Catholics, Catholicism, the Pope, the Vatican, "Saints" (in the Catholic usage), confession, Hail Marys, a "works-oriented" salvation.
If it's Catholic, I can't stand it.
I have simply grown up with a mighty distrustful perception of Catholicism.
Have 3/5 of all the women I've dated since high school been Catholic? (Yep.)
Did I go to a Catholic high school for the last 3 years of my career? (Yep.)
So go figure.
However, recent developments (ie: my last two posts, and Eric's scathing response) have brought me to a realization:
I need to reconcile the love of Christ that dwells in my heart, with the experiences and intellectual/spiritual differences with Catholicism I hold in my mind.I have only recently become a Christian (this past December, to be exact) although I have been raised with a Christian principled upbringing by my faithful mother.
My youth (both in biological years, and in terms of my Christian maturity) can at least partly be to blame for un-Christlike commentary of my last two posts (I have deleted them, for obvious reasons, though you can find the object of my shame at Eric's blog. Traffic to his site is but an added component to my apology.)
My sometimes tongue-in-cheek, more often times vicious satirical and sarcastic styles of humor have certainly gotten the best of me over the years. These last two posts are no exception.
I will not delve deeply into my theological differences with Catholics. However, I will partially explain where the motivation for the jabs at the pope originated.
Eric recently commented on his respect for a man ("John Paul II") who survived Nazism, Communism, an assasination attempt and countless other notable instances. I, too, admire Karol Jozef Wojtyla for his perserverance of spirit and integrity. However, I refuse to bestow any higher degree of admiration or respect for Wojtyla other than that which is reserved for a fellow man. The same goes for the woman known as "Mother Teresa," who has been beatified and is en route to becoming a canonized "saint." Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was nothing more than a daughter of Christ, a saint before she was ever declared so by any "papal authority."
These are perhaps, definitive elements of Post-Reformation Christianity.
The Reformation was "in part a rejection of the cultic veneration of saints," as explained by Steven Gertz. They are merely those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, declared righteous by God. The Word of God is infallible, not any man on Earth who proclaims himself to be so.
While I will always have my strong and unshakable theological differences with Catholics, I hereby apologize for my arrogant, insensitive and un-Christlike commentary of late.
Proverbs 11:2
"When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom."
Titus 3:2
"[...] slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men."
Job 11:2-3
"Are all these words to go unanswered?
Is this talker to be vindicated?
Will your idle talk reduce men to silence?
Will no one rebuke you when you mock?"
James 2:8
"If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, 'Love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing right."
And I quote (emphasis mine):
"[...] when I see a member of my team basically telling me that the denomination I voluntarily chose at the age of 14 (I was raised Methodist) is being headed by Satan, who gives Hitler salutes and shits his pants, well, I felt the need to respond.Are there problems in the Catholic Church? Of course, and there are people within it trying to stave off the creeping Liberalism that is desperatly trying to sap the strength of all Christianity.
Lutherans are coming out in favor of Islamofascism, Methodists are performing marriage ceremonies for homosexual couples, and Episcopalians (president and CEO, the Queen of England) are ordaining openly homosexual clergy.
I'm tired of my faith, Catholicism in particular, and Christianity as a whole, being ridiculed by Hollywood assholes who funnel millions into "religions" such as Scientology (Travolta, Cruise), and Kabbalah (the inappropriately named Madonna, et.al.), while Christians are being oppressed from China to Morrocco.
The real enemy is out there, in Damascus, Tehran, Cairo, Falluja, Beijing, and Pyongyang. You can, however, keep your head while visiting Vatican City.
Focus, my friend, focus."
Focus I will indeed. James 2:8.
Our post-9/11 reality has renewed the meaning of the term, "spiritual warfare." The battle between good and evil has introduced a long-standing foe of whom which many of us have only recently become acquainted with--Islamo-fascism. Religion of peace, indeed. God doesn't command Christians to behead "infidels" (non-believers) in His name. He commands us to love them.
I am as skeptical and wary of man-advocated doctrines as the next guy, be they from John Calvin or the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council (Vatican II).
But I do know the one thing we have in common--the Lord Jesus Christ.
I won't let this ruin the wonderful status Texas holds in my heart as the best state in the Union (next to my beloved Dullawhere of course!)
There's been a serious lack of me donating my 2 Lincolns, lately.
Truth is, I'm just having too much fun running around my house in my cape lately instead of blogging.
Shame on me!
P.S. blogrolling/bloglinker blog rolls to the right are being updated/reorganized so don't fret if you are jumbled in there somewhere next to someone you don't like. you're going to have to learn to get along in the meantime.
UPDATE: WOAI (NBC) of Texas has an additional humorous quote in their coverage:
Smith says he knows most of Crawford's residents are Bush supporters.Guess what kids?
"If we lose subscriptions we lose them, if they put us under they put us under," Smith said. "But sometimes you have to stand up for what you believe is right."
It's math time! (Well, it's going to get as mathy as kyer can handle)
Let's see...a town of 425 citizens... + one newspaper... + the majority of the townsfolk being Bushies... + Smith realizing this...yet not registering it completely that his paper just might fold = stupid!
That's kyer math for you.
Ever notice how quite a few blogs seem to "shut down" for the most part on the weekends? No? Well I have.
It's funny, because I publish more posts during the busy week, than I do on the lazy weekends. Go fig.
This weekend's excuse:
- Saturday: Ash and I spent the day in D.C. visiting the recently completed (finally!) WWII memorial and also the Korean War memorial too.
- Sunday: It's chizurch in the morning and football all afternoon. News/blogging/life gets put on hold on Sundays.
Eric, totally understands this.
P.S. It is now 1:10 AM and I will be going to sleep 4 hours earlier than usual. I know someone who will be happy because of this.
WASHINGTON - The House passed legislation Thursday that would prevent the Supreme Court from ruling on whether the words "under God" should be stricken from the Pledge of Allegiance.Bravo.In a politically and emotionally charged debate, Democrats said majority Republicans in the chamber were debasing the Constitution in order to force a vote that could hurt Democrats in the election.
Supporters insisted that Congress has always had authority to limit federal court jurisdiction, and the legislation is needed to protect an affirmation of religion that is part of the national heritage. (more...)
And as for the Democrats crying the publicity from this bill would hurt them in the election, all I have to say is, "waaaaaaaaaaaah!"
It is issues like these that truly distinguish the Reps from the Dumms, so don't complain because Congressman Akin introduced legislation that reveals your true colors.
I bet every Democrat in the House gritted their teeth as they voted "Yea" for this bill as the remembered citizens like lil' ol' me can look up their vote on the Congressional roll call.
Rats!
DUNLAP, Ind. (AP) - An outraged father of a seventh-grader says an assistant principal duct-taped his son's pants to keep them from sagging then sent him back to class.I wish I had seen this first. As a father, Eric has this one covered.
UPDATE: My old man has a book called "The Jumbo Duct Tape Book: The Gigantic, Exhaustive, Really Thick, Ultra Informative, Mother-of-em-all Book" by Jim and Tim, "The Duct Tape Guys." I thumbed through it and did not see any mention of using duct tape as a belt. Perhaps this principal should write in to the authors and suggest this newfound use for their latest edition?
Compiled by Ted Olsen of ChristianityToday on Sept. 22 2004:
National Geographic: Ark expedition was probably about publicity, not archaeologyTo me, McGivern's motivation, perhaps being the confirmation of or bringing to faith of millions of people the world over, is terribly misguided. It seems McGivern misunderstands the true meaning of faith.Daniel McGivern's $900,000 effort to investigate a Mount Ararat structure he's "90 percent sure" is Noah's Ark never happened, National Geographic News reports. But the news service says McGivern may have known that the Turkish government wouldn't allow them to climb the mountain due to security restrictions. "McGivern may have been more interested in generating publicity than mounting a serious search, critics now suggest," writes Stefan Lovgren. "By making an early announcement, he may have tried to persuade the Turkish government into granting him a permit. Few expeditions have actually obtained clearance to climb Mount Ararat, which is located in a military zone. The choice of expedition leader—a Turkish academic named Ahmet Ali Arslan, who claims to have climbed Mount Ararat 50 times in 40 years—also raised a red flag with those familiar with previous expeditions."
Sources told Christianity Today earlier this year that Arslan would be a boon to the expedition and would help the team get the necessary permits.
"The government of Turkey did not issue a research visa, which is sad, but it's their country," McGivern told the conservative news site WorldNetDaily for an August article. "We haven't totally given up, but it's pretty obvious they're not going to give us one."
But earlier this month, McGivern told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin that he has given up and won't try to put another expedition together. "This was the year," he said. "I don't have Ark fever like many who go year after year. … A good businessman calculates what amount of money and time he will invest and has to know when to walk away. Of course, Noah's Ark is totally different, way beyond business for me. Christians, Jews, and Muslims believe in it. It will confirm the faith of millions … and many will be brought to faith. It will change how scientists look at the world."
Do we need to ever unearth the ruins of Noah's ark (if they even still exist) to justify our Christian faith to the world?
Absolutely not.
We do not need signs or physical evidence of any sort to prove the legitmacy of the Lord's sovereignty... Those who place their faith in the Lord, already have all the evidence they need in life--His creation as is...and the acknowledgement of the everyday effects of His grace in our lives.
By the way, there are quite a few scientists of faith out there who do not require the discovery of an ancient vessel.
Government workers and U.N. peacekeepers were burying the dead in mass graves to prevent the spread of disease.Truckloads of bodies in plastic bags were delivered for burial at the Bois Marchand cemetery near Gonaives and police were called in to calm neighbors who angrily protested the mass burials, Cantave said.
[...]
Devastating floods and mudslides in May, in which about 2,000 people died, further aggravated the humanitarian disaster facing the county. Haiti is chronically vulnerable to flooding because of widespread deforestation caused by Haitians digging up roots to make charcoal for cooking.
The Associated Press reports:
[...T]he number of people reported missing since Tropical Storm Jeanne lashed the islands with torrential rains for 30 hours over the weekend was up to 1,250. Some bodies washed out to sea at Gonaives, dozens remained in still-high waters or floating in flooded houses in the city, he said, indicating that the toll could reach as high as 2,000.For those of you are are unfamiliar with Haiti's situation--Haiti is the the most impoverished nation in the Western hemisphere. Nearly 2,000 people died just a few months ago in May due to devastating mudslides and floods.
