Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Breaking Good News: U.S. Court Grants Asylum to Mosab Yousef 'Son of Hamas'
From Haaretz.com:
"The son of a Hamas strongman, who had provided Israel's security establishment with valuable inside information for almost a decade, will not be deported from the United States, a California court ruled on Wednesday.
The U.S. Department of Homeland of Security ruled more than a year ago that Mosab Hassan Yousef should be denied asylum because he has "engaged in terrorist activity" and is a "danger to the security of the United States."
However, on Wednesday Homeland Security officials indicated they were prepared to grant Yousef asylum, thus retracting their original intention, after claiming to have received new information which shed new light on the case.
The pro-Israel think-tank EMET, who had aided Yusef in his attempts to be granted asylum, said in a statement following Wednesday's ruling that they were "enormously grateful to all those who played a part in standing with Mosab during this time, and helping the Department of Homeland Security come to understand what a grave error deporting Mosab would have been."
The 32-year-old son of one of Hamas' founders, whose story was first exposed by Haaretz earlier in the year, argued before Judge Rico Bartolomei at the San Diego court that he will be killed if he is deported because he spied on the militant group for the Shin Bet security's intelligence agency for a decade and abandoned Islam for Christianity.
"For 10 years, he fought terrorism in secret, hiding what he was doing and who he was," his attorney, Steven Seick, wrote in a court filing. "He deserves a safe place away from violence and fear."
The deportation hearing came four months after Yousef published memoirs that say he was one of Shin Bet's best assets and was dubbed "The Green Prince," a reference to his Hamas pedigree and the Islamists' signature green color.
The Department of Homeland of Security called Yousef a terrorist danger when it denied him asylum in February 2009. In court documents provided to The Associated Press by Yousef's attorney, the department says he "discusses his extensive involvement with Hamas in great detail" in his recent memoir.
Yousef says his intelligence work for Israel required him to do anything he could to learn about Hamas and that neither he nor Israel knew they were suspects in the suicide bombing when he gave them rides.
"Yes, while working for Israeli intelligence, I posed as a terrorist," he wrote on his blog last month. "Yes, I carried a gun. Yes, I was in terrorist meetings with Yassir Arafat, my father and other Hamas leaders. It was part of my job."
Yousef has rallied support from members of Congress and others. Former CIA Director James Woolsey calls him a "remarkable young man" who should be commended for "extraordinary heroism and courage."
Israel has not commented on Yousef's claims, though members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee wrote him this month to thank him and recognize his work for Shin Bet.
His attorney said Shin Bet will not have a representative address the immigration judge, but the now-retired officer who recruited and supervised him, Gonen Ben-Itzhak, is expected to testify.
In his book, Yousef describes growing up admiring Hamas and hating Israel, leading him to buy a couple machine guns and a handgun in 1996. He said the guns didn't work and that he was arrested by Israeli forces before he killed anyone.
Yousef says he started working with Shin Bet after witnessing Hamas brutalities in prison that left him disillusioned. He gravitated toward Christianity after his release in 1997, joining a Christian study group after a chance encounter with a British tourist at the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem.
Yousef says he joined his father, Sheik Hassan Yousef, at many meetings with Palestinian leaders and reported them to Shin Bet. His father, a senior Hamas leader who is serving a six-year sentence in an Israeli prison, disowned him in March.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Elena Kagan's Abortion Distortion
The documents involved date from the Clinton White House. They show Miss Kagan’s willingness to manipulate medical science to fit the Democratic party’s political agenda on the hot-button issue of abortion. As such, they reflect poorly on both the author and the president who nominated her to the Supreme Court.
There is no better example of this distortion of science than the language the United States Supreme Court cited in striking down Nebraska’s ban on partial-birth abortion in 2000. This language purported to come from a “select panel” of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), a supposedly nonpartisan physicians’ group. ACOG declared that the partial-birth-abortion procedure “may be the best or most appropriate procedure in a particular circumstance to save the life or preserve the health of a woman.” The Court relied on the ACOG statement as a key example of medical opinion supporting the abortion method.
