Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
"Syria rebels 'beheaded a Christian and fed him to the dogs' as fears grow over Islamist atrocities," by Nick Fagge
Monday, December 31, 2012
Daily Mail, December 30 Syrian rebels beheaded a Christian man and fed his body to dogs,
according to a nun who says the West is ignoring atrocities committed by
Islamic extremists.The nun said taxi driver Andrei Arbashe, 38, was kidnapped after his
brother was heard complaining that fighters against the ruling regime
behaved like bandits.
She said his headless corpse was found by the side of the road,
surrounded by hungry dogs. He had recently married and was soon to be a
father. Volatile fighting: The news of the kidnapping and beheading of Mr
Arbashe came as pro-government forces celebrated their victory against
rebels at the Air Defence Base in Tal Hassil near from Aleppo Airport
last night.
Volatile fighting: The news of the kidnapping and beheading of Mr
Arbashe came as pro-government forces celebrated their victory against
rebels at the Air Defence Base in Tal Hassil near Aleppo Airport last
night. Sister Agnes-Mariam de la Croix said: ‘His only crime was his brother
criticised the rebels, accused them of acting like bandits, which is
what they are.’
There have been a growing number of accounts of atrocities carried
out by rogue elements of the Syrian Free Army, which opposes dictator
Bashar al-Assad and is recognised by Britain and the West as the
legitimate leadership. Sister Agnes-Miriam, mother superior of the Monastery of St James the
Mutilated, has condemned Britain and the west for supporting the rebels
despite growing evidence of human rights abuses. Murder, kidnapping,
rape and robbery are becoming commonplace, she says.‘The free and democratic world is supporting extremists,’ Sister
Agnes-Miriam said from her sanctuary in Lebanon. ‘They want to impose
Sharia Law and create an Islamic state in Syria.’...Hat tip: Jihad Watch
Saudis Sweat Bullets As Energy Revolution Changes the Rules
They will not have much money to spread their messages of hate against the Jews and other infidels. Oh, yes they can drink their oil and eat their sand at that time in the near future-edit.
The US shale gas boom, drastically cutting the cost of gas, is
shaking the foundations of the Saudi Arabian economic model—and more is
coming. The highly profitable $100bn Gulf petrochemical industry is
taking a hit as its biggest customer—the U.S.—is importing less and
relying instead on domestic production.
US petrochemical companies, propelled by cheaper access to raw
materials, are competing effectively against companies like the Saudi
Basic Industries Corp (Sabic), the world’s largest chemical maker. Sabic
also has some home-grown problems. The rapidly growing Saudi population
wants to consume (subsidized) petrochemicals at home, air conditioning
Saudi houses and running Saudi cars instead of exporting product
abroad. Falling production, demand, and prices are beginning to hurt
the once stalwart $89bn company. The Financial Times reports:
“The cyclical Gulf petrochemicals industry is already
suffering, as lower prices have coincided with higher raw material
costs. Sabic…has reported declining profits in every quarter so far this
year. In the third quarter net income fell 23 per cent from the
year-earlier period; it fell 35 per cent in the second and 5 per cent in
the first quarter.”
US gas prices have plummeted due to new techniques, known as fracking
and horizontal drilling, developed to extract the vast deposits of
shale gas in the North American bedrock. Production has jumped by nearly
a quarter since 2000, reducing demand for Saudi gas. If China figures
out how to exploit its own shale gas reserves the Saudis will have every
reason to be nervous. The two pillars of the Saudi economy—oil and
petrochemical exports—will both be on shaky ground.
But the changing energy landscape threatens more than economic
consequences for the Gulf state. The US could surpass Saudi Arabia as
the world’s leading oil producer by 2020, and this could mean big
changes for US foreign policy and the domestic economy.
Via Meadia recentlywrotethat the
Gulf region, Russia, Venezuela, and other former oil monopolists will
see their power and influence decrease in the face of a new American led
energy order. Countries like Brazil, China, Canada, and Israel will
also make gains due to the discovery of their own energy reserves.
To add icing to the geopolitical cake, America’s energy revolution
could jolt some much-needed life into the long term prospects of the US economy. Since the 2008 financial crisis, more than 600,000 new jobs have come from the fracking industry, and these jobs pay well. The new industry will draw workers away from the coasts and into the American heartland, reviving the surrounding states.As the energy revolution unfolds, the Saudis are likely to have less
discretionary money for missionary projects and the United States will
be in a stronger position to press its longtime partner on a variety of
issues. Interesting times. American Interest
Every day, Israel is assailed with false accusations from the
media. And every day, CAMERA is on the front lines in the battle for
accuracy and fairness.This year, our researchers and analysts tackled
many of the worst offenders. Among them, our…
Top Ten MidEast Media Mangles for 2012: 1. "60 Minutes" Indicts Israel for Suffering of Christians During a segment entitled, "Christians of the Holy Land,"
Bob Simon, “60 Minutes” and CBS deceived viewers by downplaying Muslim
hostility toward Christians and falsely portraying Israel as an
oppressor – instead of an island of safety in a region where Christians
are increasingly under siege. In addition to launching a letter writing
campaign, CAMERA Board Members attended a May CBS Shareholders meeting
to raise concerns directly, distributing a letter to the CBS Board
detailing the falsehoods in the report. When Jeffrey Fager, Chairman of
CBS News and Executive Producer of 60 Minutes, disregarded the
substantive concerns raised claiming the broadcast "was fair and
accurate reporting about a newsworthy subject," CAMERA ran an ad in the Wall Street Journal laying out the facts and calling for public action.
2. Washington Post Photo Coverage of Gaza Conflict Grossly Biased Alongside text coverage of “Pillar of Defense” and its aftermath, The Washington Post
published 28 photographs in less than two weeks; nineteen featured
Palestinian Arabs, four of them on page one, and nine featured Israelis,
none of those on page one. Even prior to the recent operation, however,
the newspaper demonstrated a pattern of unbalanced photo coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Rather than addressing this issue, Post Ombudsman Patrick Pexton wrote a column
defending the newspaper's photographic coverage and saying, memorably,
that “the overwhelming majority of rockets fired from Gaza are like bee
stings on the Israeli bear's behind.”