From the British online press,telegraph.co.uk:
"The Italian businessman at the centre of a furious row between France and Italy over whose intelligence service was to blame for bogus documents suggesting Saddam Hussein was seeking to buy material for nuclear bombs has admitted that he was in the pay of France.Well, at least we know Rather hasn't covered this story...yet.His admission to investigating magistrates in Rome on Friday apparently confirms suggestions that - by commissioning "Giacomo" to procure and circulate documents - France was responsible for some of the information later used by Britain and the United States to promote the case for war with Iraq.
Italian diplomats have claimed that, by disseminating bogus documents stating that Iraq was trying to buy low-grade "yellowcake" uranium from Niger, France was trying to "set up" Britain and America in the hope that when the mistake was revealed it would undermine the case for war, which it wanted to prevent. However, he reportedly also added that he had believed that the documents in question were genuine, and to have never suspected that they had been forged. "Martino has clarified his position and offered to deliver to the magistrates the documents which confirm his declarations," his lawyer, Giuseppe Placidi, told Ansa."
"'After being exposed in the international press, French intelligence can hardly be amused or happy with him,' one western diplomat said. 'Martino may have thought the safest thing was to hand himself over to the Italians.' Investigators in Rome suspect that Mr Martino was first engaged by the French secret services five years ago, when he was asked to investigate rumours of illicit trafficking in uranium from Niger. He is thought to have then been retained the following year to collect more information. It was then that he is suspected of having assembled a dossier containing both real and bogus documents from Niger, the latter apparently forged by a diplomat.In September 2002 Tony Blair accused Saddam of seeking "significant quantities" of uranium from an undisclosed African country - in fact, Niger. US President George W Bush made a similar claim in his State of the Union address to Congress four months later, using information supplied by MI6."
Boy I hope this story continues to unfold as is... (more...)
p.s. Posts have sucked lately due to lack of time/energy/ and.... yea. energy.
From WorldNetDaily:
Al-Qaida plans to use Mexico as a key infiltration route for sending operatives into the United States, according to a Mexican newspaper.And to think there is a hiring freeze right now with the U.S. Border Patrol...Mexican intelligence agencies have identified at least two routes for al-Qaida infiltration, the Proceso newspaper reported last week.
The infiltration plan calls for terrorists to depart South Africa for London and then take a non-stop flight to Mexico or a Central American nation and from there use migrant smuggling routes to reach northern Mexico and the United States.
As a result of budget woes, officials say DHS decided to freeze hiring at two of its bureaus: CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, which is responsible for detaining and deporting illegal immigrants.On a slightly relevant note, make sure to check out yesterday's post, Illegals Set Sail... for more information about the (in)security of our southern border....[...] Worse, DHS is planning to release thousands of jailed illegal immigrants to save money. It spends about $550 million a year to hold the estimated 24,000 detainees around the country.
Yea, and I'm running for president of the NAACP....
If Khatami were appointed to the post, he'd amass Arab soldiers to serve under a UN mandate and march (or ride camels?) into Israel.
In anticiaption of his appointment, Khatami has already begun revising the UN Declaration of Human Rights to answer the global cries for justice...
The article says the next Secretary-General (that's such a communist sounding term...ain't it?) may be selected from Asia...
Unless it's Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in order to liberate her from house arrest, I can't imagine who it could be.
Undersecretary of Homeland Security Asa Hutchinson baldfaced lied to Oliver North on Sept. 12th's special edition of War Stories:
Olliver North: "Can you assure America, two years (sic) and one day after that terrible event, that we have better control over our borders?"
Asa Hutchinson: "Oh, absolutely."
Since the infowhores at Time magainze require a subscription to view online articles, ol' kyer came through (yet again!) and found the Time feature in its entirety elsewhere...
I've included several excerpts that should drive you to personally construct an 80 foot concrete wall from the borderline spanning the Rio Grande to San Diego. I'm not even going to comment on these...they speak for themselves. (all emphasis mine)
"It's fair to estimate, based on a TIME investigation, that the number of illegal aliens flooding into the U.S. this year will total 3 million-enough to fill 22,000 Boeing 737-700 airliners, or 60 flights every day for a year. It will be the largest wave since 2001 and roughly triple the number of immigrants who will come to the U.S. by legal means. (No one knows how many illegals are living in the U.S., but estimates run as high as 15 million.)How the heck are Bulgarians and Egyptians blending in while crossing from Mexico?Who are these new arrivals? While the vast majority are Mexicans, a small but sharply growing number come from other countries, including those with large populations hostile to the U.S. From Oct. 1 of last year until Aug. 25, along the southwest border, the border patrol estimates that it apprehended 55,890 people who fall into the category described officially as other than Mexicans, or OTMs. With five weeks remaining in the fiscal year, the number is nearly double the 28,048 apprehended in all of 2002. But that's just how many were caught. TIME estimates, based on longtime government formulas for calculating how many elude capture, that as many as 190,000 illegals from countries other than Mexico have melted into the U.S. population so far this year. The border patrol, which is run by the Department of Homeland Security, refuses to break down OTMs by country. But local law officers, ranchers and others who confront the issue daily tell TIME they have encountered not only a wide variety of Latin Americans (from Guatemala, El Salvador, Brazil, Nicaragua and Venezuela) but also intruders from Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Russia and China as well as Egypt, Iran and Iraq."
"The border patrol, by nature an earnest and hard-working corps,is no match for the onslaught. From last October through Aug. 25, it apprehended nearly 1.1 million illegals in all its operations around the U.S. But for every person it picks up, at least three make it into the country safely."John Ladd Jr., a rancher, supports the dedicated efforts of the border-patrol agents, "[the border patrol agents] are responsible guys in a hypocritical bureaucracy."
Note: "The United States Border Patrol is the thin green line of men and women who protect America's borders. They struggle to do their job with fewer resources than any similar service in the world. They guard the 6,000 miles of our border with one tenth as many people as are in the New York City police department."-usborderpatrol.com
"On the Mexican side of the border, President Vicente Fox has actively encouraged the migration. He made his goal clear in 2000 when he called for a fully open border within 10 years, with "a free flow of people, workers" moving between the two countries. When U.S. opposition to the proposal intensified after 9/11, Fox sought the same goal through the back door. He pushed U.S. businesses and city and state governments to accept as legal identification a card called a matricula consular, issued by Mexican consulates. That has allowed illegals to secure driver's licenses and other forms of identification and open bank accounts. Earlier this year Fox pushed U.S. bankers to make it easier for Mexicans working here-some of them legally but most illegally-to ship U.S. dollars back home. Because of the exploding illegal population, the money sent back represents the third largest source of revenue in Mexico's economy, trailing only oil and manufacturing. That figure reached a record $13 billion last year."
"So what does the failed immigration system mean for ordinary people? Just ask Sister Helen Lynn Chaska. Actually, you can't. You will have to ask her family and friends.It's the waning days of summer in 2002 in Klamath Falls, Ore., a city of about 19,000 on the eastern edge of the Cascade Mountains. Two nuns who belonged to the Order of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Bellevue, Wash., had made one of their periodic trips to Klamath Falls to carry out missionary work. As they had in the past, Sister Helena Maria (her church name), 53, and Sister Mary Louise, 52, checked into a Best Western motel. On Saturday, Aug. 31, they spent the evening proselytizing and selling religious items outside an Albertsons supermarket.
After returning to the motel, the two set out on their ritual prayer walk shortly after midnight. They were dressed in the blue habits they always wore as they walked on a darkened bike path behind the motel, reciting their rosaries. As they reached the midway point in their prayers and turned back toward the motel, they heard a bicycle coming up behind them. A Hispanic male in his 30s or 40s got off, grabbed both women and began kissing them. The more they resisted, the angrier he became. He finally punched Sister Mary Louise in the right eye so hard that she fell and hit her head on a rock, leaving her dazed. While holding Sister Helena Maria so tightly by the rosary knotted around her neck that she gasped for breath, he raped her first and then raped and sodomized Sister Mary Louise and raped Sister Helena Maria a second time. The man pulled the veil over Sister Mary Louise, told her not to move or he would kill her, climbed back on his MTB Super Crown bike and pedaled off. Sister Helena Maria was dead. The rosary had been wound so tightly, its marks were embedded in her neck.
Later that day, police tracked a suspect to another motel, where they began questioning him. He gave his name as Jesus Franco Flores, which turned out to be one of many names he used. In the end, he confessed to beating and raping both nuns. He was not supposed to be in the U.S.; he had been deported at least three times."
Caption: "Three-year-old Sophia Parlock cries while seated on the shoulders of her father, Phil Parlock, after having their Bush-Cheney sign torn up by Kerry-Edwards supporters on Thursday, Sept. 16, 2004, at the Tri-State Airport in Huntington, W.Va."
UPDATE: (Friday 9-17) US News and World Report
"If the picture of little 3-year-old Sophia Parlock crying after some Kerry-Edwards supporters tore up her Bush-Cheney poster got to you, well, you weren't the only one. President Bush and even first pup Barney were dismayed too, we hear. It happened at a West Virginia rally last week for Democratic running mate Sen. John Edwards, to which Phil Parlock brought his daughter.Compassionate conservatism at its best, eh?After seeing the picture of the tearful Sophia on her dad's shoulders, aides said the president was sending her a little note Friday along with a signed campaign poster and an autographed photo of the prez and his dog.
"Dear Sophia," Bush penned, "Thank you for supporting my campaign. I understand someone tore up your sign. So I am sending you a new sign and a signed picture. Please give my best to your family. Sincerely, George W. Bush." And on the picture, he inked: "To Sophia, Best wishes from me and Barney."
Phil Parlock tells us it really wasn't necessary. "He already said 'Thank you' when he hugged her" at a previous Bush rally they attended, he says. "She bragged for days."
"I hope we do not see another Iraq-type operation for a long time - without U.N. approval and much broader support from the international community,""broader support" meaning...France and Germany?At the time, Annan had underlined the lack of legitimacy for a war without U.N. approval, saying: "If the United States and others were to go outside the Security Council and take unilateral action they would not be in conformity with the charter." Annan told the BBC.
On Wednesday, after being asked three times whether the lack of council approval meant the war was illegal, Annan said: "From our point of view and the [U.N.] charter point of view, it was illegal."
I will not bow down before a global government--I am a United States citizen not a "citizen of the world."
I will not relinquish my 2nd-Amendment RIGHT to bear arms to an outside entity. In fact, I am considering purchasing my first firearm sometime in the future.
I will not stand for the blood of American patriots to be shed under the guise of a U.N. mandate and I will be damned if I tolerate French or German generals leading our men.