Years later, when President Bush signed a federal partial-birth-abortion ban (something President Clinton had vetoed), the ACOG official policy statement was front and center in the attack on the legislation. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Kopf, one of the three federal judges that issued orders enjoining the federal ban (later overturned by the Supreme Court), devoted more than 15 pages of his lengthy opinion to ACOG’s policy statement and the integrity of the process that led to it.
Like the Supreme Court majority in the prior dispute over the Nebraska ban, Judge Kopf asserted that the ACOG policy statement was entitled to judicial deference because it was the result of an inscrutable collaborative process among expert medical professionals. “Before and during the task force meeting,” he concluded, “neither ACOG nor the task force members conversed with other individuals or organizations, including congressmen and doctors who provided congressional testimony, concerning the topics addressed” in the ACOG statement.
In other words, what medical science has pronounced, let no court dare question. The problem is that the critical language of the ACOG statement was not drafted by scientists and doctors. Rather, it was inserted into ACOG’s policy statement at the suggestion of then–Clinton White House policy adviser Elena Kagan.
The task force’s initial draft statement did not include the statement that the controversial abortion procedure “might be” the best method “in a particular circumstance.” Instead, it said that the select ACOG panel “could identify no circumstances under which this procedure . . . would be the only option to save the life or preserve the health of the woman.” CONTINUED
Partial-Birth Abortion Illustrated Video
UPDATE: Mind Numbed Robot gives us great insight into why the GOP must filibuster Kagan.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Raid on Catholic Church in Belgium is Flashback to Gestapo Era
Bill Donahue said:
It looks as though the Belgian police took a page from the Gestapo playbook and executed it to the tee. The police detained the present bishops for over nine hours while they snooped high and low—even going so far as to drill into the tombs of two deceased cardinals—trying to get any thing they could to indict the Belgian Church.
Recently the Belgian bishops created a committee to investigate claims of priestly sexual abuse, but this mattered not a whit to the Belgian government. They barged into the offices anyway. While police do have the right to conduct a search, so long as it is warranted, this seizure smacks of an agenda."
From Bloomberg: The Vatican said it was indignant about a Belgian police raid of the graves of two archbishops in an investigation of suspected pedophiles among the clergy.
The Vatican voiced “astonishment over how the searches were carried out yesterday by Belgian judicial authorities and its indignation over the violation of the graves,” said a statement today by the office of the Secretary of State.
Belgian police raided the principal seat of the Roman Catholic Church in Belgium, the residence of the Archbishop of Malines in Mechelen, according to a statement released by the Belgian Bishops’ Conference. The police search lasted from 10:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m., the statement said.
“No explanation was given, but all documents and mobile phones were confiscated and it was referred that nobody could leave the building,” the bishops’ statement said. “It was not a pleasant experience.”
Belgian’s longest-serving bishop, Roger Vangheluwe, resigned in April after admitting to sexually molesting a boy about two decades ago. He was the first senior Catholic official in Belgium to resign in a scandal that has implicated priests in nations including the U.S., Germany, Ireland and Italy. The graves of Cardinals Jozef-Ernest Van Roey and Leon-Joseph Suenens were searched yesterday by Belgian authorities.
Pope Benedict XVI, 83, on June 11 publicly asked for “forgiveness” from victims of sex-abuse crimes committed by Catholic priests and promised to do “everything possible” to shield children from pedophile clerics.
Jean-Marc Meilleur, spokesman for the Brussels prosecutor’s office, didn’t return a voice message left on his mobile phone seeking comment.
This is deplorable and inexcusable!! I am all for getting to the truth of the priest sex abuse scandals but this is out of line, way over the top. This does smell like the police had an agenda, and it wasn't merely getting at the truth -- getting justice for those abused. The Belgian police clearly has a vendetta against the Catholic Church. This is inexcusable and Pope Benedict XVI has a right to be saddened over this and to call the raids "Surprising and deplorable".
From Zenit: Pope Benedict XVI sent this letter to Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard of Malines-Brussels:
In this sad moment I would like to express my particular nearness and solidarity with you, dear brother in the episcopate, and with all the bishops of the Church in Belgium, in the wake of the surprising and deplorable manner in which the searches were carried out in the cathedral of Malines and the place where the Belgian episcopate was gathered in a plenary session that, among other things, was also to have treated matters connected with the abuse of minors by members of the clergy.