3. Ha'aretzDrives the Apartheid Canard With the publication of a front-page news story and accompanying commentary
by Gideon Levy falsely claiming that a poll showed a majority of
Israelis advocated anti-Arab policies, (a headline declared that “most
Israeli Jews support an apartheid regime in Israel,”) Ha'aretz
promoted the message, as Levy neatly put it, that "We're racist ...and
we even want to live in an apartheid state." The incendiary story
quickly inspired headlines in mainstream international media outlets
including the Guardian, The Independent, TheSydney Morning Herald, The Telegraph, The Globe and Mail, Agence-France Presse, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Calgary Herald, as well as Al Jazeera and fringe anti-Israel outfits. Presspectiva,
CAMERA's Hebrew site, was the first to publish an in-depth analysis in
Hebrew demonstrating how Levy misrepresented the poll results and was
the first Hebrew site to provide the complete poll results. The analysis
was cited by every major Hebrew blog that discussed the Ha'aretz "apartheid" poll scandal. Ma'ariv's Ben-Dror Yemini, who also wrote a detailed piece critical of the Ha'aretz "apartheid" poll coverage, cited CAMERA/Presspectiva extensively. Five days after the deeply flawed articles first appeared, Ha'aretz
issued clarifications, but the clarifications did not address all of
the problems with the newspaper's coverage, and did not begin to douse
the flames ignited by the false front-page stories. The newspaper
eventually published critical op-Eds as well as a partial and
disingenuous "apology" by Levy himself. Following the "apology," CAMERA noted that Levy has a long history of deceiving the public.
4. Media Misconstrue E-1 Facts. Israeli Building Would NOT "Bisect" West Bank The media, led by The New York Times but also including The Los Angeles Times, National Public Radio, the Jewish Daily Forward
and many others, have dramatically misinformed the public about Israeli
construction in the area known as “the E-1 corridor.” Among the false
allegations are that construction of new homes by Israel would bisect
the West Bank, cut off Palestinian cities from Jerusalem, make a
contiguous and viable Palestinian state impossible, and destroy any
chance for a two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Communications from CAMERA prompted The New York Times to issue several corrections. Many other media outlets have not yet corrected their misrepresentations. CAMERA's new monograph, Indicting Israel: New York Times Coverage of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, details how The New York Times treats Israel with a harsher standard, omits context, and shows a clear preference for the Palestinian narrative.
5. The Guardian's Ever-Changing Israeli Capital Originally, The Guardian
correctly stated in the caption of a photograph that Jerusalem is the
capital of Israel. Days later, they issued a “correction” saying they
had “wrongly referred to the city as the Israeli capital. The Guardian
style guide states: ‘Jerusalem is not the capital of Israel; Tel Aviv
is.'” Nearly four months after that, following many complaints, The Guardian
re-corrected, sort of, writing “A correction to a picture caption said
we should not have described Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. It went
on to relay the advice in our style guide that the capital was Tel Aviv.
In 1980 the Israeli Knesset enacted a law designating the city of
Jerusalem, including East Jerusalem, as the country's capital. In
response, the UN security council issued resolution 478, censuring the
‘change in character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem' and
calling on all member states with diplomatic missions in the city to
withdraw. The UN has reaffirmed this position on several occasions, and
almost every country now has its embassy in Tel Aviv. While it was
therefore right to issue a correction to make clear Israel's designation
of Jerusalem as its capital is not recognised by the international
community, we accept that it is wrong to state that Tel Aviv – the
country's financial and diplomatic centre – is the capital. The style
guide has been amended accordingly.” Got it?
6. Before and After the Toulouse Massacre, Media Silent on Hate-Indoctrination On
March 19, in Toulouse, France, during the busy morning school drop-off
period, Mohammed Merah rode up to the Ozar HaTorah Jewish School on a
scooter, killed Rabbi Yonatan Sandler, his six-year-old son Aryeh, and
his three-year-old son Gabriel then chased down and murdered
seven-year-old Myriam Monsonego. “As regards the killing of the children
at the Jewish school in Toulouse, he was very explicit,” said Interior Minister Claude Guéant. “He said he wanted to avenge the deaths of Palestinian children.” Major media, The New York Times chief among them, have failedovermany yearsto reportaccurately, consistently
and with due prominence the pervasive and genocidal rhetoric against
Israel and the Jewish people, giving only passing attention to the
issue. Their dereliction on this issue has done incalculable harm, not
least in signaling to the hate-mongers that no price is to be paid for
promoting extreme bigotry.
7. Spanish Newspaper El Pais Claims Gilad Shalit “Involved in a Gaza Massacre” In
the sub-headline of an article about kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad
Shalit being invited to a Barca-Real Madrid football (soccer) match,
influential Spanish newspaper El Pais falsely claimed that Shalit
was “involved in a Gaza massacre.” The paper also wrote that he was
eventually freed in exchange for 477 Palestinian prisoners. The
newspaper published a letter from ReVista de Medio Oriente, CAMERA's Spanish-language Web site, and one from the President of the Federación de Comunidades Judías de España (Federation
of Jewish Communities of Spain). The newspaper also published a
correction, saying “Corporal Gilad Shalit was not involved in any
killing in Gaza,” and continuing on to state “Shalit was apprehended by
Hamas on the Gaza border in 2006 and was held captive for five years
until he was exchanged for 1027 Palestinian prisoners, not 477 as stated
on Wednesday and yesterday.”
8. AFP “Fauxtography” Picked Up by Global Press A
January 25 Agence France-Presse photograph, in which a Palestinian
construction worker is said to be screaming in pain after he was run
over by a trailer driven by an Israeli soldier, prominently appeared in
the print editions of the International Herald Tribune (January 26) and The Washington Post (January 27), and was featured on the Web sites of The Wall Street Journal, the Guardian and MSNBC
(slide 13), among others. At worst, this incident was staged and the
man pretended to be run over and injured, while neither happened. At
best, there was zero independent confirmation that he was injured. After much work by CAMERA's Israel office highlighting the dubiousness of the claims, the Journal commendably clarified, though AFP regrettably defended the photograph despite the lack of credible evidence that such an incident occurred.