Noted constitutional scholar Herb Titus has thoroughly researched the United Nations and its purported "authority." Titus explains that the UN Charter is not a treaty at all, but rather a blueprint for supranational government that directly violates the Constitution.(more...!)As such, the Charter is neither politically nor legally binding upon the American people or government.
The UN has no authority to make "laws" that bind American citizens, because it does not derive its powers from the consent of the American people.
We need to stop speaking of UN resolutions and edicts as if they represented legitimate laws or treaties. They do not.
God bless you, Congressman Paul!!!
The text of the March 2001 proposal can be read here:
Operation America presents: Get the US out of the UN
Check out the National Sovereignty? Vote Index for the 107th Congress ---> HERE
SANTANDER DE QUILICHAO, Colombia - More than 35,000 Colombian Indians marched in a violence-wracked region Tuesday to protest attacks against Indians and a free-trade pact pursued by the United States — forming a column that coiled over the rolling, green countryside.Buen trabajo... esto es muy necesario para su sobrevivencia, y para la sobrevivencia de su democracia.Colombia's war, now in its 40th year, pits the military and a handful of outlawed right-wing paramilitary groups against two leftist rebel armies. Civilians, including the nation's 800,000 Indians who live in the Andes Mountains and jungles, are often caught in the middle, and pay a price in blood.
Some 3,500 people, most of them civilians, are killed every year. Thousands more are kidnapped. The National Indigenous Organization of Colombia says 57 Indians have been killed and 4,500 forced from their homes in the conflict this year.
Andrade said more than 40,000 Indians were participating in the march, saying he believed it was the largest gathering of Colombia's indigenous people in the country's history. Police put the number of marchers Tuesday at 35,000.
(más)
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - The government of a northern Mexico state has promised to give free homes to 47 mothers of women killed in a string of sexually motivated slayings, angering some activists who say the gifts gloss over the lack of results in the criminal investigations. (más...)yo no sé lo que decir concerniendo esto...es tan trágico.. las matanzas han ocurrido por años ahora. ¿y de repente el gobierno del estado de chihuahua decide ayudar las madres? eso es mierda.
If you are not familiar with the killings, here is a brief but pretty decent summary.
la nota: lo siento, pero mi español no es bueno
"We have entered the Fourth World War," said Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the Vatican's Council for Justice and Peace, saying he believed that the Cold War was World War 3.(more...)"I believe that we are in the midst of another world war," he said in comments published in Italian newspapers on Tuesday.
"And it involves absolutely everyone because we don't know what will happen when we leave a hotel, when we get on a bus, when we go into a coffee bar. War itself is sitting down right next to each and every one of us," he said.
Jay Leno:
"...'Here's an interesting fact, the Republican Convention boosted the New York economy $255 million. But the Democrat Convention in Boston only netted it $14.8 million. People wonder why it was so much less? Sure, Democrats don't like spending their own money."
(HT:William C. Fisher: "This is as relevant today as it was almost 100 years ago.")
If Christians should vote their duty to God at the polls, they would carry every election, and do it with ease. They would elect every clean candidate in the United States, and defeat every soiled one. Their prodigious power would be quickly realized and recognized, and afterward there would be no unclean candidates upon any ticket, and graft would cease. No church organization can be found in the country that would elect men of foul character to be its shepherd, itstreasurer, and superintendent of its Sunday-school. It wouldbe revolted at the idea; it would consider such an election aninsult to God. Yet every Christian congregation in the country elects foul men to public office, while quite aware that this also is an open and deliberate insult to God, who can not approve and does not approve the placing of the liberties and the well-being of His children in the hands of infamous men. It is the Christian congregations that are responsible for the filling of our public offices with criminals, for the reason that they could prevent it if they chose to do it. They could prevent it without organizing a league, without framing a platform, without making any speeches or passing any resolutions -- in a word, without concert of any kind.
They could accomplish it by each individual resolving to vote for God at the polls -- that is to say, vote for the candidate whom God would approve. Can a man imagine such a thing as God being a Republican or a Democrat, and voting for a criminal or a blackguard merely because party loyalty required it? Then can we imagine that a man can improve upon God's attitude in this matter, and by help of professional politicians invent a better policy? God has no politics but cleanliness and honesty, and it is good enough for men.
… If the Christians of America could be persuaded to vote God and a clean ticket, it would bring about a moral revolution that would be incalculably beneficent. It would save the country -- a country whose Christians have betrayed it and are destroying it.
— Mark Twain, Colliers Magazine, September 2, 1905.
1961 IBM 72 SELECTRIC TYPEWRITER!
Forge like the pros!
Did I mention it was GREAT FOR FORGING???
Bid now before it's gone!
Starting bid is $199.99!
Proppage: Eric
Preview:
"A popular North American amusement park is scheduled to host a "Great Muslim Adventure Day" this week in which the park will be open only to Muslims, drawing fire from various monitor groups, WorldNetDaily has learned."I saw the title of the post and knew Eric was already rockin' it.
I hear the park has added some new rides just for this day:The Suicide Belt Roller Coaster
The No Takeoff and Landings Flight Simulation Through New York City
The B-52 Duck and Cover Log Ride
The Haunted Russian School
Bumper Car Bomb
Flee the M1 Abrams Go-Kart Racing
Jay knows what's up...:
[T]he term “military style” is very misleading. All the weapons under the assault weapons ban are semi-automatic guns, not fully automatic weapons which have been illegal to own unless specficially licensed to do so in this country since 1934. In fact, it’s difficult to own a fully automatic weapon in the United States. In order to do so you must:Seriously. Check out the pictures. Or I'll assault you. With the weapon of your choice even. I can go commie on you with my kalishnikov or Jew on you with my Uzi.A. Have a full FBI background check done (Not the regular background check, but a full investigation that can take months)
B. The weapon must be registered
C. A transfer tax of $200 must be paid for each item
D. Must obtain state approval
E. Must obtain local law enforcement approval
F. Weapon must have been produced prior to 1986
G. Must obtain ATF approvalThe ban from 1994 was strictly cosmetic legislation. The people who wrote the legislation, went through a book and picked out weapons that looked scary and put them under the ban. Look at the pictures (here).
Your choice.
In recent seasons, fashion has been filled with skimpy tops exposing midriffs, cleavage-revealing necklines and jeans slung so low that precious little was left to the imagination -- looks impossible to avoid on such pop icons as Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.Sorry sugar, it takes ALOT than a little fabric coverage to make most of today's women "ladylike."This season, blousy linen took the place of sheer chiffon, while shades of white chased away an edgier black. Necklines were up, while hemlines were hovering down at the knee.
"It's very ladylike. It's not jump-into-bed fashion," Deeny said of the new look on runways as established powerhouses to new designers trotted out more fabric and less skin than in seasons past.
Underhill suggested the new modesty may be backlash to the "slutwear" look creeping into the children's market and young girls trying to copy the revealing, belly-baring looks of pop stars such as Spears.I wonder what her concert attire will look like now? Puritan outfits?
Harsh media attention surrounding cases such as the murder of Lacey Peterson and the sexual assault accusations, now dropped, against basketball's Kobe Bryant "highlighted the dark side of lots of our sexuality," he added.Oh, man. "Dark side..." That's rich.
"I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God."
A bit dated (from Sept. 9th) but extremely important, nonetheless.
BBC: "Police in the Russian city of St Petersburg have found explosives, detonators and a gun in a cinema closed for repairs, Russian media have said."
The tireless Stan covered this story (his Beslan aftermath coverage continues as well...) and translated this article from gzt.ru:
The school siege was well planned. Terrorists brought explosives, weapons, and food (canned goods and chocolate) back in July, when school was going through renovations. According to hostages, within the first minutes of the siege, the terrorists made male hostages rip up the floor, from under which they extracted their contraband.I think half the blogosphere, save Stan, missed this one.Several of the terrorists' bodies have now been identified as the "construction workers" who remodeled the school. Their intent explains the low price they've charged.
It appears Sean's seismographic reports I mentioned may have reflected strong earthquakes in Alaska and Japan rather than an explosion in Kim Jong Ill's toilet...
David Schneider-Joseph further questions Sean's seismograph analysis, comparing the readings of nuclear detonation and an earthquake with pretty pictures even!
Yet, your guess is as good as mine what left the huge crater visible from space...
The thin coverage (or lack thereof, rather) in the Asian media and the relative silence of neighboring governments leaves me baffled as well...
Meanwhile....
"Pyongyang had no time to celebrate its Balochistan nuclear test success because it had the daunting task of extracting its nuclear scientists, test equipment and test data safely from Pakistan. Hundreds of American spies and agents were out to grab North Korean scientists and nuclear materials."(source: "North Korea's Nuclear Tests in Pakistan" - 1998)
And if that doesn't rock your glock, I've got a SCANDALOUS photo of the DPRK too...
Poor Thibodeaux... one of my favorite defenders of the 2nd Amendment unloads about the media assault on the expiration of the "assault weapons" ban...
Following the Beslan school siege led by Chechen terrorists, President Putin is introducing legislation to the State Duma that would, "limit the number of political parties" and place "full control over nominating regional leaders" in the hands of the president.
Are we seeing the beginnings of a new U.S.S.R.-lite?
"The last link in the system of checks and balances, which has prevented an excessive concentration of power in one pair of hands, is being abolished," the opposition party Yabloko said in a statement.Indeed.
"The will of a single person is imposed on the whole of society," echoed Communist party leader Gennady Zyuganov. "What he is looking for is the usurping of power."...this coming from a Communist.
Pending the Duma's approval of these measures, the Russian people can kiss local democracy ?? ????????.
::rubs eyes:: Am I dreaming? What's this???
The Free Muslim Coalition Against Terrorism is a nonprofit organization made up of American Muslims and American Arabs of all backgrounds who feel that religious violence and terrorism have not been fully rejected by the Muslim community in the post 9-11 era. The Coalition was created to eliminate broad base support for Islamic extremism and terrorism and to strengthen secular democratic institutions in the Middle East and the Muslim World by supporting Islamic reformation efforts.This is like, whoa.The Coalition promotes a modern secular interpretation of Islam which is peace-loving, democracy-loving and compatible with other faiths and beliefs. The Coalition’s efforts are unique; it is the only mainstream American-Muslim organization willing to attack extremism and terrorism unambiguously. Unfortunately most other Muslim leaders and organizations believe that when it comes to terrorism, the end justifies the means.