Many times I myself have stressed that these grave deeds must be dealt with by the civil and canonical orders, with respect to their reciprocal specificity and autonomy. In this sense I desire that justice take its course, with a guarantee for the fundamental rights of persons and institutions, in respect to the victims, in recognition without prejudice of those who are committed to cooperate with it and in the rejection of all that casts a shadow on the noble work assigned to it.
Assuring that I accompany the journey of this Church daily in prayer, I very gladly convey my affectionate Apostolic Benediction.
There is a right way at getting at the truth regarding the priest sex abuse scandals and this isn't the right way to go about finding out the truth. The Belgian police vandalized or violated graves. That is just sacreligious. Let us keep all those who have been sexually abused in our thoughts and prayers.
Iraq's WMD Moved to Syria?
It looks like my theorizing about Iraq's WMD's being moved before the U.S. invasion of Iraq and as to their whereabouts are turning out to be correct.
Ha’aretz has revived the mystery surrounding the inability to find weapons of mass destruction stockpiles in Iraq, the most commonly cited justification for Operation Iraqi Freedom and one of the most embarrassing episodes for the United States. Satellite photos of a suspicious site in Syria are providing new support for the reporting of a Syrian journalist who briefly rocked the world with his reporting that Iraq’s WMD had been sent to three sites in Syria just before the invasion commenced.
The newspaper reveals that a 200 square-kilometer area in northwestern Syria has been photographed by satellites at the request of a Western intelligence agency at least 16 times, the most recent being taken in January. The site is near Masyaf, and it has at least five installations and hidden paths leading underneath the mountains. This supports the reporting of Nizar Nayouf, an award-winning Syrian journalist who said in 2004 that his sources confirmed that Saddam Hussein’s WMDs were in Syria.
One of the three specific sites he mentioned was an underground base underneath Al-Baida, which is one kilometer south of Masyaf. This is a perfect match. The suspicious features in the photos and the fact that a Western intelligence agency is so interested in the site support Nayouf’s reporting, showing that his sources in Syria did indeed have access to specific information about secret activity that is likely WMD-related. Richard Radcliffe, one of my co-writers at WorldThreats.com, noticed that Masyaf is located on a road that goes from Hamah, where there is an airfield sufficient to handle relatively large aircraft, into Lebanon and the western side of the Bekaa Valley, another location said to house Iraqi weapons. CONTINUED
The man who served as the no. 2 official in Saddam Hussein's air force says Iraq moved weapons of mass destruction into Syria before the war by loading the weapons into civilian aircraft in which the passenger seats were removed.
The Iraqi general, Georges Sada, makes the charges in a new book, "Saddam's Secrets," released this week. He detailed the transfers in an interview yesterday with The New York Sun.
"There are weapons of mass destruction gone out from Iraq to Syria, and they must be found and returned to safe hands," Mr. Sada said. "I am confident they were taken over."
Mr. Sada's comments come just more than a month after Israel's top general during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Moshe Yaalon, told the Sun that Saddam "transferred the chemical agents from Iraq to Syria."
CONTINUED
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Secularism Encroaches on Freedom of Religion
(CNA News).- "In an exclusive interview obtained by CNA, Dr. John Haas of the National Catholic Bioethics Center asked Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington D.C. about some of the issues facing the Church in the “contemporary context.” In his reply, Archbishop Wuerl spoke about the role of and need for religious freedom in society, a role which is dramatically changing."
Phil Cooke points out how in America free speech is being stifled in the world of science. F.R. points out how the Supreme Court has infringed on our freedom of religion while allowing secularism to run rapant, pretty much unchallenged and unfetttered in our society while freedom of religious expression has been severely restricted and limited to approved areas in our society.
The Jeremiah Project points out several cases where encroaching secularism has violated our freedom of religious expression.
In Our Schools...
Freedom of speech and press is guaranteed to students unless the topic is religious, at which time such speech becomes unconstitutional. [Stein vs. Oshinski, 1965; Collins v. Chandler Unified School district, 644 F. 2d 759, 760 (9th Cir. 1981).]
