Sunday, December 31, 2006
Taffeta, Dahling!! Taffeta!!
I had gloves that big once… Bought ‘em for screeding. Never did end up using ‘em. Slab looks nice, tho.
just sayin’...
Friday, December 29, 2006
Citizen Journalism
timely. fascinating. insights.
INDCJournal at At Kuwait’s “Not to Forget Museum”
“This is the head of a statue that was toppled in Tikrit, donated to the museum by the Coalition. The bust sits in a re-creation of the spider hole and farm where Hussein was discovered by GI’s. World-class schadenfreude ...” --INDC Bill
[that’d make a mighty fine men’s room...]
*clicky*clicky*—much more to see [includes some graphic images]
His American-educated guide discussing the popularity of conspiracy theories in the Arabic world:
“Right after WWII, Arabic countries began to achieve their independence and at that time many were backward. They looked at the west, very sophisticated, and still many were poor and lack(ed) technology, and they were trying to build modern societies. But many people still were illiterate, and many naive, so (the rulers) used conspiracy theory to motivate the population, because conspiracy theory has more in common with the myth, the superstition, that are very effective in non-educated societies."
I think this applies today more than many realize. [and our excuse?]
for my own curiosity;
as I walk seven times ‘round the InterTubes
Kaaba, also known as, Ka’bah, Kabah and Caaba is the center of the holiest place of worship in Islam (Submission in English)
Kaaba is the center of the circumambulations [tawaf]performed during the pilgrimage (hajj), and it is toward the Kaaba that Muslims face in their prayers (salat).
The Black Stone, possibly of meteoric origin, is located at one of its outside corners. It has been used by the pilgrims as a landmark to count the number of cicumambulations. Some traditional Muslims in defiance of their religion, consider the stone holy and put emphasis on touching it and kissing it. The actual structure of the Kaaba has been demolished and rebuilt several times in the course of its history.
[Muslims believe that the revered “black stone” (Alhajar Al-Aswad) is a special divine meteorite, that pre-dates creation that fell at the foot of Adam and Eve. It is presently embedded in the southeastern corner of the Kaba. Muslims touch and kiss the black stone during Hajj but non-Muslims are strictly forbidden to even touch it.]
[Apparently, non-Moslems are forbidden to even look upon the stone: e-C]
Around the Kaaba is a restricted area, haram, extending in some directions as far as 12 miles, into which only Muslims may enter.
Before prophet Muhammed’s advent, Meccans who lost the religion of Abraham’s monotheism, worshipped many idols, most notable of which were al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat.
Mecca [aka “Makkah”, not Makaka] is at the intersection of latitude 21 to 25 degree north and longitude 39 to 49 degree east. [Amazing whatcha can learn on the web...]
Even though this building—or its predecessors—has been referred to even before Christian times, it seems to have gone through massive changes over the last fifty years. This photo is labeled as “50 years ago.”
This photo is current, and apparently taken during Hajj:
More interesting tidbits:
...before Muhammed was born, the moon god “al-Ilah” (Allah) had three daughters named al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat. The first two were even named after their father. Each daughter had a separate shrine near Mecca, where Allah’s shrine was located.
As Muhammad grew weary from evangelizing his new religion with little success, he was tricked by the devil into adding a verse in the Koran that commanded Muslims to pray to Allah’s three pagan daughters Lat, Uzza and Manat. The pagan female trinity was immediately accepted without dissent and the passage was considered part of the revealed Koran. However some time later, Muhammad got a revelation from God that the verse should be removed. After repenting of the error, Muhammad was comforted by God.
Here is how the Koran once read with the satanic verses:
Near it is the Garden of Abode. Behold, the Lote-tree was shrouded (in mystery unspeakable!) (His) sight never swerved, nor did it go wrong! For truly did he see, of the Signs of his Lord, the Greatest! Have ye seen Lat. and ‘Uzza, And another, the third (goddess), Manat?
[Words of Satan:] These are the exalted cranes (intermediaries) Whose intercession is to be hoped for.
What! for you the male sex, and for Him, the female? Behold, such would be indeed a division most unfair! (an-Najm 53:19-22)
(Tabari, Annals 1.1192-1193 = Tabari vi: 108-109)
[Before Mohammed] ...At Mekka, Allah was the chief of the gods and the special deity of the Quraish, the prophet’s tribe. Allah had three daughters: Al Uzzah (Venus) most revered of all and pleased with human sacrifice; Manah, the goddess of destiny, and Al Lat, the goddess of vegetable life.
