both parties were equally trusted on the hot issue. Thirty-eight percent said they trusted Republicans and 37 percent trusted Democrats.

"The Democrats lost ground," said pollster Scott Rasmussen. "I suspect there’s backlash against the rallies, and the Democrats appear to be against enforcement. People say beforewe talk about reforms, we ought to enforce the law."

Duke Lacrosse Rape Prosecution Updated

It is difficult to figure out where to insert the question mark in this one. Was there a rape? Will there be a prosecution? Latest is that Durham County Detectives sought out Duke Lacrosse players at their dorm, for questioning, only to be rebuffed by players, who, upon the advice of their lawyers, muzzled up. The player's attorneys were none too happy about the the attempt:

The lawyers branded the dorm visit as an illegal, last-ditch attempt by police and District Attorney Mike Nifong to make sure they don't "embarrass themselves" by getting someone indicted who wasn't even at the party.
-------------------------
Durham lawyer Bob Ekstrand, who represents 32 of the 46 players whose DNA was tested in connection with the alleged attack, said detectives waited outside the dorm Thursday night until a woman used her card-key to enter. Then, he said, they stuck a foot in the door and sneaked in behind her, even though they lacked a search warrant.

Nice volley. Practically speaking, the prosecution needs to do a little better before the public if they intend to try this case. More info needs to come out that there really was a crime before they attempt to prosecute one and conduct like this won't add to their case.

New Cindy Sheehan Advice Column

From Dead Brain:

Dear Cindy: My cat just jumped off the couch and collapsed. She's only eight months old. I'm wondering if she ate one of the weird little bugs around our house. Nothing appears to be wrong with her legs. Any thoughts?

--Feeble Feline in Fresno

Dear Feeble:At least your cat can eat. Did you know most Iraqis have nothing at all to eat? They're trapped in their teepees, unable to milk their goats or go to the Quick Chek, because American death rains on them from the sky. They'd probably be happy to have some of your disease-addled bugs. I hope your cat dies.

Oh, btw, in earth shattering news, she was almost arrested again today. And is SHE UPSET SHE WASN'T THERE!!!

Recommending a Conservative Book = Sexual Harassment?

This one made me do a double take:

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Officials at the Ohio State University are investigating an OSU Mansfield librarian for “sexual harassment” after he recommended four conservative books for a freshman reading program. ADF has demanded that OSU cease its frivolous investigation, yet the university is pressing forward, claiming that it takes the charges “seriously.”

“Universities are one of the most hostile places for Christians and conservatives in America,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel David French, who heads ADF’s Center for Academic Freedom. “It is shameful that OSU would investigate a Christian librarian for simply recommending books that are at odds with the prevailing politics of the university.”

Scott Savage, who serves as a reference librarian for the university, suggested four best-selling conservative books for freshman reading in his role as a member of OSU Mansfield’s First Year Reading Experience Committee. The four books he suggested were The Marketing of Evil by David Kupelian, The Professors by David Horowitz, Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis by Bat Ye’or, and It Takes a Family by Senator Rick Santorum. Savage made the recommendations after other committee members had suggested a series of books with a left-wing perspective, by authors such as Jimmy Carter and Maria Shriver.

You have to give them kudos for creativity. They could have just taken the offending books and thrown them in the garbage like this Brown Shirt Feminista would have done.

Conclusion: If the speech ain't theres, the speech ain't free.

Ahmadinejad: Israel "heading towards annhilation"

Someone please remind me why a preventitive war is wrong.

The president of Iran again lashed out at Israel on Friday and said it was "heading toward annihilation," just days after Tehran raised fears about its nuclear activities by saying it successfully enriched uranium for the first time.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called Israel a "permanent threat" to the Middle East that will "soon" be liberated. He also appeared to again question whether the Holocaust really happened.

"Like it or not, the Zionist regime is heading toward annihilation," Ahmadinejad said at the opening of a conference in support of the Palestinians. "The Zionist regime is a rotten, dried tree that will be eliminated by one storm." Ahmadinejad provoked a world outcry in October when he said Israel should be "wiped off the map."

On Friday, he repeated his previous line on the Holocaust, saying: "If such a disaster is true, why should the people of this region pay the price? Why does the Palestinian nation have to be suppressed and have its land occupied?"