Remove student prayer: "Prayer in its public school system breaches the constitutional wall of separation between Church and State." [Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421, 425 (1962).] On June 26, 1962, the Supreme Court bans the New York State school prayer, "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our country."
It is unconstitutional for students to hear prayers of the Chaplain of the U.S. House or Senate. [State Board of Ed. vs. Board of Ed. of Netcong, 1970]
Remove benedictions and invocations from school activities: "Religious invocation...in high school commencement exercise conveyed message that district had given its endorsement to prayer and religion, so that school district was properly [prohibited] from including invocation in commencement exercise." [Graham v. Central Community School Distict of Decatur County, 608 F. Supp. 531, 536 (W.D.N.Y. 1985; Kay by Disselbrett v. Douglas School District 719 F. 2d 875 (or. Ct. App. 1986; Jager v. Douglas, 862 F. 2d 824, 825 (11th Cir. 1989).]
If a voluntary, nondenominational prayer is coercive, what would you call the left indoctrination that has become the staple of modern pedagogy, from condom distribution to AIDS education to multiculturalism to Earth worship?
Prayer before athletic events is unconstitutional. [Jager vs Douglas, 1989]
In Our Court Rooms...
Remove the Ten Commandments from view: "If the posted copies of the Ten Commandments are to have any effect at all, it will be to induce the schoolchildren to read, meditate upon, perhaps to venerate and obey, the commandments...this...is not a permissible state objective under the Establishment Clause...The mere posting of the copies [of the Ten Commandments]...the [First Amendment] prohibits." [Stone v. Gramm, 449 U.S. 39, 42 (1980).]
The ACLU has filed suit against Etowah County Circuit Judge Roy S. Moore asking that prayer be banned from his chamber and that he be ordered to remove a copy of the Ten Commandments from the wall above his bench. [Birmingham News/Birmingham Post-Herald, April 1, 1995.]
In California and Pennsylvania, prosecutors were banned from referring to the Bible in state courtrooms. [Pat Robertson, newsletter, March 1993.]
In the Public Square...
The city of Vienna, Virginia put up a secular Christmas scene alongside a nativity scene to avoid trouble. But that wasn't good enough for the ACLU, who filed suit, won, and had the nativity scene removed. Intimidated by the ACLU, city leaders asked the Vienna city chorus to sing only secular songs at the Christmas program. To its credit, the chorus refused. Now the city has dropped the program altogether. [D. James Kennedy, Coral Ridge Ministries newsletter, October 31, 1994]
More here
Phil Cooke points out how in America free speech is being stifled in the world of science. F.R. points out how the Supreme Court has infringed on our freedom of religion while allowing secularism to run rapant, pretty much unchallenged and unfetttered in our society while freedom of religious expression has been severely restricted and limited to approved areas in our society.
The Jeremiah Project points out several cases where encroaching secularism has violated our freedom of religious expression.
In Our Schools...
Freedom of speech and press is guaranteed to students unless the topic is religious, at which time such speech becomes unconstitutional. [Stein vs. Oshinski, 1965; Collins v. Chandler Unified School district, 644 F. 2d 759, 760 (9th Cir. 1981).]
Remove student prayer: "Prayer in its public school system breaches the constitutional wall of separation between Church and State." [Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421, 425 (1962).] On June 26, 1962, the Supreme Court bans the New York State school prayer, "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our country."
It is unconstitutional for students to hear prayers of the Chaplain of the U.S. House or Senate. [State Board of Ed. vs. Board of Ed. of Netcong, 1970]
Remove benedictions and invocations from school activities: "Religious invocation...in high school commencement exercise conveyed message that district had given its endorsement to prayer and religion, so that school district was properly [prohibited] from including invocation in commencement exercise." [Graham v. Central Community School Distict of Decatur County, 608 F. Supp. 531, 536 (W.D.N.Y. 1985; Kay by Disselbrett v. Douglas School District 719 F. 2d 875 (or. Ct. App. 1986; Jager v. Douglas, 862 F. 2d 824, 825 (11th Cir. 1989).]
If a voluntary, nondenominational prayer is coercive, what would you call the left indoctrination that has become the staple of modern pedagogy, from condom distribution to AIDS education to multiculturalism to Earth worship?