Other Americans have spoken up against terrorism, but never before has this message come with such clarity from Muslims or Arabs. Muslims are the only ones who can solve the problem of terror in Islam, and sadly until the founding of this Coalition, they were the only group who had not definitively spoken up against the use of terror.
Please join the Coalition. We welcome all, whether Muslim, Christian or Jewish. (more...)
TEOTIHUACAN, Mexico (Reuters) - Burning incense and sounding a conch shell horn, residents of an ancient Mexican city protested on Saturday at the construction of a Wal-Mart store on the edge of the ruins.Not only does Walmart fund little league baseball, donate to charities, employ entire towns, cure cancer, and reverse global warming--they also excavate and preserve ancient pagan cultures for all the world to see (as they load their cars with 40 gallon bottles of Tide for 2.99).The sprawling warehouse-style Bodega Aurrera, a unit of Wal-Mart in Mexico, is due to open in December in Teotihuacan, a major archeological site outside Mexico City.
Opponents say it will ruin a way of life that dates back centuries and have taken legal action to stop it, in a fight that gives a grand dimension to the classic battle between big business and small-town values.
"What they are doing in Teotihuacan is destroying Mexico's deepest roots for short-term interests like lower prices," local teacher Emanuel D'Herrera told about a dozen protesters outside Teotihuacan's town hall. "This is the flag of conquest by global interests, the symbol of the destruction of our culture."
Amid rising controversy, Mexico's government this month said a small pre-Hispanic altar was found buried at the construction site. Plans call for preserving the small structure under plexiglass in what will be the store's parking lot.
"Mexico is one of the few places in the world where the seeds of culture and religion remain," said Tim Sikyea, or Lonely Eagle, a Dene Indian from the Northwest Territories in Canada who came to Teotihuacan this weekend for an annual ceremony with indigenous peoples from across the continent."When you have big business come in you lose touch with that culture."
No one knows for sure who founded the ancient seat of power and then abandoned it around 600 A.D. The Aztecs later came upon it and named it Teotihuacan (The Place Where Men Become Gods).
SEOUL, South Korea - A large explosion occurred in the northern part of North Korea, sending a huge mushroom cloud into the air on an important anniversary of the communist regime, a South Korean news agency reported Sunday....and with Iran 10 months or so away from possibly developing their own nukes, it looks like Washington is dropping the F-bomb right about now.The Yonhap news agency, citing an unidentified source in Beijing, said the explosion happened Thursday in Yanggang province near the border with China. The explosion in Kim Hyong Jik county blasted a crater big enough to be noticed by a satellite, the source said. (more...)
The NYTimes interestingly reports:
While the indications were viewed as serious enough to warrant a warning to the White House, American intelligence agencies appear divided about the significance of the new North Korean actions, much as they were about the evidence concerning Iraq's alleged weapons stockpiles. (more...)They couldn't resist putting that last bit in there, could they? And I don't know about you, but large mushroom shape clouds are enough to convince me something ain't right over in them there parts of the world.
Kim will likely publicly state tomorrow to the world, "It's just for developing clean, efficient nuclear powa!"
I don't remember ever hearing about New Jersey setting off a mushroom cloud explosion next to the Delaware border when they constructed the Salem Nuclear Plant. Shady, I tell you.
You have to admit, it was truly ballzy to test the "whatever caused the mushroom cloud to occur" so close to the Chinese border.
When you are this sexy, I guess you can do anything.
P.S. I'm so glad Geraldo is never on TV until after midnite when no one cares. Unfortunately, I'm still awake and subjected to this torture.
P.P.S. This white guy on Geraldo's show just tried to pronounce Cuba like he was Hispanic. He said "Coobuh." That was cute.
I've just scoured several English-translated S. Korean newspapers and failed to find any updates. I find it odd Japan and China have yet to comment on this incident either. Nothing from the South China Morning Post or Xinhua News Agency in China and the Japanese press is just laughable. Something is not quite right here...
UPDATE: (01:43 AM) Apparently, Sean @ The American Mind thinks so, too. He has actually gone so far as to check out seismograph reports from U.S. Geological Survey stations in Alaska. Good work.
UPDATE: (11:25 AM) "There are all kinds of reports and there are all kinds of assessments that are going on. Maybe it was a fire, some kind of forest fire,"
UPDATE: (1:33 PM) "There was no indication that was a nuclear event of any kind. Exactly what it was, we're not sure," - Secretary Powell
That was one heck of a forest fire there, Colin. Communist countries don't have fire prevention and safety programs? No "Smokeyev, Secretary of Soviet Fire Resources"?
We'll go forward from this moment
It's my job to have something to say. They pay me to provide words that help make sense of that which troubles the American soul. But in this moment of airless shock when hot tears sting disbelieving eyes, the only thing I can find to say, the only words that seem to fit, must be addressed to the unknown author of this suffering.
You monster. You beast. You unspeakable bastard.
What lesson did you hope to teach us by your coward's attack on our World Trade Center, our Pentagon, us? What was it you hoped we would learn? Whatever it was, please know that you failed.
Did you want us to respect your cause?
You just damned your cause.
Did you want to make us fear?
You just steeled our resolve.
Did you want to tear us apart?
You just brought us together.
Let me tell you about my people. We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a family rent by racial, social, political and class division, but a family nonetheless. We're frivolous, yes, capable of expending tremendous emotional energy on pop cultural minutiae - a singer's revealing dress, a ball team's misfortune, a cartoon mouse. We're wealthy, too, spoiled by the ready availability of trinkets and material goods, and maybe because of that, we walk through life with a certain sense of blithe entitlement. We are fundamentally decent, though - peaceful, loving, and compassionate. We struggle to know the right thing and to do it. And we are, the overwhelming majority of us, people of faith, believers in a just and loving God.
Some people -- you, perhaps -- think that any or all of this makes us weak. You're mistaken. We are not weak. Indeed, we are strong in ways that cannot be measured by arsenals.
IN PAIN
Yes, we're in pain now. We are in mourning and we are in shock. We're still grappling with the unreality of the awful thing you did, still working to make ourselves understand that this isn't a special effect from some Hollywood blockbuster, isn't the plot development from a Tom Clancy novel. Both in terms of the awful scope of their ambition and the probable final death toll, your attacks are likely to go down as the worst acts of terrorism in the history of the United States and, probably, the history of the world. You've bloodied us as we have never been bloodied before.
But there's a gulf of difference between making us bloody and making us fall. This is the lesson Japan was taught to its bitter sorrow the last time anyone hit us this hard, the last time anyone brought us such abrupt and monumental pain. When roused, we are righteous in our outrage, terrible in our force. When provoked by this level of barbarism, we will bear any suffering, pay any cost, go to any length, in the pursuit of justice.
I tell you this without fear of contradiction. I know my people, as you, I think, do not. What I know reassures me. It also causes me to tremble with dread of the future.
In the days to come, there will be recrimination and accusation, fingers pointing to determine whose failure allowed this to happen and what can be done to prevent it from happening again. There will be heightened security, misguided talk of revoking basic freedoms. We'll go forward from this moment sobered, chastened, sad. But determined, too. Unimaginably determined.
THE STEEL IN US
You see, the steel in us is not always readily apparent. That aspect of our character is seldom understood by people who don't know us well. On this day, the family's bickering is put on hold. As Americans we will weep, as Americans we will mourn, and as Americans, we will rise in defense of all that we cherish.
So I ask again: What was it you hoped to teach us? It occurs to me that maybe you just wanted us to know the depths of your hatred. If that's the case, consider the message received.
And take this message in exchange:
-You don't know my people.
-You don't know what we're capable of.
-You don't know what you just started.
But you're about to learn."
UPDATE:
President Bush declares Sept 10-12 as National Days of Prayer and Remembrance
The President's radio address can be found here.
2 Corinthians 1:9-11
Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.
He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,
as you help us by your prayers.
Then many will give thanks on our behalf
for the gracious favor granted us
in answer to the prayers of many.
Matthew 12:21 "In his name the nations will put their hope."
Psalm 9:1-10
I will praise you, O LORD , with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.
I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
My enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before you.
For you have upheld my right and my cause;
you have sat on your throne, judging righteously.
You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
Endless ruin has overtaken the enemy,
you have uprooted their cities;
even the memory of them has perished.
The LORD reigns forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.
He will judge the world in righteousness;
he will govern the peoples with justice.
The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, LORD , have never forsaken those who seek you.
AMEN
From WorldNetDaily....Former Vice President Al Gore has compared President Bush's Christian faith with fundamentalist Islam, saying it emphasizes "vengeance" and "brimstone."
In an interview with the New Yorker, Gore, who says he's a Southern Baptist, expressed disdain for Bush's public declaration of his faith.
"It's a particular kind of religiosity," he told the magazine. "It's the American version of the same fundamentalist impulse that we see in Saudi Arabia, in Kashmir, in religions around the world: Hindu, Jewish, Christian, Muslim. They all have certain features in common. Yea...they all share the same characteristic of being denoted as "religions..."
Gore also slammed Bush's leadership in the White House, calling him a "weak man."Only to later say in the same inteview...
"I think he is a bully, and, like all bullies, he's a coward when confronted with a force that he's fearful of."Tsk tsk tsk. Shame on you Albert. Not only are you a contradictory sore loser, but a sore loser who ends their sentence in a preposition!
(Yes, I notice I ended my sentence with the word "preposition," so shut up.) ::drum roll::
"THE must-see film of the year!"-An O. Nymous
"a serious, well-researched attempt to make us see
how ordinary-seeming young Muslims
could end up willing to kill thousands of people."
-James Walton, The Daily Telegraph
Read more of the Anglo reaction to this television documentary via The Guardian here.
(Don't have a login name/pw? Use "abcd@mailinator.com" as your login name and "gggggggg" as the password. If it doesn't work, simply enter the main URL of The Guardian into www.bugmenot.com)
From The Daily Telegraph... An excerpt:
Alice Perman, the film's co-writer, conceded that Jarrah - who is torn between jihad and an ordinary life in the West - was one of the more sympathetic terrorists.I'm inclined to agree with Saleh. I myself, am torn between nuking Iran and assasinating Khamenei... but I don't expect any sympathy. By the way, Alice, which audience were you hoping this terrorist scum-bag would "resonate" with?Former tutors, flatmates and colleagues whom she spoke to "all talked about this likeable man", she said.
"We chose him because his story was less straightforward. He was a complicated character and would have a greater resonance with the audience."
Karim Saleh, a Lebanese actor who played Jarrah, said: "It's hard to be sympathetic to someone who allowed himself to be so dominated by people and ideas, and absorbed by a group."