10. Journal of Palestine Studies Defends Ilan Pappé's Fabricated Quotation with Another Fabrication After CAMERA informed the Journal of Palestine Studies (JPS) of a falsified quote published in its pages, attributed to Zionist leader David Ben-Gurion by revisionist historianIlan Pappé,
editors nonetheless defended “the overall accuracy” by pointing to
another purported statement by Ben-Gurion that they claimed showed Pappé
was essentially correct. Pappé claimed that Ben-Gurion wrote,
“The Arabs will have to go, but one needs an opportune moment for making
it happen, such as a war.” JPS maintained this quote, while incorrect,
was close enough to what they say Ben-Gurion actually wrote, namely that
“We must expel Arabs and take their place.” There is no evidence that
he ever believed either sentiment. In fact, all evidence suggests Ben
Gurion always intended just the opposite – and actually wrote “that there is enough room for us and for the Arabs in the land.”
Can
we expect 2013 to be a better year for Israel and media coverage? While
CAMERA is gratified at the many instances of responsible action by
members of the media, it's also obvious there will be many challenges!Camera
My New Year wish - leave 'Allah' alone by Bob Teoh
Saturday, December 29, 2012
COMMENT Time flies and we are already at
the doorstep of 2013. But time has stood still for three long years
since Dec 31, 2009 at the gates of justice. It was on that New Year's
Eve that the judiciary gave a flicker of hope for fundamental liberties
when a landmark judgment ruled in favour of the Herald, the Catholic weekly. But
the attorney-general fought back and appealed against the decision. The
Court of Appeal has not set a hearing date nor is it likely to do so
with any urgency. Justice obtained in one of His Majesty's courts is
denied by another one higher up through undue judicial delays.My
New Year wish is that the attorney-general will do the sensible thing
by withdrawing the appeal and let the High Court judgment stand. In
doing so, one of the most fundamental civil liberties guaranteed by our
Federal Constitution will be restored. So too will our confidence in
constitutionalism.
Three years ago, the Kuala Lumpur High Court
ruled in favour of the titular Roman Catholic archbishop of Kuala
Lumpur, who is the publisher of Herald, that even though Islam
is the religion of the federation, this does not empower the government
to prohibit the use of the word ‘Allah' in the Malay edition of the Herald. It also found that the word ‘Allah' was not exclusive to Muslims. The Catholics won but the victory clearly belonged to all Malaysians
because the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion - the right
to profess, practise, and propagate one's faith - was bravely upheld by
the judiciary. This is not about religion but about fundamental liberty.
The Herald
case goes back a long way to the days of the now defunct Internal
Security Act 1960 and the old Printing Presses and Publications Act
1984. Under the Najib administration, the ruling coalition tried making
good its promise of opening up public space by reforming some of the
draconian laws. The ISA was repealed and replaced by the Security
Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 last April while the PPPA was also
amended earlier this year where renewal of annual publishing licences
are done away with, among other things.
The restriction on 'Allah'
But ‘Allah' remains more than just a word. In 1980, the Umno-led
Terengganu government became the first Malay state to enact laws to
control or restrict the propagation of other religions among Muslims. It
decreed a list of 25 Arabic words and 10 phrases that are deemed
exclusive only to Islam. One of these words is ‘Allah'. This was done
under the Hussein Onn administration. Other states, including
non-Malay majority states, followed suit and issued their own fatwas on
usage of Arabic words and legislated them as state enactments. But these
are essentially fatwas or Islamic edicts and are seemingly
unenforceable on non-Muslims under the Federal Constitution.
The
following year, the Alkitab or the Malay-language Bible which uses the
word ‘Allah' to refer to God was banned under the Internal Security Act
1960 on the basis that it is a threat to national security. Two thirds
of the two million Christians in the country are Malay speaking
bumiputeras who use the Alkitab as their daily Bible.This
ban came five months after Dr Mahathir Mohamad became the country's
fourth prime minister on July 16, 1981, after Hussein Onn stepped down
for health reasons. He relented upon appeals from church leaders but the
Alkitab remains under a restricted ban to this day.
His
successor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, continued the Alkitab ban. In
addition, he banned the ‘Bup Kudus', the Iban Bible while in his
capacity as acting prime minister and home minister in early 2003 as it
contained the words ‘Allah Taala' (God Most High). The ban was withdrawn
two months later following protests by Iban Christians.
Under
the Najib administration, an attempt was made to resolve the Alkitab and
‘Allah' word problems under a ‘10-point solution'. But this is merely a
superficial attempt as the Alkitab remains under a restrictive ban. The
usage of the ‘Allah' word by non-Muslims is still prohibited even
though the High Court has ruled that this is untenable. This is because
the attorney-general has challenged its judgment.
This matter
affects everyone not just Christians. It strikes at the root of our
constitution that allows us to believe what we believe. The
gangrene has been festering like a thorn in the flesh for far too long;
32 years under four prime ministers. The laws under which the disputes
first arose are now defunct or amended. There is no further need for
such laws that have outlived their usefulness. The
attorney-general would do all of us justice by withdrawing his appeal
against the High Court judgment favouring the titular Roman Catholic
archbishop of Kuala Lumpur and the Herald. Leave ‘Allah' alone, please.
Saudi religious police stormed a house in the Saudi Arabian
province of al-Jouf, detaining more than 41 guests for “plotting to
celebrate Christmas,” a statement from the police branch released
Wednesday night said. The raid is the latest in a string of religious crackdowns against
residents perceived to threaten the country's strict religious code.
The host of the alleged Christmas gathering is reported to be an Asian
diplomat whose guests included 41 Christians, as well as two Saudi
Arabian and Egyptian Muslims. The host and the two Muslims were said to
be “severely intoxicated.” The guests were said to have been referred to the "respective
authorities." It is unclear whether or not they have been released
since.