“When the Messenger of God saw how his tribe [the Quraish] turned their backs on him and was grieved to see them shunning the message he had brought to them from God, he longed in his soul that something would come to him from God that would reconcile him with his tribe. With his love for his tribe and his eagerness for their welfare, it would have delighted him if some of the difficulties which they made for him could have been smoothed, and he debated with himself and fervently desired such an outcome. Then God revealed (Sura 53) ... and when he came to the words “Have you thought al-Lat and al-Uzza and Manat, the third, the other?” (VV. 19-20) Satan cast on his tongue, because of his inner debates and what he desired to bring to his people, the words: “These are the high-flying cranes; verily their intercession is to be hoped for.” When the Quraysh heard this, they rejoiced and were happy and delighted at the way in which he had spoken of their gods, and they listened to him, while the Muslims, having complete trust in their Prophet with respect of the message which he brought from God, did not suspect him of error, illusion or mistake. When he came to the prostration, having completed the Sura, he prostrated himself and the Muslims did likewise.... The polytheists of the Quraysh and others who were in the mosque [that is, the Meccan Haram] likewise prostrated themselves because of the reference to their gods which they heard, so that there was no one in the mosque, believer or unbeliever, who did not prostrate himself ... Then they all dispersed from the mosque. The Quraysh left delighted at the mention of their gods."
Damn Your Eyes!
and your children’s eyes before you
Technology developed to keep track of prisoners by scanning their irises became available Thursday to identify missing children or elderly people afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease in Galveston County. ...Children’s Identification Database, or CHILD Project. ...part of an effort to image the irises of 5 million children into a nationwide database over the next few years ...1,800 sheriff’s departments representing 46 states who have committed to participating, ...in 26 states ...
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Thank you, John!
Nancy got nuttin’ on you, pal
Kirk Shelmerdine, a former pit boss for the late Dale Earnhardt, has been an unsuccessful, underfunded and undersponsored driver. He has never finished higher than 26th.
So back in 2004, in a move perhaps designed to draw some attention to his car, he placed a “Bush-Cheney ‘04” decal on his rear quarter panel, which was otherwise unencumbered by advertising. Democratic activist Sydnor Thompson complained to the FEC, and the agency found that Shelmerdine “may have made an unreported independent expenditure or a prohibited corporate expenditure.”
Former commissioner Bradley Smith dissented in one of the case’s early votes and blogged about the result this week. He has written that in reference to the FEC’s $250 expenditure limit, “evidence is strong that the market value of Shelmerdine’s rear quarter panel was approximately $0, give or take $249.”
...In a decision announced Tuesday, the FEC sent an “admonishment letter” to Kirk Shelmerdine Racing.
Yeesh…
Happy IED!
Eid… whatever
From standing pile of steaming shiite suni to just another swingin’ dick-tater.
"Quaaaaagmire!!"
the many-headed serpent
...Inside Mogadishu, elements of Islamic Courts militia threw in the towel. In four Mogadishu neighborhood, the Islamic Courts have transferred their weapons over to pro-Transitional Federal Government clans. “Islamist officials told their militiamen to leave the barracks and return to civilian life. Witnesses reported seeing young Islamist fighters change to civilian attire and walk away with personal weapons, such as the AK-47,” reports Garowe.
“personal weapons”?
...the ICU is calling on all the Islamic fighters in whereever they are in Somalia to secure the stability and get ready in the police stations and other security stations.
Like fightin’ crab grass…
Tent Revival
Tent Revival
a tale of sheeps’ clothing and camels’ noses...
“Muslims, you’re up to bat right now...” [Detroit native Keith Ellison] said. “How do you know that you were not brought right here to this place to learn how to make this world better? How do you know that Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala,” (meaning praised and exalted is he) “did not bring you here so that you could understand how to teach people what tolerance was, what justice was?… How do you know that you’re not here to teach this country?” ..."You can’t back down, you can’t chicken out, you can’t be afraid, you got to have faith in Allah, and you got to stand up and be a real Muslim,”
..."Allahu akbar” ... was the reply of many in the crowd.
The convention, which ends today, drew more than 3,000 Muslims from across the country for an event aimed at revival and reform. It featured workshops and panels on a range of topics from civil rights to politics to how to spread Islam in the U.S. ...