(Daily Telegraph--- Login name= sam@tonembug.com, PW="shemp"...if invalid, use www.bugmenot.com)
Meanwhile...the Department of Holy Shiite is running a new advertisement on Iranian television:
John Brown at the University of Tennesse reported Wednesday night about the wonderful tribute College Republicans, Democrats and other students created to honor the victims of September 11th.
The next morning, the memorial just upped itself and magically transformed....
Yes, even in Delaware (that little suburb southeast of Philly) people hate Jews.
(Anything to get on the map, right Dullawhere?)
The man whom Bush has called "a good friend," has some harsh words for the U.S. government.
(From Mosnews.com)
Russian President Vladimir Putin blasted U.S. government officials Monday, accusing them of supporting Chechen separatists and undermining his war on terror by calling on Russia to seek dialogue with people whom Putin called "bastards."Putin tells journalists, "Why don't you meet Osama bin Laden, invite him to Brussels or to the White House and engage in talks, ask him what he wants and give it to him so he leaves you in peace? You find it possible to set some limitations in your dealings with these bastards, so why should we talk to people who are child-killers?" (more...)
CNN quotes President Putin as claiming, "each time Russia complained to the Bush administration about meetings held between U.S. officials and Chechen separatist representatives, the U.S. response has been "We'll get back to you" or "we reserve the right to talk with anyone we want,"
Meanwhile, Mosnews.com reported earlier in August that 9/11 conspirators revealed connections with Chechen fighters. (more...)
The St. Petersburg Times reported in January of this year, Chechen tactics are being utilized in Iraq,
"Some ambush techniques seen in Chechnya against the Russians and in Afghanistan against U.S. forces by al-Qaida and Taliban militants "we've seen employed here" in Iraq, Sirois said."As of 5/20/04, Nikolai Bakhroshin reported in Pravda approximately 2,000 to 3,000 Chechen fighters are in Iraq,One Middle East military analyst said information being shared from Afghan and Chechen sources is probably technical assistance with fuses, remote-control detonators - like cellphones - and assembling the complex daisy-chained bombs that began appearing in Iraq in late summer.
"Their command is in the so-called Staff of Iraqi Resistance located in Syria. The Staff controls the main anti-American groups in Iraq: the unit led by Abu al-Valid, the successor of killed "Black Arab" Khattab who was fighting in Chechnya, Army of Mohammed and Wahabees (radical Muslems). Iraqi guerillas from the former Iraqi Army officers look like kids in comparison with these groups being notorious for their atrocities.(all emphasis mine)
The Pentagon revealed on June 30 Russian airpower is superior to their U.S. equivalents following mock war game exercises.
Read more on this fascinating development at the:
Center for Defense Information.
Check out Donnah's images of Hurricane Frances. What a mess they have down there...
Let's hope that's all the excitement they'll have for a while.
Teasers:
"...a strategy drawn up for the destruction of Anglo-Saxon civilization."
"Iran's missiles are now ready to strike at Western targets, and as soon as the instructions arrive from Ali Khamenei, we will launch our missiles at their cities and installations."
Oh, it gets better...
(Note: Very graphic)
You won't find this in America...
"This is a challenge to all of Russia, to all our people.
This is an attack against all of us,"
Putin confesses,
"We demonstrated our weakness, and the weak are beaten,"
EU to Russia:
"We also would like to know from the Russian authorities how this tragedy could have happened."
In traditional Zeropean cowardice,
Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot:
"There obviously was a misunderstanding...
'"My words have been misinterpreted."
Moscow Times: Officials: 10 Terrorists Were Foreign
Natalya Arkova, a 10-year-old held hostage, said one terrorist cut a small boy's hand to make it look like he was carrying out a wounded child. But the crowd outside pointed the man out to soldiers, who promptly killed him.Thomas de Waal, Caucasus Editor at the Institute for War and Peace Reporting in London:A regional security official told Itar-Tass on Sunday that 10 attackers had no identification with them that could determine their countries of origin.
"Going by visual signs, one of the dead terrorists was black," the official said, Itar-Tass reported. "The other nine come from Arab countries. Experts are almost positive, judging by the type and size of their faces and other signs, that the nine Arabs come from countries near the equatorial part of the Arabian peninsula, such as Sudan and Yemen."
"This is not a happy part of the world. It is poor, mostly Muslim and increasingly alienated from the rest of Russia. Unemployment is high, particularly among young people. Local rulers are authoritarian and corrupt. Racism by ethnic Russians towards North Caucasians is on the rise. Over the past four years Moscow has shored up its chosen leaders, kept up the subsidies and helped suppress dissent but by doing so it is storing up hidden problems for itself. On current trends, in a generation much of the region could resemble parts of the Middle East or North Africa more than it does Russia. And sure enough radical Islam is finding willing recruits among young men, particularly in places like Kabardino-Balkaria that seem quiet on the surface." (more...)
(Note: All emphasis mine)
...but this time, was it justified?
Francesca Mereu of the Moscow Times reports while, "[...] the world was holding its breath about the North Ossetian children held hostage, the two main state-owned Russian television channels did not interrupt their regular programming."
Instead, "Channel One and Rossia continued showing a film and a documentary while CNN, the BBC and EuroNews were broadcasting live pictures of half-naked and bloodied children running terrified through the streets of Beslan, thirstily grabbing water bottles [...] Russian viewers had to wait almost an hour before getting news from the two main state channels."
Anna Kachkayeva, a media analyst for Radio Liberty, exclaimed, "It is ridiculous that the first pictures of what happened in Beslan were broadcast by international media, while our state channels did not stop their programming,"
NTV owned radio station, Ekho Moskvy, resorted to translating live reports from CNN.news and Interfax.
"By Saturday, all channels restored their usual programming and the events in Beslan were already old news," Mereu reports.
NTV's live footage was stopped at 1:54 p.m. when special forces started moving toward the school. The station apparently decided not to risk a repeat of the criticism it took after showing the special forces raid on the Dubrovka theater in October 2002.It is important to note NTV was the only media station openly critical of the government's war in Chechnya from 1994-96 and the conflicts that ensued. According to the MT, "NTV spent much of 2000 battling its state-controlled creditors for survival." (emphasis mine)NTV was accused of jeopardizing the operation to free the hostages, although it insisted the footage was shown with a delay. This was considered the main reason for NTV general director Boris Jordan losing his job in January 2003. (more...)
According to Robert Coalson (a program director for the National Press Institute of Russia), in a piece published by the Committee for the Protection of Journalists,
Although no one knows for certain, experts estimate that at least 80 percent of the newspapers in Russia are formally controlled by state organs. A significant proportion of the remainder are informally controlled by the state through "private" commercial structures.According to the best estimates of the National Press Institute of Russia, as many as 50 percent of the Russian population have no access to information that is not generated and packaged by the state.
"Raf Shakirov did not immediately give the reasons behind the move, Interfax news agency reported. But sources close to Izvestia's owners told MosNews that Shakirov's firing was initiated by the Kremlin, infuriated by the newspaper's coverage of the Beslan hostage drama."
Shakirov has a history of "resignations" and firings as a result of his criticisms. As editor-in-chief of the Kommersant-Daily newspaper, Shakirov was "dismissed in connection with an article criticizing the then Russian prime minister, Yevgeny Primakov."
Putin is unlikely to quickly ward off increasing domestic and international media criticism as contrasting reports and alleged lies and coverups emanating from the Kremlin continue. Mosnews.com briefly describes the growing anger,
The popular daily tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets blasted the government for what it called "lies" over the latest terror attacks. "We are constantly being lied to," the paper wrote, referring to the latest crashes, as well as earlier blasts on a Moscow street that preceded them.Meanwhile... the media repression continues..."I will never believe," the article goes, "that special forces did not know how many hostages were being held in Beslan." Official statistics put the number at 354, but witnesses said well over 1,200 were being held.
The daily Kommersant, however, wrote that blaming such events on international terrorism, as the Kremlin has done, "allows governments all over the world not to assume their responsibilities for the deaths of their citizens," joining a number of papers that expressed surprise and concern that Putin did not mention the conflict in Chechnya when talking about the recent events.
"It's as if all the children did not die because of a war in Chechnya that has been going on for 10 years, but because international terrorism has been on the attack," the newspaper wrote.
Under suspicious circumstances, two prominent Moscow journalists known for their critical coverage of the military campaign in Chechnya failed to make it to North Ossetia to cover the hostage crisis in Beslan.The detainment of Andrei Babitsky appears better organized then the special forces plans to storm the school building. Anyone familiar with state-sponsored media censorship in throughout the former USSR can attest to the blatant and unabashed mistreatment of Radio Liberty's Andrei Babitsky.
Radio Liberty reporter Andrei Babitsky was detained Thursday at Vnukovo Airport and prevented from flying to Mineralniye Vody while police, who said they suspected him of carrying explosives, searched his bags.After no explosives were found, Babitsky was released, but two men approached him and started provoking him. All three men were detained, and Babitsky was charged with "hooliganism." He was sentenced Friday to five days in jail.
In a separate incident Thursday, Anna Politkovskaya, who covers Chechnya for Novaya Gazeta, fell ill on her way to Beslan and had to be hospitalized. Her editor said she was poisoned.
Politkovskaya was flying from Vnukovo Airport to Rostov-on-Don and fainted on the plane. Immediately after landing, she was taken to a local hospital, where doctors found she had been poisoned, Novaya Gazeta editor Dmitry Muratov told the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.
Excerpts from an article I wrote in 2000 discussing the repression of media coverage of the Russian-Chechen engagements from the '94-96 war forward can be found below.
Journalist accounts of the 1994-96 Chechnya campaign devastated the morale of Russia's military prowess, as well as the public's faith, in what was realistically portrayed to the world as a disreputable defeat. The second offensive on Chechnya, was deployed with but one thing in mind, victory at all costs. Promising a punishing and unrelenting attack on the rebel province, Russia gradually overcame the scrappy, albeit strong-willed resistance, liberating the capital of Grozny, and moving on to the remaining mountain strongholds.
In noncompliance with their plan, were the media soldiers on a mission to expose what the world would later see as reminders of Soviet practices of past experience. Ruthless atrocities performed not only on rebel POWS, but of Chechen civilians as well surfaced from the battlefront, along with rumors of concentration or "interrogation" camps and random weapons searches of no intention other than to harass. Politically defiant members of the media are quick to face the wrath of the Kremlin's intolerance for meddlesome conflict. On March 16th, a Yak-40 jet, carrying nine passengers out of Moscow, including Western-sympathetic journalist Artyom Borovik who was known for his reports of the Soviet Army's defeat in Afghanistan, and also of the corruption in Yeltsin's cabinet, mysteriously plunged to the earth just shortly after takeoff.