The kingdom, which only recognizes Islamic faith and practice, has in
the past banned public Christmas celebrations, but is ambiguous about
festivities staged in private quarters. Saudi religious police are known to detain residents of the kingdom at
whim, citing loose interpretations of Sharia and public statements by
hardline religious leaders to justify crackdowns. Saudi Arabia's head mufti Sheikh Abdel Aziz bin Abdullah had previously
condemned “invitations to Christmas or wedding celebrations.” A member of the Higher Council of Islamic scholars in Saudi Arabia,
Sheikh Mohammed al-Othaimin recently prohibited sending holiday wishes
to "heretics" on Christmas or other religious Christian holidays.
The
story goes on to show that in Saudi Arabia, there is no big stretch
from amusing "Oddly Enough"-type stories to real abuse of human rights:
On Thursday, the Beirut-based Gulf Center for Human Rights
reported that Saudi human rights defender Raef Badawi is at risk of
execution on apostasy charges. Badawi is co-founder and editor of the Liberal Saudi Network. When he
first appeared before the district court in Jeddah, he was charged with
“insulting Islam through electronic channels” and “going beyond the
realm of obedience.” The Judge then referred the case to the higher
Public Court on an apostasy charge, which carries the penalty of death.
The General Court in Jeddah proceeded with apostasy charges on December 22. Badawi was arrested this June after the Liberal Saudi Network called for
“a day of liberalism” in Saudi Arabia, which included a conference that
was later canceled after a warning from authorities.
Earlier this week, controversial Saudi novelist and political analyst
Turki al-Hamad was arrested for criticizing Islam and the royal family
in a series of tweets. Al-Hamad is an outspoken liberal who writes about sexuality issues,
underground political movements and religious freedom. The offending
tweets suggested that Islam be rectified in the same way that the
Prophet Muhammad is said to have revised earlier Abrahamic religions. Hat tip: Elder of Ziyon
One year on, no justice for Uludere victims by Richard Hall
One
year ago today, on a bitterly cold winter evening, a Turkish fighter
jet attacked a group of its own citizens who were crossing the border
from Iraq. A total of 34 civilians were killed, most of them children.
The victims were Kurds from the villages of Roboski and Bujeh, on the
Turkish side of the border. They were travelling a well-worn smuggling
route, bringing in cigarettes, sugar and fuel to sell for a small profit
where they lived in Turkey’s south-east, where few other job
opportunities exist.The Turkish army said following the incident that the villagers had
been mistaken for fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) – a
rebel group that has fought for greater autonomy for Turkey’s Kurds
since 1984, and whose bases in the mountainous border region are a
frequent target of the Turkish airforce.
One year on, the Turkish government has yet to make any meaningful
effort to find out why these group of villagers – whose movements were
reportedly being tracked by US Predator drones prior to the strike –
were killed on that night.
Amnesty International has described the government’s record in
investigating the incident as “not a promising one.” Outlining the
problems with the investigation, it said: “A Parliamentary inquiry was
established in January, 2012, but, according to media reports, it has
been denied access to vital military reports and, the sub-committee
carrying out the investigation has already indicated that it would not
attempt to determine individual responsibility for the bombing.”
Yesterday, Human Rights Watch condemned
the Turkish government for its failure to open and effective and
transparent inquiry into what has become known as the Uludere massacre –
named after the region in which it occurred – accusing it of failing to
“live up to some of its most fundamental obligations under the European
Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to safeguard the right to life.”“The lack of progress in an entire year on completing any
investigation of the Uludere incident is very troubling because it is
consistent with the government’s overall reluctance to account to the
public for the government’s wrongdoing,” said Emma Sinclair-Webb, senior
researcher for Turkey at the rights group. “Holding state authorities
who killed civilians accountable is crucial to upholding democracy and
the rule of law.”
Nicole Pope, writing for Turkish daily Zaman, also
mourned the government’s lack of accountability. “Parliament and the
government set up inquiries, prosecutors are investigating the event,
but the publication of official reports has been postponed. By all
accounts, state officials are unwilling to shed light on the disaster
and few people now expect that a convincing explanation will be
forthcoming,” she wrote.She added: “the mishandling of the whole issue suggests that Turkey
remains a place where civilians can be killed with impunity.”
The Uludere massacre was not the first time civilians have been caught up in Turkey’s decades-old war with the PKK. With fresh airstrikes being carried out last night and little hope of a negotiated settlement on the Kurdish issue, it will not be the last.
For now, attention is focused on Turkey’s troubled neighbour to the
south. Turkey’s Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has been at the
forefront of international opposition to Syria’s crackdown on civilians
in the civil war raging there. But many have been quick to point out his
hypocrisy in failing to show the same restraint he demands of Assad
when dealing with his country’s own rebellion.The same people would no doubt argue that Erdogan’s condemnation of
civilian deaths across the border would sound more convincing if those
responsible for the deaths at Uludere were held accountable. The Independent UK @_RichardHall
A message to the church of Egypt, from an Egyptian Muslim: I tell the
church — by Allah, and again, by Allah — if you conspire and unite with
the remnants [opposition] to bring Morsi down, that will be another
matter…. our red line is the legitimacy of Dr. Muhammad Morsi. Whoever
splashes water on it, we will splash blood on him."