UPDATE: Iran dares US to attack

PETA, Paul, Pink and the Colonel

It had been a full day or two since we have heard PETA do something stupid. The law of inevitability told us the wait wouldn't be much longer.

Vienna - A row erupted on Thursday over plans by animal protectionists to symbolically "crucify" three activists with animal masks in a Good Friday
protest outside Vienna's St Stephan's Cathedral.

How profound. Yawn.

In other PETA news, Pink, a/k/a Alecia Moore, the marginally talented pop singer with a penchant for all things disgusting, joined the group's campaign to Kick the Bucket, a petition to stop Kentucky Fried Chickens 'inhumane' treatment of animals. Fellow chickenista, Paul McCartney joined PETA's campaign against animal testing.

Left Wing Butt Plug for Iran

LGF points to a Cox & Frokum post about the excessive Dhimmitude of a Huffington dunce: With a liberal Prez, we will be safe from Iranian insanity.

Playboy Jihad

Ohhhhhhhhhh please.

A different facet of Islam - Religion of Arsonists.

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesian police asked Playboy magazine on Thursday to stop publishing its local edition in the capital out of fears it could inflame Muslim anger, police and the magazine said.

TOLERANCE UPDATE: Worshippers attacked at 3 Egyptian churches

Muslim Tolerance

Those who follow the plight of Christians in the Middle East which goes largely ignored in the MSM, there is very little which can shock us. Worse yet is hearing from the CAIR crowd about how intolerant the West is towards Muslims. Here is an example of Muslim tolerance (hat tip Religion of Peace):

Christian woman nailed with Muslim blasphemy charge for defending cross
[a headline which does the story no justice - ed.]

A Christian woman is languishing in prison for defending the cross from desecration. Naseem Bibi is in solitary confinement, charged with having offended an image of the Kabah, the most sacred shrine of Islam in Saudi Arabia. On 7 April, judges refused to release her on bail. Meanwhile, her husband and their three sons have been forced to flee their home and to go into hiding out of fear of retaliation by Muslim extremists.

..............................................

Everything started on 3 March when many Muslims were protesting the blasphemous cartoons of Muhammad near Naseem’s house in Kasur. “They were raising slogans against the US president George W. Bush, abusing him and Christianity too,” said Gulzar. “Naseem saw the protesters draw a cross on top of a rubbish help and so she went out to protest the desecrating gesture.” The woman told the demonstrators they were violating a sacred symbol of Christianity while protesting about exactly the same offence against their own faith.

According to her husband’s account, Naseem was beaten and stripped. The group of Muslims then left only to return after a few hours with an image of the Kabah soiled with excrement. The men accused Naseem of blasphemy and the police, who came to the spot, took her away to the local police station. Gulzar admitted that he did not intervene to help his wife because he was afraid.

Religion of Peace and Tolerance.

UPDATE: CBS laments the Sinking Perceptions Of Islam. I guess the reason for these perceptions are inexplicable. (as an aside, did anyone notice that - "only Scientology, of all the religions asked about, ranked lower. " Ouch. When your approval rating slips below a religion responsible for about 90% of the world's terrorism, you are in trouble.)

Duke Lacrosse Team on the Verge of Vindication?

All who have followed the Duke Lacrosse Team rape allegations know that Durham County prosecutors have had a tough time linking the alleged players to the rape. Tom Bevan of Real Clear Politics notices this:

There's probably no better way to get a feel for what's been happening in the Duke University lacrosse team rape story than to read a series of revised news alerts on the case issued by the Durham Police's Crimestoppers unit.

An initial release sent out April 3 which offered cash rewards for tips about the case read: "The victim was sodomized, raped, assaulted and robbed. This horrific crime sent shock waves throughout our community."

Yesterday at 11:16am, according to the Raleigh News & Observer, Crimestoppers issued a revised version of the same news release which dropped the entire second sentence about a "horrific crime" and also added a qualifier to the first: "The victim alleges that she was sodomized, raped, assaulted and robbed." [emphasis added]

A mere eighteen minutes later a third revision was issued, changing the word "victim" to complainant."