Vivid accounts of horrific atrocities in Chechnya were helped brought to light by the Russian journalist, Andrei Babitsky, a widely-renown correspondent of the U.S. funded Radio Liberty organization. Babitsky operated dangerously in the face of the Kremlin as a security threat with each report he conveyed to the West. Constantly having to cover his tracks and disappear, only to allegedly resurface again in time, Babitsky was detained by Russian troops in mid-January, accused of being a guerilla unit. Moscow's disdain for the media was apparent when, by his own request, Babitsky was transferred to Chechen guerrillas in exchange for two Russian captives. However, much uncertainty to whether the exchange actually took place stood, as the two Chechen representatives were masked during the taped trade-off. Oleg Kusov, a Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe colleague recently spoke with Babitsky, who told him he refused to be traded to masked men, and told the Russians he'd not comply with the exchange.
Babitsky stated in an interview published on Radio Liberty's website, "I can say to you that at first I was not in the hands of the special security forces but of sadists who detained me at the Chernokozovo concentration camp," The Chernokozovo "filtration" camp, rumored instances of torture, rape, and beatings of soldiers, journalists, and citizens.
[Then] [a]cting President Vladimir Putin expressed his disapproval for Babitsky's containment in detention, and ordered officials to investigate the issue. Meanwhile, Babitsky declared himself on a hunger strike until he is freed. Interfax reports Putin speaking on Babitsky's case, "I don't think that the law enforcement organs should be holding him behind bars," and that obviously "[Babitsky] fell into a difficult situation, and got completely mixed up. It is inexpedient to hold Babitsky in custody and I asked him to deal with this case more carefully."
Source: "Russian Media Muzzled; Citizen support, main concern" Ultramark 2000
© whatsakyer?, 2000-2004.
UPDATE: Michele has organized a timeline of events with personal accounts and pictures of the Beslan siege.
UPDATE: AP: Hostage-Takers Laughed as Kids Suffered
BESLAN, Russia — Holding up the corpse of a man just shot dead in front of hundreds of hostages (search) at a Russian school, the rebel — his pockets stuffed with ammunition and grenades — warned: "If a child utters even a sound, we'll kill another one."UPDATE: AP: Experts Doubt Chechnya-Qaeda LinkWhen children fainted from lack of sleep, food and water, their masked and camouflaged captors simply sneered. In the intolerable heat of the gym, adults implored children to drink their own urine.
The Kremlin has to be certain before firmly suggesting Al-Qaeda was involved (even the slightest bit) rather than being the sole act of Chechen separatists... Spain made that mistake when the blamed ETA and it actually turned out to be Al-Qaeda. I am not suggesting Putin would do so for any political reasons, like Aznar's administration allegedly did when they were so quick to accuse ETA on the eve of the election. In reality, Putin has little to gain from IDing the terrorists as either Chechens or Al-Qaeda. Terrorism is terrorism and the government's inability to effectively address the recent string of attacks, Chechen or Al-Qaeda led, only weakens Putin's public support.
UPDATE: Eric further disects the media's inability to agree on a term to identify those..."bad men that did bad things" (E is in BOLD)
BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Some 30 brown bears have been terrorizing a Transylvanian mountain village and could delay the start of the school year, local authorities said Thursday....this makes Vince ponder:
Ah, the joy of covering the coverage between AP and Reuters as they battle over the Gold medal for terrorism coddling.No, Eric, you are neither gunman nor militant nor terrorist. You are an American, and that is probably the worst thing to be called by the media.BESLAN, Russia (AP) - The three-day hostage siege at a school in southern Russia ended in chaos and bloodshed Friday, after witnesses said Chechen militants set off bombs and Russian commandos stormed the building.Do "militants" shoot children in the back as they run from the school? Of course, as I showcased yesterday, Reuters just had to outdo the AP, although it wasn't as extreme as my parody, all I can say is that it won't be long, to wit:BESLAN, Russia (Reuters) - Russia began counting the cost on Saturday at the end of a siege of a school captured by Chechen gunmen which killed at least 200 people and cast fresh doubts on Moscow's policy in the turbulent region.See the switch?? Yesterday, in AP, they were 'gunmen' and in Reuters they were 'militants.' Now they've swapped. Maybe I should just give up and congratulate both "news" services for identifying them as Chechen. I think some serious questions need answering here.1. Since when do 'gunmen' set off bombs?
2. Since when did 'militants' go from civil disobedience to killing children?
3. When I go hunting this fall with my rifle, am I a 'gunman?'
4. If I shoot a burglar in my house, would Reuters call me a 'terrorist?'
(more... )
Yelena Rudneva of Gazeta.Ru interviews State Duma deputy and an FSB reserve general Gennady Gudkov. (Transcript in its entirety can be found on mosnews.com)
Rudneva: Is it possible that gas or some other narcotic or poisonous substance will be used if the school building is stormed?Phelps insightfully ruled out this method as well:Gudkov: No. There are children in there.
Rudneva: But there were also children inside the Nord-Ost musical building...
Gudkov: For the most part, they had been released before the raid. As regards the school there are a great many children. I do not think that in this case anyone will risk using gas or other substances. They will try to use every opportunity to talk till the very end.
"Do you know why they picked a school? Body mass. They knew that any amount of gas like the Russians used in the Moscow Theater episode that would put down the terrorists would be a deadly dose for the children."A little more light was shed on the importance of Leonid Roshal
Gudkov: "I do not know how poor Dr. Roshal will hold those talks; he has already risked his life more than once. But I think that if the doctor fails to help, no other negotiator will cope."Apparently Dr. Roshal must be an invaluable negotiator, indeed.
This part really gets me...
Rudneva: According to some news reports, members of an organization called Ingush Jamaat could be involved in organizing and perpetrating the attack.Then who are they then? Gudkov asserts the terrorist network has but one aim, to intimidate. But to intimidate the Kremlin into doing just what, exactly? Though my knowledge of Russia is mostly limited to Soviet history and very little about ethnic conflict, I do know Chechens are often lumped into one big "separatist movement."Gudkov: This does't matter. Today they pose as Chechen separatists; tomorrow they support al-Qaeda; the day after tomorrow they assume some other guise. Yet, they all belong to the same group.
The problem with using such homogenizing means of defining the actors in these incidents is the simple fact that it ignores literally centuries upon centuries of georelational conflict between Russia, Chechnya and Georgia, too. The Chechen separatist movement was not merely another domino falling from the Empire after the crumbling of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Alexander Iskandarian, director of the Moscow-based Centre for Studies on the Caucasus, conducted a very thorough history survey of Chechnya commissioned by the UNHCR. It can be found here.
For a fairly exceptional account of the history of the Russian-Chechen conflict, written in a fairly easy to read conversational historical narrative, read:
"Today the truth is far more obvious. The main threat to Putin's presidency as a way of running the country is posed not by the economy or by widespread discontent over housing issues and pension reform. Terrorism is the real threat. [...]Does this not all sound familiar?The difference between Russia in 1999 (the raid into Dagestan), 2002 (Nord Ost) and 2004 is that, however the authorities decide to resolve the crisis in Beslan, it is obvious that the state must review and reform its anti-terrorist strategy in Chechnya, its system for combatting terrorism nationwide and the way the security services operate. The crisis has now reached a new level, requiring a qualitatively new approach.
We need to face facts: We're not conducting an anti-terrorist operation in Chechnya. We're at war with terror and terrorists. And special forces units don't win wars, the people do. But before the people can rise to this occasion, they must be involved in forming the plan of attack. [...] We need to change the way law enforcement and the security services operate. Throwing money at the problem won't help. These agencies must be held publicly accountable for their performance.
Softly damning 9/11 Reports aside, the recent string of terrorist attacks and activities in Russia just goes to show how unprepared all civilized nations really are in combatting the threat of Islamo-fascist terrorism.
Remember, we in the United States are surrounded by Iberian nations in the south and a highly Europeanized nation in the north.
"Famous Russian General Yakov Kulnev, who first defeated the Swedes and Turks and then routed Napoleon in 1812, once joked: 'Mother Russia is good because somebody is always fighting in one of its corners'.”
Russia is right smack in the middle of the ethnic and religious tensions and conflict of Eastern Europe, Asia Minor and all of Asia--surrounded on all sides. Their only comfort--the chilling Artic.
(And we thought we had a problem.)
Late Wednesday night, one of the troops called his commanding officer on the radio with a grim request."Can we shoot the dogs? They are chewing on the bodies," said the man, who gave only his first name, Oleg. The officer turned down the request, saying that any shooting could alarm the hostage-takers, and they did not want to risk setting off a firefight or put the hostages' lives in danger.
This is what the LORD says:
"A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because her children are no more."
This is what the LORD says:
"Restrain your voice from weeping
and your eyes from tears,
for your work will be rewarded,"
declares the LORD .
"They will return from the land of the enemy.
So there is hope for your future," declares the LORD .
Так говорит Господь: удержи голос твой от рыдания и глаза твои от слез, ибо есть награда за труд твой, говорит Господь, и возвратятся они из земли неприятельской.
И есть надежда для будущности твоей, говорит Господь, и возвратятся сыновья твои в пределы свои
"Our cameraman ... told me that in his estimation there are as many as 100 dead bodies, I am afraid, lying on the smoldering floor of the gymnasium where we know that a large number of the hostages were being held," he said. Interfax reported a similar number.Tass news agency said there were more than 400 wounded, and witnesses saw around 20 bodies at a hospital morgue.
Rebels fled with soldiers in pursuit. The authorities said events had forced their hand after insisting from the outset they would not resort to violence.
Manyon said police had told him some children had tried to escape and that, when the captors fired and chased them, the troops opened fire and the battle began. Moments earlier, authorities said they had sent a vehicle to fetch the bodies of people killed in Wednesday's seizure of the school.
"No military action was planned. We were planning further talks," the regional head of the FSB security service, Valery Andreyev, told RTR television.
Tass quoted a source in the regional interior ministry as saying the school seizure had been planned by Shamil Basayev, Russia's most wanted Chechen rebel, and led by field commander Magomet Yevloyev. The source said there was information that it had been financed by Abu Omar As-Seyf, who was believed to be Al Qaeda's representative in Chechnya. (more...)