More recently, Dr. Wagdi Ghoneim — who earlier praised Allah for the death of the late Coptic Pope Shenouda, cursing him to hell and damnation on video — made another video,
entitled, "A Notice and Warning to the Crusaders in Egypt," a
reference to the nation's Copts, which he began by saying, "You are
playing with fire in Egypt, I swear, the first people to be burned by
the fire are you [Copts]." The video was made in the context of the
Tahrir protests against Morsi: Islamic leaders, such as Hegazy and
Ghoneim, seek to portray the Copts as dominant elements in those
protests; according to them, no real Muslim would participate. Ghoneim
even went on to say that most of the people at the protests were Copts,
"and we know you hid your [wrist] crosses by lowering your sleeves." The heart of Ghoneim's message was genocidal: "The day Egyptians — and I
don't even mean the Muslim Brotherhood or Salafis, regular Egyptians —
feel that you are against them, you will be wiped off the face of the
earth. I'm warning you now: do not play with fire!" Along with trying to incite Egypt's Muslims against the Copts, and
threatening them with annihilation, Ghoneim made other telling
assertions, including: Addressing the Christians of Egypt as "Crusaders," once again showing
Islam's simplistic, black-and-white vision, which clumps all Christians
— of all nations, past and present, regardless of historical context
and denomination — as one, in accordance with an Islamic tradition that states "All infidels are one religion." Comparing Christian Copts to animals: "Respect yourselves and live with
us and we will protect you... Why?... because Allah has forbidden me
to be cruel to animals. I'm not trying to compare you to animals … but
if I am not cruel to animals or plants, shall I be cruel to a soul
created by Allah? You are an infidel in Allah's sight — and it is for
him to judge you. However, when you live in my country, it is forbidden
for me to be unjust to you — but that doesn't mean we are equal. No,
oh no." More... Hat tip: Eye On The World
Dead boy in iconic photo of Egyptian PM and Hamas top dog was killed by "Palestinians," not Israelis
Kandil and Haniyeh: Atrocity theater with boy killed by Palestinians
The cynicism of the "Palestinian" jihad propaganda machine is truly
breathtaking. "HRW Confirms Gaza Terrorists Killed Gaza Boy Shown in
Iconic Photo of Egypt’s PM and Hamas’s Haniyeh," by Zach Pontz for Algemeiner, December 24 (thanks to Pamela Geller):
Human Rights Watch has acknowledged that terrorists killed
civilians in Gaza during Operation Pillar of Defense when rockets being
fired into Israel fell short.
“Rockets that fell short of their intended targets in Israel
apparently killed at least two Palestinians in Gaza and wounded others,”
Human Rights Watch said.
The specific case mentioned in the report involves the four year-old
boy used as a political tool by Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil
during his visit to Gaza.Holding back tears, Kandil kissed the boy’s lifeless body as he was
presented him by Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh. Kandil said,”What I saw
today in the hospital, the wounded and the martyrs, the boy … whose
blood is still on my hands and clothes, is something that we cannot keep
silent about.” At the time Israel strongly denied being involved in the
boy’s death.
In the report Human Rights Watch places blame squarely on terrorists
in Gaza for the boy’s death. “Some rockets launched by Palestinian armed
groups fell short and struck inside Gaza. On November 16, a rocket that
appears to have been launched from within Gaza hit a crowded street in
the Gazan town of Jabalya, killing a man, 23, and a boy, 4, and wounding
five people.”
The report, released Monday, accuses terror groups in Gaza of
violating the laws of war. It states: “Under the laws of war, parties to
an armed conflict are required to take all feasible precautions to
protect civilians under their control from the effects of attacks and
not to place military targets in or near densely populated areas. Human
Rights Watch has not been able to identify any instances in November in
which a Palestinian armed group warned civilians to evacuate an area
before a rocket launch.”... Hat tip: Jihad Watch
Fake photo of soldier stepping on girl goes viral (UPDATED)
Thursday, December 27, 2012
YNet Hebrew
notes that Facebook and other social media is awash with copies of this
image, often with a caption claiming that this is an IDF soldier
stepping on a Palestinian Arab girl:
YNet traced it back to a Twitter image from June, but that one was captioned as if it happened in Syria. There are thousands of copies throughout the Internet. Israeli site Tazpit noted it in June, and did some basic research:
The soldier in the photo appears to be holding a Kalashnikov AK47 which
is not used by the Israeli army, but used often by the Palestinian
police forces and terror organizations. The IDF is known for using M16
and M4 weapons, and its uniforms are different from the soldier's
uniform that appears on the photo. The Israeli Governmental Advertising Agency told "Tazpit" earlier today:
"the photo has been checked by the IDF Spokesperson and after
investigating, it seems that the photo is not authentic and that the
soldier is not Israeli. Unfortunately, the use of such photos is a known
method, trying to harm Israel's image on the internet and is part of
the social networks war of information".
I don't think it is from Syria. This looks completely staged. It might even have been some street theater. Daled Amos discussed this photo last year. (h/t Dan) UPDATE: A funny spoof:
Pun/phrase untranslatable without a lot of explanation, sorry. (h/t Kramerica) UPDATE 2: Tweeter Michal found the originals - and as I suspected, they were done as street theater, apparently in Bahrain, in December 2009 during celebration of the holiday of the 9th of Muharram:
Suspected Islamic extremists attack Indian student in Germany
BERLIN – Police say an Indian
student in Germany has been attacked and injured by suspected Islamic
extremists who accosted him and demanded that he convert to Islam. Police spokesman Frank Piontek said Thursday that two attackers in
the western German city of Bonn severely beat the 24-year-old and then
slashed his tongue with a knife.
Police say the attackers walked up to the student in a city street
late Monday and demanded that he convert to Islam -- then beat him up
after he refused to do so.
The student, whose identity wasn't given in line with German privacy
rules, was taken to a hospital for treatment. He was released a day
later.
The Bonn police's department for politically motivated crimes is investigating. Fox News
GRAYSON: Christmas tells us who we are, why we are alive
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
For Christians, Christmas
is the celebration of one of the most significant religious, historical
and cultural events in the Western world. It marks a turning point in
human history, a new era for the human race.
Two thousand years
ago, the world was very different from what it is today. This was true
not only of material surroundings, possessions and institutions, but
more strikingly of human attitudes, relationships and beliefs. Women
were considered inferior to men and had comparatively few rights.
Fathers had absolute authority over their children, even to the point of
putting them to death. Marriage was dissoluble for trifling reasons.
Manual labor was relegated to slaves, who were considered chattel and
the property of their masters. Religion was intertwined with the state,
with the emperor standing at the head of both.