“On Jan. 4, I will go swear an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States. I’ll place my hand on the Quran,” Ellison said while placing his hand on the lectern, to loud applause and cries of “Allahu akbar.”
He urged Muslims to thank God for testing them over the past several weeks. “Before you begin to think that some hardship has befallen you, you need to stop and thank Allah,” Ellison said. “Because this controversy has...made people dust off their Constitution and actually read it.”
...the annual convention of two Muslim groups, the Muslim American Society [MAS]and the Islamic Circle of North America [ICNA].
The Muslim Brotherhood is a key chapter in any story about the struggle for the soul of Islam. Formed in Egypt in 1928, the Brotherhood spawned generations of Islamic activists, both peaceful and violent, around the globe. It is the most influential Islamic fundamentalist organization in the world.
Wait… 1928? Because of fuuuuture Israeli “occupation?”
...the international Brotherhood preaches that religion and politics cannot be separated and that governments eventually should be Islamic. The group also champions martyrdom and jihad, or holy war, as a means of self-defense and has provided the philosophical underpinnings for Muslim militants worldwide. ...[Ikhwan—the Arabic term for Brothers or Brotherhood]
...The Brotherhood slogan became “Allah is our goal; the Messenger is our model; the Koran is our constitution; jihad is our means; and martyrdom in the way of Allah is our aspiration.”
...The group’s ideological voice became philosopher Sayyid Qutb, who abhorred Western values and believed the Koran justified violence to overthrow un-Islamic governments.
...A U.S. chapter of the Brotherhood, documents and interviews show, was formed in the early 1960s after hundreds of young Muslims came to the U.S. to study, particularly at large Midwestern universities, such as Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. Some belonged to the Brotherhood in their homelands and wanted to spread its ideology here.
The group had a carefully detailed strategy on how to find and evaluate potential members, according to a Brotherhood instructional booklet for recruiters.
Leaders would scout mosques, Islamic classes and Muslim organizations for those with orthodox religious beliefs consistent with Brotherhood views, the booklet says. The leaders then would invite them to join a small prayer group, or usra, Arabic for “family.” The prayer groups were a defining feature of the Brotherhood and one created by al-Banna in Egypt.
...Leaders were told that during prayer meetings they should focus on fundamentals, including “the primary goal of the Brotherhood: setting up the rule of God upon the Earth.”
...membership “is not a personal honor but a charge to sacrifice all that one has for the sake of raising the banner of Islam.”
... U.S. Brotherhood [has] a plan for achieving Islamic rule in America: ...convert Americans to Islam and elect like-minded Muslims to political office.
...Members were required to pay 3 percent of their income per year, with the money going to travel, books and annual conferences…
a long-standing Brotherhood belief: First you change the person, then the family, then the community, then the nation.
... Muslim Youth of North America, which attempted to draw thousands of high school students to Islam by sponsoring soccer teams, providing scholarships and offering a line of clothing.
...North American Islamic Trust, a group that helped build and preserve mosques.
...The Islamic Society of North America, the umbrella group for the Muslim Youth of North America and the Muslim Students Association....In recent years, the U.S. Brotherhood operated under the name Muslim American Society, according to documents and interviews. One of the nation’s major Islamic groups, it was incorporated in Illinois in 1993 after a contentious debate among Brotherhood members.
Some wanted the Brotherhood to remain underground, while others thought a more public face would make the group more influential.
...MAS, like the Brotherhood, believes in the teachings of Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna, which are “the closest reflection of how Islam should be in this life.”
...to be an “active” member--the highest membership class--one must complete five years of Muslim community service and education, which includes studying writings by Brotherhood ideologues al-Banna and Qutb.
...It also set up Islamic American University, largely a correspondence school with an office in suburban Detroit, to train teachers and preachers.
Until 18 months ago, the university’s chairman was Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a prominent cleric in Qatar and a spiritual figure of the Brotherhood who has angered many in the West by praising suicide bombers in Israel and Iraq.
...Part of the Chicago chapter’s Web site is devoted to teens. It includes reading materials that say Muslims have a duty to help form Islamic governments worldwide and should be prepared to take up arms to do so.
One passage states that “until the nations of the world have functionally Islamic governments, every individual who is careless or lazy in working for Islam is sinful.” Another one says that Western secularism and materialism are evil and that Muslims should “pursue this evil force to its own lands” and “invade its Western heartland.”