Russian Special Forces soldier rescues child.
Logic and Sanity has absolutely incredible coverage...
Permalink is here:
[...]The Mufti of Chechnya has some strong words for these terroristis. In his denounciation of their act he refers to them as "terrorist-criminals" who have "once again shown their beastly face".
He stated that these "terrorist-criminals" are people without a religion and definately are not muslim. Those who know Islam would not use the word together with "terrorism" in the same sentence, he said, because "Islam is a great religion, which calls onto its followers to commit good to others people and nations".
"Muslims of Chechnya are ready to do whatever is necessary to help free the hostages", he underlined.
Basayev's official website is doing some serious PR. (www.kavkaz.org.uk/russ/)
They have just posted two articles (in Russian) about Russia's alleged murder of 42,000 chechen children
(a gruesome photo of dead kids is accompanying the text). The second article is titled "You Reap What You Sow".
Terrorist's official mouthpiece is claiming that it's the Russian SWAT that is killing the hostages.
Those people are sick. And those websites (INCLUDING the BBC) need to stop referring to them as GUNMEN or a "gang" and start indicating what they truly are, TERRORISTS! A spade is a spade!
What I am curious to know is why the Chechen rebels insisted on negotiating with this man, the prominent Russian pediatrician Leonid Roshal, who also aided hostages during the Moscow theater crisis in 2002.
Meanwhile...
Pravda reports: All US-bound planes from Russia are under suspicion
Multiple sources report: ten Arabs were among the 20 militants
Written by Ali Nori Zada and was published on Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper (Translation/post by Fayrouz):
Iran admits it provides facilities to Al-Zarqawi to conduct his operations in IraqPresident Bush: "Those who harbor terrorists are as guilty as the terrorists themselves."A reliable Iranian source confirmed that Brig. Gen. Qassim Sullaimani, the commander of Al-Quds corps in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, told a closed seminar that Iran provides facilities to the Jordanian extremist scholar, Abu Mosaab Al-Zarqawi. Al-Zarqawi is accused of conducting most of the suicide operations and attacks in Iraq. Sullaimani justified this cooperation because Al-Zarqawi's activities in Iraq "serve the high interests of the Islamic Republic." Among these interests is the prevention of a federalist secular regime in Iraq that cooperates with the United States.
The source, who attended the closed seminar for students of strategic and defense studies at the university of Imam Al-Hussein told "Al-Sharq Al-Awsat" newspaper that Brig. Gen. Sullaimani said, "Al-Zarqawi and members of his organization (Ansar Al-Islam) don't need prior permission to enter Iran. There are specific border points which stretch from Halabja in the north to Elam in the south where Al-Zarqawi and more than 20 Ansar Al-Islam commanders can enter Iran whenever they want."
The source said Brig. Gen. Sullaimani, who oversees the activities of the revolutionary guards intelligence units and Al-Quds corps operating in Iraq, answered questions from students about why Iran supports a person who is anti-Shia, like Al-Zarqawi, who previously was accused of his involvement in the killing of Ayet Allah Mohammed Baqir Al-Hakim, president of the high council of Islamic revolution in Iraq.
Despite the accusation coming from close circles to the Iranian regime leader Ali Kham'ani, Sullaimani considers Al-Zarqawi's involvement in Al-Hakim's killing unconfirmed. Instead, he said Al-Zarqawi's activities now serve the high interests of the Islamic Republic. The establishment of a secular Iraq that cooperates with the United States is more dangerous than the former Baath regime. The new regime will form – according to Al-Sullaimani – a real threat to the pure revolutionary Mohamedi Islam and the scholars' state – according to the source.
"Al-Sharq Al-Awsat" newspaper was told that Al-Zarqawi moved to Iran a few months after events in Falluja. He spent a few weeks in a military camp, subjoined to the revolutionary guards in Mahran on the border with Iraq, before he left it to go to the city of Baquba with the help of Al-Quds corps.
It's worth mentioning Al-Quds corps was formed toward the end of Al-Khumaini era to hunt for opposition personalities and powers inside and outside Iran. Their jobs and responsibilities changed during the last few years. Today, it is responsible for Iraq, Afghanistan, Arab and Islamic countries with indirect connections to the United States.
A former corps chief said Abu-Mosaab Al-Zarqawi escaped to Turkey last year, after being in Iran and entered Iraq more than a year ago. He confirmed to the newspaper that a meeting was held last June between Al-Zarqawi and a Lebanese fugitive, Emad Mughania, at one of Al-Quds corps centers in Kermanshah providence in western Iran. The source said Mughania played an influential role in forming the Al-Mahdi Army. Al-Mahdi Army belongs to the strict Shia religious cleric, Muqtada Al-Sadr, and trains its members in camps inside Iran. He also mentioned the entrance of Shia fighters from Lebanon to Iraq dressed as religious studies students. These fighters then join Al-Madi Army under the supervision of Emad Mughania. Mughania underwent a cosmetic surgery recently in a sanitarium for the revolutionary guards in northern Iran to change his face. This is the 5th surgery for Mughania, who's been chased by Western and Arabic intelligence organizations for a number of years now.
The source said Mughania kept his relationships with Aymen Al-Thawahiri, the number-two man in Al-Qaida organization despite the difficulty of contacting him lately. He added that Mughania submitted a report early this year to chief of the revolutionary guards intelligence after a visit to Iraq. The report outlined the importance of expanding a framework of collaboration between Al-Mahdi Army and Al-Zarqawi's group. Muqtada has lost his standing among the Iraqi shia, especially Al-Najaf, while gaining more supporters in the Sunni triangle.
The source also said Iranian president Mohammed Khatemi objects strongly to the interference of the revolutionary guards in Iraq's interior affair. He said he was surprised lately by a report he received from an official in the Iraqi government, who is a friend of Iran. It included detailed information consolidated with numbers on the wide involvement of Al-Quds corps and revolutionary intelligence in the terror operations that targets the Iraqi people and government in addition to its infrastructure.
You have been warned, Iran.
Proppage: Fayrouz
(Note:Sources say Holiday not a protestor; rather, a troubled young man with a history of violence, petty crimes, drug possession charges, and orphanage-expulsions who, "probably just wanted the opportunity to kick a cop in the head.")
(New York Times)
Prosecutors drew up felony assault charges yesterday against a 20-year-old Manhattan man who the police said admitted to punching and kicking a plainclothes police detective who was knocked off his scooter after a largely peaceful protest march became unruly Monday night.
The man, Jamal Holiday, of East 116th Street, was arrested just before 8 p.m. on Tuesday at another protest, in Union Square Park, after two detectives recognized him from images of the Monday night assault, which was captured by an NY1 television news photographer. Holiday's lawyer stated at his arraignment last night that "a man not dressed as a police officer drove a scooter into a crowd of women and children.'' (more...)
Those evil Imperial Troopers...
Holiday, foolishly wearing the same clothes as the night before, was easily ID'd thanks to a local reporter's photo shot.
The Times has an interesting take on the situation...
[sic] when the march reached the demonstration area, some protesters clashed with the police in a disturbance that civil liberties lawyers said was caused by the department's handling of the marchers. News videotape of the incident showed several other plainclothes officers lurching their scooters into protesters.You mean... someone videotaped the officers engaging the protestors?
Kinda like when the conveniently prepared amateur cameraman misses the first 10 minutes of the action?
Paul J. Browne, a department spokesman, said Detective Sample was responding to another officer's radio call for assistance, which came after police sought to place barricades across the southern end of the intersection at 29th Street and Eighth Avenue. But the New York Civil Liberties Union said yesterday that as the police stretched barricades across Eighth Avenue, they did not tell the crowd what was happening, an action that the groups said sowed chaos.In other words, the Imperial Guard deliberately flew their Tie Fighters directly into a peaceful band of rebel forces known as the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign. (Since when were poor people educated enough to know what economic human rights were? And probably as products of NYC's public school system, no less?)
Meanwhile, the Daily News reports a somewhat different story...
Detective William Sample was trying to prevent protesters from breaking through a police barricade at Eighth Ave. and 29th St. when he was pulled off his scooter and kicked repeatedly in the head. [...]So...basically the plain-clothes officers were responding to a call after the protestors (sans a legal permit...mind you) began attempting to overcome the police barricades.Sample was injured after cops let a group called the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, which had rallied outside the United Nations, march through the city even though it did not have a permit to do so.
Along the way, another officer was socked in the face. And when the crowd neared the Garden, troublemakers tried to push through police barricades.
The Times says, "While the protesters had no permit, they reached a last-minute accord with the police to march as long as they stayed in a single lane."
Apparently, it is rather difficult to move past street barricades while remaining in a single-file line.
CBSNew York describes the scene in a degree of detail that is nowhere to be found in the Times article,
"Hundreds of police in riot gear and on horses swept in to disperse the crowd, shouting, "Move!" Less than a dozen arrests were made as protesters yelled back, 'Whose streets? Our streets!'"CBS also inserted a quote not found in the Times piece around the section referring to the NYPD permitting the permit-less group to march...
"They asked if they could march, and we said yes," police Assistant Deputy Commissioner Tom Doepfner said. "We try to be nice."Well, Tom, I don't know how long you've been "Assistant Deputy Commissioner" (what is that the equivalent of, executive assistant? gopher? coffee bitch?) but this is, as the $14 t-shirts say,
For the NYT articles, just use the following (if these do not work, simply generate a new username/pw via bugmenot).
Account Username: xxgeo
Password: 12345
Screw it, if no one else will blog on this, I will.
This is from NYC Indymedia...
All in all, things were successful. The Protest Warriors were not allowed to participate in the UFPJ march, and most of the crowd was supportive of the tactics used. People were cheering and clapping when the Protest Warriors were confronted, and helped to dispose of the signs as they were passed back in the crowd. Hopefully, the Protest Warriors and other right-wing groups will realize that they cannot pull stunts like this without serious consequences, and that their point of view is not one that is tolerated anywhere. Based on comments from the Protest Warriors on their messageboard, like the one at the beginning of this article, it seems like they definitely got the message.More proof the Left believes free speech belongs solely to them...
Breaking News:
The Democratic National Committee, in what is seen as an last minute desparate effort to supress any possible jump in the polls following the President's speech tonight, have released a revised edition of the 2004 Democratic Party platform.
Click here to read it in full.
Reuters: Seas Only Hope for World Water Supply, Says Spain
While I applaud their bold attempts, someone might want to fill in the city of Granada on the details of water conservation...