Then, on a day now known as Christmas,
in the words of St. John, the “Word was made flesh, and dwelt among
us.” This event changed the world. God had come to Earth, conceived by
the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, in the person of Jesus Christ.
God assumed a human nature, with all of its joys and agonies, trials
and tribulations, thoughts and emotions, sufferings and death.Jesus
did not come as God in the guise of man, or as part God and part man,
nor was His nature a mixture of the divine and the human. Rather, He
became truly and completely human while remaining truly and completely
God. With all of the human weakness He assumed, there was never any
lessening of his divine nature. His actions and teachings were always
those of the Son of God. This is the essence of the incarnation, the union of two natures, the divine and the human, in a single person.
Christ
chose to come into the world in the most humble manner. When Mary was
far from her Nazarene home, in the little town of Bethlehem, as St. Luke
describes, “she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in
swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room
for them in the inn.” He whom the angels adore in heaven came into our
world in a stable, among the animals, under a roof not His own. As St.
John says, “He came unto His own, and his own received Him not.” Yet,
the result of this Nativity was profound. He who was the maker of the
world, before whom “the pillars of the heavens tremble,” took on the
lowliness of man and thus exalted the dignity of humanity. He assumed a
nature that was human in every way except sin and united it to himself.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
said this was “not so much the conversion of the Godhead into flesh, as
the taking of manhood into God.” This is a privilege that not even the
angels received.
Archbishop Sheen further described the effect of this event:“Bethlehem
became a link between heaven and earth; God and man met here and looked
each other in the face. In the taking of human flesh, the Father
prepared it, the Spirit formed it, and the Son assumed it. He Who had an
eternal generation in the bosom of the Father now had a temporal
generation in time. He Who had His birth in Bethlehem came to be born in
the hearts of men.”Through the incarnation, our relationship
with our Creator changed. God became a personal God rather than an
unseen omnipresence. Now He had a human nature and form, with
experiences to which we could relate.
People saw Jesus,
heard Him, spoke with Him, ate with Him, and touched Him. Since
earliest antiquity, there have been prophets and seers, priests and
disciples, holy men and preachers. Yet God always had been distant,
ethereal, mysterious. Now for the first and only time in history, God
came to Earth and lived a human life — having parents and relatives,
mingling with neighbors, practicing a religion, learning a trade,
working and finally assuming his public mission to teach, gather
followers, suffer and die on a cross. These are human experiences we can
relate to.
This first Christmas signaled a new era for the human race. Jesus,
through His teachings and the church He left behind, brought about
profound changes in the world. His doctrines on the dignity of the
person elevated women to equality with men, gave respectability to
physical labor, asserted the legitimate uses of private property and
showed the injustice and immorality of slavery. His concern for children
and the family established the sanctity and indissolubility of
marriage, extolled children and elevated the role of social justice and
the proper use of riches. His obedience to the ecclesiastical and civil
strictures of Judaism and Rome showed the importance of law and one’s
duty to one’s country. His statement, “Render, therefore, to Caesar the
things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s”
presented a new relationship between the state and the church.
Today,
too many of us ignore Our Lord’s teachings or warp them to fit our
desires. We choose among his words, rejecting what we do not like and
accepting only those that please us. As a result, we have forgotten why
we were created.
In a sermon on Christmas Day 1976, Cardinal Karol
Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, directly addressed this
attitude, saying:
“Contemporary people in this last quarter of the
20th century, whose human dignity has been ignored and infringed in so
many ways, come to Christ’s
stable in Bethlehem to ask who they are and why they are in the world,
bringing with them their existential anxiety. And when they come to
Bethlehem, like each of us, they find the reply in the manger on the
straw: ‘I have given them power to become children of God.’ This small,
weak infant, who was born and forced to stay outside the town in a
stable, has given this power — and he still gives it to us who live in
the 20th century and whose human dignity and essence have been so
compromised that we no longer really understand that we were made in the
image and likeness of God. However, this truth alone gives meaning to
our human existence, and only in this truth do we find the answer to the
questions of who we are and why we are alive.” Washington Times Lawrence P. Grayson is a visiting scholar in the School of Philosophy at the Catholic University of America.
Pressure from the local community is forcing the hands of the Bethlehem
municipality to take down a large Christmas billboard sign that has
Jesus on it. "In the birthplace of Christianity, we have seen over the years that
the Christmas holiday has been reduced to snowmen and bells,said
Pastor Steven Khoury of Holy Land Missions; the ministry behind putting
the 1200 square foot sign up. He added, "The essential message of the
holiday season has been taken away for fear of what the dominant factors in Bethlehem would say." Vandals had cut the electric cable surrounding the sign to ensure that
it would not be lit up during the night. Barraged with phone calls from the local community, the municipality informed Pastor Khoury that many are campaigning asking us to take down the sign. ...The billboard sign is located at Manger Square with the slogan "Jesus born to die and rose again. Invite him into your heart so you might live - Merry Christmas"has caused some people to come out of their cars and take pictures. Out of fear of repercussions, no one is willing to sell electricity access to the billboard.
So Pastor Khoury has been going out with a portable generator and
several high beam spotlights and lighting the sign up himself.
Anticipating that the sign might be coming down any time, Khoury quickly
did one last film next to the billboard sign.
How did every single reporter in Bethlehem miss a story about a pastor
who was trying to put up a billboard with a Christian message? It has an attractive protagonist, who speaks English well. It is an
underdog story. It is about freedom of religion. It has the irony of
Jesus being absent from Bethlehem. This story is made for TV and print
media.
There must be a reason why the reporters ignored this story. Perhaps
because of the types of people who are against the sign? Pastor Khoury
doesn't identify them, so it is unclear who they are. All we know is
that they are dominant in Bethlehem (so they can't be Christians), that
they are from the local community (so they can't be Jews) that they are
threatening those who support the message with violence (so they can't
be Quakers,) and that reporters are reluctant to report when these
people are acting against freedom of religion and freedom of expression. This is a tough one. Hat tip: Elder of Ziyon
“Today Christian communities throughout the Middle East are shrinking
and many of them are in danger,” said Netanyahu, according to the
announcement published by his bureau in Hebrew and English. “...this is
of course not true in Israel. Here there is a strong and growing
Christian community that participates fully in the life of our country.”