Many on the Left are still lining up squarely behind the woman. See also here. It is pathetic to see a rush to judgment merely because the case vindicates one's perverse and racist world view. Can anyone say Tawana.

Talkleft, a criminal justice blog and staunch defender of defendant's rights, is much more cautious.

UPDATE: Officer: Alleged victim 'passed-out drunk' : This is not evidence which will go towards proving the guilt of the possible defendants, but it will cast doubts on the alleged victim's recollection of events.

SLOW DOWN DAWG, LOOK WHAT THE CAT DRAGGED IN: Lawyers for Lacrosse Players at Duke Say They Expect Indictment in Rape Case :

DURHAM, N.C., April 12 — Defense lawyers for several players on Duke University's lacrosse team said Wednesday that they expected at least one player to be indicted, perhaps as early as Monday, in the investigation of a woman's charges that she was raped by three players at a party last month.

As a measure of prudence though, I suggest that you read the post below and consider the source. ;)

FOR A DIFFERENT TAKE: See this racist pig on the oversexed white boy:

The young black women can almost finish each other's stories. They go to a party, a concert, a nightclub. Twenty-somethings of all colors are flirting and dancing. And then it happens.

Inevitably, a woman says, a white man asks her to dance erotically while he watches. Or he grabs her rear end. Or asks for sex, in graphic detail, without bothering to ask her name.

If a white woman wrote same about black men she wouldn't finish the day in her job.

Hard Times at the Old Gray Lady

It is becoming apparent that the New York Times is going through some desparate straits. But did anyone think that things were this bad?

A front-page article in some copies on Sunday reported that a top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney said he had been authorized to disclose to a reporter that one of the key judgments in a 2002 National Intelligence Estimate was that Iraq was "vigorously trying to procure uranium." The assertion about the aide, I. Lewis Libby Jr., was based on a court filing last Wednesday by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor overseeing the indictment of Mr. Libby in the C.I.A. leak case.

Yesterday, Mr. Fitzgerald filed a letter with the court correcting his original filing to say Mr. Libby had been authorized to disclose "some of the key judgments of the N.I.E., and that the N.I.E. stated that Iraq was vigorously trying to procure
uranium." This revised account of his filing undercut a basis of the Times article — that Mr. Libby testified that he had been told to overstate the significance of the intelligence about uranium.

Although Mr. Fitzgerald formally filed his corrective yesterday, accounts of it were provided to some news organizations on Tuesday night, and were the basis for news articles yesterday. The Times did not publish one, as other organizations did, because a telephone message and an e-mail message about the court filing went unnoticed at the newspaper. An article on the filing appears today, on Page A17.

ROTFLMAO. That is the kind of excuse you use when you tell your wife you neglected to buy flour at the supermarket.

Let's Get In While the Gettin is Good

Sensing change, migrants rush to the border

Mexicans hurrying to Arizona anticipating passage of guest-worker plan

Kids are a Nice Target

The Religion of Peace leads us to post on an easy victim. What better way to maximize casualties than bombing a school:

At least seven children have been killed and 34 injured after a rocket
hit their school in the eastern Afghan province of Kunar, officials say. The
rocket landed in the grounds of a mosque where the school was located near
Asadabad, the provincial capital

Fine work. Many virgins lay in wait.

Around the Sphere

Gates of Vienna does a cute little piece on Muslim amputation machines.

Michelle Malkin does some great blogging on UC Santa Cruz giving no love to military recruiters.

Atlas Shrugs laments the Dhimmi direction of Continental Europe. Jason at the Infidel Bloggers Alliance concurs.

Craig at Red Satellites refuses to lament a successful terrorist attack.

Islets of Drangarnir, Tindholmur, Gasholmur and Mykines

Elderly Woman Ticketed For Walking Too Slowly

I hate to give the 'Asshat of the Week' award to one of Los Angeles' finest, but 'Officer Kelly' left me no choice:

LOS ANGELES -- An 82-year-old woman has received a $114 ticket for
taking too long to cross a street in the San Fernando Valley, Calif.

Mayvis Coyle said she began shuffling with her cane when the light
was green, but was unable to make it to the other side before it turned red.