Almost every single morning, city maintenance workers are power-hosing down the sidewalks, even in the middle of January (when I was there last). It was the most peculiar thing to me, especially during the winter.
The smog and congestion (due to the ridiculously narrow streets) settles on the ground and there probably is a bit of litter from the massive amount of pedestrians walking all hours of the day. (You'd walk too, if you had to pay $1.80 per quart)
I cannot recall off hand the name of the custom (I think it was borracho, the term for "drunk"), but during the Summer, drinking in the streets is a common social scene...so I imagine there's a bit of vomit to clean up as well...
P.S. Anybody who can tell me which Cure song the title is from gets uh...8...cool points...yea.
...next to midget porn spam...
How are you?
I have a profiling amount in an excess of US$423M, which I seek your
partnership in accommodating for me. You will be rewarded with 4% of the total sum for your partnership. Can you be my partner on this?
INTRODUCTION OF MY SELF:
I am .Danijela Djuric a personal secretary to Mikhail Khodorkovsky the
richest man in Russia and owner of the following companies:
Chairman CEO: YUKOS OIL (Russian Most Largest Oil Company)
Chairman CEO: Menatep SBP Bank (A well reputable financial
institution with its branches all over the world)
SOURCE OF FUNDS:
The documents of the above funds in question was handed over to me
to be used in payment of an American oil merchant for his last oil deal
with my boss Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Already the funds have been
deposited with Security In Europe where the final crediting is
expected to be carried out. While I was on the process, My Boss got
arrested for his involvement on politics in financing the leading and
opposing political parties (the Union of Right Forces, led by Boris
Nemtsov, and Yabloko, a liberal/social democratic party led by Gregor
Yavlinsky) which poses treat to President Vladimir Putin second tenure
as Russian president.
YOUR ROLE:
All I need from you is to stand as the beneficiary of the above quoted
sum and I will arrange for the documentation which will enableThe Security Company in Europe transfer the sum to you. I have decided to use this sum to relocate to American continent and never to be connected to any of Mikhail Khodorkovsky conglomerates. The transaction has to be concluded in 2 weeks before Mikhail Khodorkovsky is out on bail.
Thank you very much
Regards
Danijela Djuric
--
(some Russian crap that I dont have the fonts for). http://www.ukrpost.net/
IMAP POP3 NNTP RSSNews Unicode.
I write a few posts here and there regarding Yukos and I start getting stuff like that???
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A heavily armed gang seized up to 400 hostages at a Russian school near Chechnya Wednesday and threatened to kill 50 children for any member of their group killed, a senior local official said.(more...)"They have said that for every fighter wiped out they will kill 50 children and for every fighter wounded -- 20," regional Interior Minister Kazbek Dzantiyev told reporters in Beslan.
[...]
The gang, some strapped with explosives and reported to have mined the school grounds, later set free 15 of the children, Itar-Tass news agency said.At least eight civilians were killed in the attack -- seven of them dying of wounds in hospital, news agencies quoted officials as saying. Nearly 50 children had managed to escape.
Witnesses near the school said sporadic gunfire resounded throughout the day and there was at least one loud unexplained bang from inside the school.
"Every gunshot I hear is like a shot into my heart," said one woman, Vera, tears pouring down her cheeks and whose child was among the hostages.
UPDATE: Eric, like always, finds the soft spots in the major news wires... (Note: E is in bold)
On Rooters...
Religion of Peace Or Why Reuters Is A "News" ServiceOn the Ass Press...MOSCOW (Reuters) - A heavily armed gang seized up to 400 hostages at a Russian school near Chechnya Wednesday and threatened to shoot dead 50 children for any one of their comrades killed, a senior local official said.
Gang? What, the Crips? Bloods? The Luchesse Family? Make no mistake, these are the same Islamofascist scumsuckers that have painted a bullseye on this country, whether Reuters wants to acknowledge it or not.
Close, But No Cigar, Why Not Just Join Michael Moore And Call Them Minutemen?And finally, some advices for Vladsky...The AP version:
BESLAN, Russia (AP) - Armed militants with explosives strapped to their bodies stormed a Russian school in a region bordering Chechnya on Wednesday, corralling hundreds of hostages - many of them children - into a gymnasium and threatening to blow up the building if surrounding Russian troops attacked. At least two people were killed, including a school parent.
To Russia With Loveand kyer kontinues...Dear Vladimir, this is how we do it
FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) - A U.S. airstrike late Wednesday targeted a suspected safehouse in Fallujah used by followers of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, U.S. officials said.
Attack Creates Dilemma for PutinAbsolutely not... Number one rule of any free nation on Earth in dealing with terrorists-- Do NOT negotiate with terrorists! Doing so even once, sets a dangerous precedent...thus the reason why the U.S. maintains this practice to this day (unless, of course, JFK II is elected...)
By Simon Saradzhyan - Staff Writer
The hostage-taking drama evolving in North Ossetia has put forth a deadly serious dilemma for President Vladimir Putin, of whether to continue his policy of refusing to negotiate with radical groups in the North Caucasus, or to soften his line and meet some of the hostage-takers' demands, given that the lives of more than 100 children are at stake in this standoff.
I realize children's lives are at stake, nevertheless, giving in once would only affirm the value of utilizing younger hostages...In other words, if using kids is what it takes to get the Kremlin to bend, then so be it.
This is how Putin should continue to operate: (from the same source)
The tactic that Russian police and security agencies have pursued in similar situations is to try to negotiate the release of as many hostages as possible, while giving commandos time to prepare for a storming.However, this hardline stance may have its downside as well...The overall strategy of Putin's anti-terrorism policy has also been invariable and has boiled down to consenting to negotiate only the release of hostages, while firmly refusing to address hostage-takers' other demands, such as the release of suspects from prison, the withdrawal of troops, or peace negotiations with the Chechen rebels.
On one hand, the Kremlin's consent to at least discuss the political demands would help to secure the release of more hostages. On the other hand, such a concession could be interpreted as a sign of weakness and entail not only further concessions but also new hostage-takings by extremist groups looking beyond the independence of Chechnya to the establishment of an entire Islamic state in the North Caucasus.Exactly...
A firm refusal to negotiate is also fraught with consequences in the longer term. Given that a series of deadly attacks, including coordinated raids in Ingushetia in June and a string of suicide bombings in Moscow, has failed to affect the Kremlin's line, the extremists might opt for attacks of catastrophic proportions in the hope that the greater casualties and psychological shock would cause a capitulation.If this is the case, Russia may have an even more suitable example to support their claim to their own 9-11. Beyond that, the question remains--will Russia become a more firm ally in the War on Terror?
Intelligence sharing and strong words aside, Moscow may be forced to participate militarily, on the grounds of geographic defense alone. They have their hands full not only with the Chechen crisis, but with separtist Tbilsi (Georgia), too.
The election of pro-Kremlin candidate Alu Alkhanov, who won 74 percent of the vote in Chechnya's presidential election, may present a dilemma in and of itself. Alkhanov replaces the other Kremlin-backed president, Akhmad Kadyrov, who was assassinated in a bomb attack last spring.
And finally...
Just substitute Donald for Sergei, Bush for Putin, and America for Russia, and this part should ring a bell...
When commenting on the bombing of the two airliners and the suicide attack, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, who is close to Putin, told Russian reporters early Wednesday morning that international terror networks have declared war on Russia.Sound familiar?"In fact, a war has been declared on Russia, a war where there is no front line and the enemy cannot be seen," Ivanov said.
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
Chechens Elect Alkhanov
By Timur Aliev
Again, from Eric...(Note: again, V is in bold, and scroll 3/4 of the way thru the post)
My, Aren't We Insensitive To Women's Rights
BESLAN, Russia (AP) - Camouflage-clad commandos carried crying babies away from a school where gunmen holding hundreds of hostages freed at least 26 women and children Thursday during a second day of high drama that kept crowds of distraught relatives on edge.In the world of AP, they've gone from "militants" to just plain "gunmen," (conveniently ignoring the several female terrorists also inside). Seeing that Reuters and AP are in a race to see who can avoid calling a terrorist a terrorist the most, here's my version of what we'll probably see from Reuters tomorrow:
BESLAN, Russia (Reuters) - Camouflage-clad jackbooted thugs carried ruthless occupiers away from a school where members of the Vienna Boys Choir holding hundreds of capitalist pigs freed at least 26 women and failed abortions Thursday during a second day of high drama that kept crowds of overreacting relatives on edge.
While the reality that global oil supply levels have peaked is unmistakable, the more pertinent scenario is this:
China has become an oil whore...
EVIDENCE is mounting that China is buying more oil than it consumes, raising fears that oil hoarding may be supporting the current high price of crude....while Russia is just a prude...The signs of aggressive Chinese stockpiling emerge from research by Merrill Lynch, the investment bank, which suggests that China is importing crude and refined products at twice the rate of growth in actual demand.
MOSCOW - Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov pledged Friday that Russia would keep meeting its oil export commitments to China, an apparent reference to fears that a cut in production at the beleaguered Yukos oil company could harm Beijing. [...] The Yukos affair has drawn concern from foreign governments, and it has also added uncertainty to the oil market amid warnings by Yukos that it might have to cut back production.(sigh...) C'mon Ruskies...give it up.
Proppage for the post idea: Considerettes
From the AP:
MANAGUA, Nicaragua - All of Central America is on alert for a possible al-Qaida attack against El Salvador for its support of the U.S.-led mission in Iraq (news - web sites), the head of the Nicaraguan army said Friday.Earlier reports here.
[...]
"There is a direct and particular threat against El Salvador," he said.Across Central America security has been tightened at airports and embassies in a bid to avert any possible attack.
Honduran Security Minister Oscar Alvarez said Sunday his country declared a national alert after receiving information that al-Qaida was trying to recruit Hondurans to attack embassies of the United States, Britain, Spain and El Salvador.
Proppage: Little Green Footballs
From: The New American Revolutionist.
"The press seems to have taken upon itself three tasks concerning the treatment of the Democratic Party elite:
1. Ensure Hillary Clinton stays relevant in preparation for her Presidential run in 2008 or 2012.
On Carter's blessing of Chavez's referendum survival ...
2. Sainthood for Bill.
3. Protect the legacy of Jimmy Carter."
(see this post for a refresher):
"First of all, does anyone ever recall Carter meeting a dictator that he can bring himself to condemn?" (more...)
Ah, Jimbo...when will you ever just give it a rest?
He sure knew how to exit with quiet dignity...