Christmas in Pakistan - Christians celebrate Christmas in Pakistan: "We are scared. We are frightened. We cannot sit together, we cannot speak loudly, we cannot celebrate openly. We receive threats."
"A dark Christmas for Pakistani Christians," by Shamil Shams for Deutsches Welle, December 25 In many parts of the world, Christmas means a time of celebration. But
for Christians in Pakistan, who live under constant fear of persecution
by the state and majority Sunni Muslims, there is not much to celebrate.
Christians make up about two percent of the 180 million people living
in Pakistan. Rights organizations say that like any other religious
minority, they face legal and cultural discrimination in the Islamic
Republic. Pakistan's non-government human rights commission, HRCP (Human Rights Commission of Pakistan), reported that the year 2012
was one of the worst years for Pakistani Christians; a number of them
were charged with blasphemy, their churches were burnt and houses looted
in many parts of the country. Blasphemy is a sensitive topic in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,
where 97 percent of the population is Muslim. Controversial blasphemy
laws introduced by the Islamic military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq in
the 1980s make life for Christians more difficult. Activists say the
laws have little to do with blasphemy and are often used to settle petty
disputes and personal vendettas; they say the Christians are thereby
often victimized.
Living under blasphemy laws
On August 16, Rimsha Masih - a Christian girl aged between 10 and 14 -
was accused of committing a blasphemous act by a religious cleric in
her town. The cleric said she had burnt pages upon which were inscribed
verses from the Koran. Masih was promptly taken into police custody. Pakistani officials claimed the girl suffered from Down's Syndrome, a
genetic disorder causing major learning disabilities. Western
governments expressed serious concern over her arrest. After numerous
protests by rights organizations and Western governments, a Pakistani
court ordered her release from custody. More here.......
"Christianity 'close to extinction' in Middle East" by Edward Malnick
Telegraph December 23, 2012 Why? It's a question that the media never asks, because they know the
answer and they work furiously to obfuscate and cover up the why and the
who. Christianity faces being wiped out of the “biblical heartlands” in the Middle East because of mounting persecution of worshippers, according to a new report. The most common threat to Christians abroad is militant Islam The study warns that Christians suffer greater hostility across the world than
any other religious group. And it claims politicians have been “blind” to the extent of violence faced by
Christians in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The most common threat to Christians abroad is militant Islam, it says,
claiming that oppression in Muslim countries is often ignored because of a
fear that criticism will be seen as “racism”. It warns that converts from Islam face being killed in Saudi Arabia,
Mauritania and Iran and risk severe legal penalties in other countries
across the Middle East. The report, by the think tank Civitas, says: “It is generally accepted that
many faith-based groups face discrimination or persecution to some degree.
"A far less widely grasped fact is that Christians are targeted more than
any other body of believers.”It cites estimates that 200 million Christians, or 10 per cent of Christians
worldwide, are “socially disadvantaged, harassed or actively oppressed for
their beliefs.” “Exposing and combating the problem ought in my view to be political
priorities across large areas of the world. That this is not the case tells
us much about a questionable hierarchy of victimhood,” says the author,
Rupert Shortt, a journalist and visiting fellow of Blackfriars Hall, Oxford.
He adds: “The blind spot displayed by governments and other influential
players is causing them to squander a broader opportunity. Religious freedom
is the canary in the mine for human rights generally.” The report, entitled Christianophobia, highlights a fear among oppressive
regimes that Christianity is a “Western creed” which can be used to
undermine them.
State hostility towards Christianity is particularly rife in China, where more
Christians are imprisoned than in any other country in the world, according
to the report. It quotes Ma Hucheng, an advisor to the Chinese government, who claimed in an
article last year that the US has backed the growth of the Protestant Church
in China as a vehicle for political dissidence. “Western powers, with America at their head, deliberately export Christianity
to China and carry out all kinds of illegal evangelistic activities,” he
wrote in the China Social Sciences Press. “Their basic aim is to use Christianity to change the character of the
regime...in China and overturn it,” he added.
The “lion’s share” of persecution faced by Christians arises in countries
where Islam is the dominant faith, the report says, quoting estimates that
between a half and two-thirds of Christians in the Middle East have left the
region or been killed in the past century. “There is now a serious risk that Christianity will disappear from its
biblical heartlands,” it claims. The report shows that “Muslim-majority” states make up 12 of the 20 countries
judged to be “unfree” on the grounds of religious tolerance by Freedom
House, the human rights think tank.
It catalogues hundreds of attacks on Christians by religious fanatics over
recent years, focusing on seven countries: Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, Nigeria,
India, Burma and China. It claims George Bush’s use of the word “crusade” after the September 11
attacks on New York created the impression for Muslims in the Middle East of
a “Christian assault on the Muslim world”. “But however the motivation for violence is measured, the early twenty-first
century has seen a steady rise in the strife endured by Christians,” the
report says.
The 2003 invasion of Iraq left Iraqi Christians “more vulnerable than ever”,
highlighted by the 2006 beheading of a kidnapped Orthodox priest, Fr Boulos
Iskander, and the kidnapping of 17 further priests and two bishops between
2006 and 2010. “In most cases, those responsible declared that they wanted all Christians to
be expelled from the country,” the report says.
In Pakistan, the murder last year of Shahbaz Bhatti, the country’s Catholic
minister for minorities, “vividly reflected” religious intolerance in
Pakistan. Shortly after his death it emerged that Mr Bhatti had recorded a video in
which he declared: “I am living for my community and for suffering people
and I will die to defend their rights. "I prefer to die for my principles and for the justice of my community
rather than to compromise. I want to share that I believe in Jesus Christ,
who has given his own life for us.”