"It turned red before I could get over. There he was, waiting, the
motorcycle cop," Coyle told the Los Angeles Daily News. "He said, `You're
obstructing the flow of traffic."'

Coyle is only one of seniors at Monte Vista Mobile Estates that are
upset over signals they think are too short to safely cross five lanes of
traffic, the Daily News reported.

At least one of the seniors reportedly calls a cab just to cross
the street.

update: TALKLEFT SEES THE SAME STUPIDITY

Pravda and Condoleezza Rice: Horny Stalker and Stalkee

It is always amusing to get the Russian take on world events. But nothing is funnier than their obsession, read intimidation, by Condoleezza Rice. Check out Pravda's attempts to discredit her by obsessing on her sexuality:

Condoleezza Rice leads solitary life, but surprises the world with her slim figure and determination

Condoleezza Rice's anti-Russian stance based on sexual problems

or, the most recent scoop,

Condoleezza Rice's sexual worries in the White House

I am not an advocate of dirty politics or of dirty diplomacy. But I must offer my advice to the President to cure the 'Russian problem'. Mr. President, please sit Ms. Rice in a room, Basic Instinct style. Let her educate, lecture and berate. She will turn these cabbage chewin, chest thumpin neanderthals into Condi's own boot-lickers.

Faroe Islands

I vow to visit these islands before I die:



My new adopted homeland.

null
eitt
tvey
trý
fýra
fimm
seks
sjey
átta
níggju
tíggju
ellivu
tólv
trettan
fjúrtan
fimtan

The Gospel of Judas

Fascinating:

A long-lost manuscript dating to the early Christian era and unveiled Thursday tells the Easter story from a strikingly different perspective: that of Judas Iscariot, long reviled as the man who betrayed Jesus.

The "Gospel of Judas," as the document has been titled, portrays Judas as Jesus' favorite, entrusted with secrets withheld from the other disciples. His role in the crucifixion was laudable, for it enabled Jesus to escape the limitations of the flesh.

Arla Foods - off the Boycott Hook?

Apparently cowardice, capitulation and appeasement work. All the time Arla has spent on its knees is finally paying dividends.

I say it again, Boycott Arla. They have have been one of the most reprehensible Western actors in this entire Cartoon jihad. Expect other Danish companies suffering from the boycott to follow suit.

The Devolution of Egypt

The word from Freedom for Egyptians:

The Islamic jurist in Egypt, Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa issued an edict that forbids Egyptian Muslims from owning or displaying statues at their home because it is un-Islamic according to a “Hadith” (Prophet’s saying). Apparently that wasnt enough.

Freedom continues:

The controversial Qatar-based Islamic scholar, Yussef al-Qaradawi joined the Mufti.The Mufti who is appointed by the President represents the official line of the country and that tells you how secular we are evolving to be, a future Taliban state.

The Fatwa does not rule out:

The demolition of all pharaonic civilization heritages represented in the thousands of statues and Luxor and Aswan temples and others scattered all over the country. Those temples for those who did not visit them have huge statues for ancient Egyptian Kings and Queens.

Boycotting all sculpture artists and closing down arts colleges in the country for teaching students art. I will have to boycott all my friends and family members who took art as a profession.

Getting rid of any foreign heritage in the Egyptian houses. Many Egyptian families since more than two centuries still take pride in inheriting some pieces of art that came to Egypt from Europe. Those pieces are extremely precious and invaluable.

Treating us as insane retarded citizens with no brains who will take the first opportunity worship statues for anything in which we can undo everything Prophet Muhammed did when he forbid the people of Mecca from worshipping statues. Egyptians do not have the desert culture, we have the civilization of the Nile valley that inspired Egyptians with all forms of beauty along the centuries of history despite all difficulties.

Religion of Peace the Younger

From the IBA:

Zarqawi Fired?

Interesting news:

Ammam - Iraq's resistance has replaced Jordanian-born Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi as political head of the rebels, confining him to a military
role, the son of Osama bin Laden's mentor told AFP Sunday in Jordan.

"The Iraqi resistance's high command asked Zarqawi to give up
his political role and replaced him with an Iraqi, because of several
mistakes he made," said Hudayf Azzam, who claims close contacts with the
rebels.

Sideshow Cynthia

This is just too easy. And too fun.