...The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt more than seven decades ago, is among the most powerful political forces in the Islamic world today.
1928: The Muslim Brotherhood is formed in Egypt by Hassan al-Banna to promote a return to fundamental Islamic beliefs and practices and to fight Western colonialism in the Islamic world.
Late 1930s: The Brotherhood starts forming affiliated chapters in Palestine, Lebanon and Syria.
1948: The Brotherhood is implicated in the assassination of Egyptian Prime Minister Mahmud Nuqrashi, who had banned the group. Al-Banna denies involvement.
1949: The Egyptian government retaliates for Nuqrashi’s assassination by killing al-Banna.
1954: A Brotherhood member tries to assassinate Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and fails. Nasser executes several of the group’s leaders and incarcerates thousands of its followers.
1962: The Cultural Society is created as the first Brotherhood organization in the United States. Society members help establish numerous Islamic organizations, mosques and schools.
1966: Sayyid Qutb, a Brotherhood ideologue who urged Muslims to take up arms against non-Islamic governments, is executed by Nasser’s regime.
1982: In Hamah, Syria, at least 10,000 people are killed by government troops suppressing an uprising by the Brotherhood.
1993: The Muslim American Society, initially based in Illinois and now in Virginia, is created to be a more public face of the Brotherhood in the U.S.
2001: The U.S. names Brotherhood member Youssef Nada and his Swissbased investment network, allegedly established with backing from the Brotherhood, as terrorist financiers. Nada denies any terrorist links.
2002: Tens of thousands of Brotherhood supporters fill the streets of Cairo during a funeral for group leader Mustafa Mashhour on Nov. 15.
2003: U.S. authorities investigating alleged terrorism funding describe Virginia businessman Soliman Biheiri as the Brotherhood’s “financial toehold” in the U.S. Biheiri denies any terrorist links.
2004: The Egyptian government rounds up dozens of Brotherhood supporters, freezes members’ assets and ousts one of its backers from parliament.
ICNA at Expose the Networks [which is a member organization of the United for Peace and Justice anti-war coalition]
Syed Qtub’s Milestone
MAS at Expose the Networks
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
R.I.P.
Friday, December 22, 2006
Conundrum
now they got us coming and going… and going and coming… and always too soon...
Cute kid - right. So ok—he’s a little SCA-geeky. C’mon—who among us blablabla. At least he ain’t blue, yanno?
This is what he wanted to use as his Senior Picture in the yearbook. But, uh oh—apparently it runs “afoul of [the school’s] zero-tolerance weapons policy.”
*cough*it’s a picture—a piece of paper, yanno, not an actual weapon, fellas*cough*
“Students wielding weapons is just not consistent with our existing policies or the mission of the school," said Robert Littlefield, the principal. “I think the picture speaks for itself."
The policy of pussifying feminizing students into passive little geldings? Yeah—that one.
But wait! The school mascot is a Revolutionary War soldier carrying a *gahsp* rifle.
"That’s an entirely different issue,” Mr. Littlefield said. “I don’t think anybody could reasonably construe a cartoon depiction of a soldier from 250 years ago as a threat to our educational environment."
Conversely, a photo depicting a soldier from 1,250 years ago is incredible danger beyond belief.
For years now, the Marxist Acculturation Squad has been screeching like gibbons under a flame broiler to herd us into an “educational enviiironment” where any actual child-like, creative, or exploratory behavior is met with punishment swift and cruel. Particularly aided and abetted by outfits like the ACLU.
But Hark! What do my wondering ears hear? Riding to the rescue of this poor stifled Senior: the ACLU.
The school has offered to let [the student] buy a yearbook ad showing the photo. . By itself, that takes the whole situation into the surreal, the [ACLU] said.
No kiddin’. I mean - ya try to have an adult conversation with some folks and they just go and get silly. {aww cheeze!! I just **agreed** with the ACLf’nU! aaarrgh!! What next?!? carp in Santa hats??!!}
Hokay, Sure. On one hand, the school has the right to choose any dam thing they do or do not want to publish. Less so than a private school; but still.
On the other hand, “zero tolerance” policies, created to fend off ACLU lawsuits and avoid any necessity whatsoever for anyone, anywhere to be forced at any time to make any type of actual decision in any way, are just plain dumb.
On the Gripping Hand, if I am forced to share position with the ACLU *ptui* I’m afraid my tethers to reality might come loose—along with my fillings.