The report also warns that Christians in India have faced years of violence
from Hindu extremists. In 2010 scores of attacks on Christians and church
property were carried out in Karnataka, a state in south west India. And while many people are aware of the oppression faced in Burma by Aung San
Suu Kyi and other pro-democracy activists, targeted abuse of Christians in
the country has been given little exposure, the report says.
In some areas of Burma the government has clamped down on Christian protesters
by restricting the building of new churches. “Openly professing Christians employed in government service find it virtually
impossible to get promotion,” it adds. The Telegraph
Christmas in Malaysia - An X'mas card to my prime minister by Bob Teoh
The Rt Hon Prime Minister,
Shalom and Yuletide greetings of peace, love, and blessing. Notwithstanding the crucifix controversy
during the Christmas reception for you by the Christian community last
year, you have decided to join their celebrations this year again. This
reflects boldness and courage on your part, Sir.
This augurs well
for peace and harmony in the country. It goes without saying that we in
Malaysia, continue to enjoy good interfaith relations despite efforts
of incendiary bigots in our midst to destroy it. Alhamdulillah, such
heinous acts are but in vain as the Lord God Almighty is indeed
sovereign over our beloved homeland. Hallelujah.You fondly recall your meeting with Pope Benedict XVIlast
year, and that Malaysia has formally established diplomatic relations
with the Vatican City. As pointed out by you, "another step forward came
last week as the government announced that it will ensure that any
Malaysian Christian who wishes to travel to Jerusalem for a pilgrimage
is able to do so." This reflects the gentle face of Islam surely.
You also pointed out in your Christmas blog, "... since becoming prime
minister I have placed a lot of emphasis on the unifying concepts of
1Malaysia and the Global Movement of the Moderates. These concepts are
partly about establishing a dialogue, which is important, but I am also
determined that they lead to real action too."
I am also
encouraged that you would, "...have the pleasure of taking part in a tea
party with members of the Christian community to mark Christmas and
listen to their views."
Unfortunately, Sir, I would not be at
the Christmas reception today as I am away from the country. Allow me to
air my views by way of this Christmas card to you and I trust I will
have your ear. Surely you are unlike the guy from Pahang who wants to
cut off his ears and throw them into the Pahang River, probably
polluting it in the process. Silly man, that one.
The Orang Asli slapping case - Kelantan
It's already over two months since a teacher at SK Bihai near Gua Musang in Kelantan had allegedly slapped four Orang Asli non-Muslim students, aged between 12 and 14, on Oct 23 because they had failed to recite the Muslim doa over lunch at their school.
They
may be non-Muslims but they this is not the way to treat bumiputeras
like them. Sir, your 1Malaysia unifying concepts compels you to act with
urgency. Indeed, Islam must be seen as a tolerant religion.
Conversion to Islam of an under-age Iban schoolboy - Sarawak
You may not know it yet prime minister but a top Iban Catholic student
of Kolej Datu Patinggi Abang Haji Abdillah - the prestigious residential
Mara junior college in Kuching - was recently converted to Islam. This
occurred just before his SPM exams without his parents' knowledge or
permission. He comes from a very remote village. This is not an
isolated case as church leaders there will tell you that this has been
going on for a very long time as part of the Umno-BN Islamisation
strategy in Sarawak and Sabah.
Sir, you have two options. This
first is to kill the rumour if indeed it turns out to be one. This does
not take much effort or time to determine this matter one way or
another. If indeed the conversion did take place, then the school need
to explain how an under-age conversion can be allowed to take place in
its premises without his parents' consent or knowledge. There
are no two ways about it, Sir. You have to act fast and quick to assure
the Christian community, especially that of the Malay speaking
bumiputera Christians of Sarawak and Sabah, that your 1Malaysia is
exactly what it means. No backdoor conversion, please.
Under-age conversion of four Christian students - Labuan
Recently, four under-age bumiputera Christian students, one Catholic
and three Protestants, at a government residential school in Labuan were
converted to Islam. The conversion allegedly took place during a school
activity. Local pastors have taken the matter up to the school but it
had denied the activity was organised by the school.
A
comprehensive report has been compiled by church leaders there to be
handed to the Sabah state government. But Labuan is a federal territory
and as Jakim, or the Islamic Development Department, is parked under
your nose in the Prime Minister's Office, it is within your power to
intervene and act immediately to resolve the dispute without damaging
religious harmony further.
All you need to do is ask to see the voluminous report. And act on it.We have had enough of cow stealing but in this case, no more stealing sheep from the Good Shepherd please. MyKad Islamisation of bumiputera Christians
Sir, you are already familiar with this case as it was discussed by
your cabinet just recently. Indeed, you had asked two Christian cabinet
ministers, one from Sabah and the other from Sarawak, to act on the
complaint immediately.
But what has happened? Nothing as usual. Does this mean that the National Registration Department can ignore cabinet directives? The
complaint is that bumiputera Christians in Sabah (and Sarawak) have
been classified by the National Registration Department (NRD) as Muslims
automatically when issuing them their MyKad simply on the basis that
they have "bin" and "binti" in their names.
The NRD has refused
to rectify their errors. Instead it has asked complainants to go to the
syariah courts to get an order saying that they are Christians and
indeed not Muslims. How much more ludicrous can your administration get? Sir,
if you mean what you say, then give the two federal minsters a kick in
their butts and while at it make sure one lands on the bum of the NRD
chief too. Can be done Sir, just execute the famous Bruce Lee
one-leg-three-kicks. The Allah word and the Al-Kitab
It has been three long years since the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled on Jan 31, 2009 in favour of Herald,
the Catholic Weekly, that even though Islam is the religion of the
federation, this does not empower the government to prohibit the use of
the word ‘Allah' by others. It also found that the word ‘Allah' was not
exclusive to Muslims.But
your administration has appealed against it. The Court of Appeal is out
on a stroll and not in any hurry to hear it. This is a travesty of
justice. As prime minster you should not allow a useless judicial
traffic cop to erect illegal roadblocks to justice.
The titular
Roman Catholic archbishop of Kuala Lumpur was the one who sued your
administration and won. I wonder what you will say to him when you meet
him at today's tea party? Malaysiakini