So what is this: Backswing? Blowback? Pendulum swing? Diversion? Confusion? Confounder?
a little people,...
a silly people, greedy, barbarous, and cruel...
A 17 year old boy was admitted to a hospital with extreme pain and swelling in the groin. When sent for an ultrasound, a veiled woman radiologist Dr. K. Aribag refused to administer the test and told the patient to return the next day. The young man was disappointed for a second time when the second doctor turned out to be another veiled female doctor who also refused to treat him, due to the Islamic ban on touching a man’s body. Finally, after the Chief Physician was involved and a male radiologist was found, the young man underwent an emergency surgery, but lost a testical due to the delays.
chilling.
Hey Hillary
Al called for you
The third thing I wish to talk about is a message to the Democrats in America.
I tell them: you must realize two facts.
The first is that you aren’t the ones who won the midterm elections, nor are the Republicans the ones who lost: rather, the Mujahideen – the Muslim Ummah’s vanguard in Afghanistan and Iraq – are the ones who won, and the American forces and their Crusader allies are the ones who lost.
The second fact is that the Mujahideen are still – by the grace of Allah – in the field, their weapons with which they fell the Democrats are still ready and aimed, and the Mujahideen won’t stop inflicting losses on you until you leave our lands, stop plundering our treasures, and stop backing the corrupt rulers in our countries.
And if you don’t refrain from the foolish American policy of backing Israel, occupying the lands of Islam, and stealing the treasures of the Muslims, then await the same fate.
You must realize that a new period of world history has begun. The period of the offspring of Abd al-Aziz Al-Sa’ud, the grandsons of the Sharif Husayn and Sadat, Mubarak and Arafat has passed, and the period of Khalid Islambouli, Abdullah Azzam, Abu Hafs the Commander, Khattab, Muhammad Atta, Muhammad Siddique Khan, and Shehzad Tanwir (Allah have mercy on them) has begun. And if you are unable to comprehend this transformation, then blame no one but yourselves.
Depart from our lands and stop supporting the corrupt rulers, and don’t prevent the Muslim Ummah from establishing its legitimate Shura state accountable to it.
And I tell both the Republicans and Democrats: you are attempting in panic to find a way out of the disasters which surround you in Iraq and Afghanistan, but you are still thinking with the same idiotic mentality. Thus you try to negotiate with certain parties to secure your departure, although these parties don’t have a way out for you, and your attempts will only succeed in further frustrating you, Allah willing, because you aren’t negotiating with the real powers in the Islamic world. And it appears that you shall embark on a painful journey of failed negotiations, after which you shall come back – Allah permitting – with no other choice but to negotiate with the real powers.
And I tell them: Bush reflects the level of thought of the American nation, despite all the research centers, specialists, thinkers and historians it has. A nation which chooses Bush as its president is a nation of negligible morals, ideology and intellect. And it suffices to take a look at his recent meeting with the beggar al-Maliki in Amman, and the differences and disputes which permeated it and blew up in public despite their strong need to project it as a successful meeting.
The fourth thing I wish to talk about is a message to the American people. I say to them: you only realized the failure of the administration and toppled the Republicans’ candidates after the Mujahideen slaughtered you, and you didn’t listen to the voice of morality, justice, principles and intellect. And the Mujahideen’s weapons continue to be raised and aimed, by the grace of Allah.
The formula for your safety is “You shall never dream of security until we truly experience it in Palestine and all lands of Islam,” and not the fallacious formula with which Bush deceives you when he says, “We strike the terrorists in their countries so that they don’t strike us in ours.” On the contrary: if we are struck in our countries, we shall never stop striking you in your countries, with Allah’s power and permission.
And as our commander, Shaykh Usama bin Ladin (may Allah preserve him) told you, “As you bomb, you will be bombed, and as you kill, you will be killed.”
Some analysis from Powerline and Stratfor. Full text here.
Bohica: “I hope they are sooooo proud.”
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Whatcha doooo-in'?
from Claire’s Secret World
THIS!
Monday, December 18, 2006
It's a honor to be nominated!
It’s a honor to be nominated!
shootin’ for dead last—think I can hack the grade?
The gents at Gay Patriot have opened voting for Conservative Blogress Diva and *I*’ve been nominated! *bats eyelashes*
Drop on by and look around—they’re gay, they’re conservative and they can write! Oh - and drop me a vote while yer there, eh?
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{/if}