Prayer before athletic events is unconstitutional. [Jager vs Douglas, 1989]
In Our Court Rooms...
Remove the Ten Commandments from view: "If the posted copies of the Ten Commandments are to have any effect at all, it will be to induce the schoolchildren to read, meditate upon, perhaps to venerate and obey, the commandments...this...is not a permissible state objective under the Establishment Clause...The mere posting of the copies [of the Ten Commandments]...the [First Amendment] prohibits." [Stone v. Gramm, 449 U.S. 39, 42 (1980).]
The ACLU has filed suit against Etowah County Circuit Judge Roy S. Moore asking that prayer be banned from his chamber and that he be ordered to remove a copy of the Ten Commandments from the wall above his bench. [Birmingham News/Birmingham Post-Herald, April 1, 1995.]
In California and Pennsylvania, prosecutors were banned from referring to the Bible in state courtrooms. [Pat Robertson, newsletter, March 1993.]
In the Public Square...
The city of Vienna, Virginia put up a secular Christmas scene alongside a nativity scene to avoid trouble. But that wasn't good enough for the ACLU, who filed suit, won, and had the nativity scene removed. Intimidated by the ACLU, city leaders asked the Vienna city chorus to sing only secular songs at the Christmas program. To its credit, the chorus refused. Now the city has dropped the program altogether. [D. James Kennedy, Coral Ridge Ministries newsletter, October 31, 1994]
More here
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
Setting a Liberal Straight About the Tea Party Movement
"It would be comforting if a clear political diagnosis of the Tea Party movement were available — if we knew precisely what political events had inspired the fierce anger that pervades its meetings and rallies, what policy proposals its backers advocate, and, most obviously, what political ideals and values are orienting its members."
It is clear that he makes no effort or very little effort to understand the Tea Party movement, and the reasons for the participants' anger because if he really wanted to find out the movement's core princples all he had to do was perform a simple google search and he would have located multiple sites which state the basic political philosphy and/or the core princples of the Tea Party movement.
On TeaPartyPatriots.org one can easily find out that the three core principles of the Tea Party movement are: fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government, and free markets. At TeaParty.org, the movement also calls awareness to any issue that challenges the security, sovereignty, or domestic tranquility of our nation, the United States of America. In addition, the TeaPartyPatriots.org website clearly states that the Tea Party movement adheres to principles of personal responsibility, national sovereignty, and The Rule of Law. The site also shows Glenn Beck's 9 Principles and 12 values to follow for the 9-12 movement which were created to help guide the Tea Party movement.
He clearly believes in a metaphysical collectivism and has an infatuation with the collective. He believes in handing over more power to the federal government, and is willing to cede individuals' decision-making abilities and indivdual responsibilities to the government, and is willing to give up individual freedom and liberty so that we can be indebted to an all knowing God-like central government. Tea Partiers believe in the opposite. Tea Party members want to return a more decentralized government, curb the spending, reduce the deficit, and to have more individual freedom and liberty and not rely on the government to make certain decisions for us. We believe in the right to bear arms and protect ourselves from harm whereas big government types who rely on laws and the police, rely on an institution to protect them, meanwhile calling 911 may not be enough to save a life or lives. We do not believe in restrictive laws that give the state even more power over our lives. We believe in common sense laws and returning a sense of morality back to our society. Without God their can be no return to a civil moral society.
I am inclined to believe that this author is for the health care law and having the government decide what medical procedures are necessary or not, rationing in order to save costs while Tea Party folks would rather keep our health care between us and our doctors, leave the decision making as to what is medically necessary up to our doctors, and we would rather spend more for quality health care and have much less rationing than occurs under centralized governents or with socialist health care. Liberals seem to think having 350 million people on socialist government health care is going to be the same as having 100 million on medicare, medicaid, other federal programs for our military and federal employees. In addition, many individuals on medicare have an extra private supplemental insurance because government insurance (medicare) is not enough to cover certain procedures and the costs of medical care. Big government policies and rampant corruption within Fannie and Freddie caused the financial crisis. Liberal compassion consisted of forcing the Community Reinvestment Act down the bankers' throats to hand out loans to people who evidently couldn't afford to pay their mortgages which is what caused this financial crisis. Government trying to enforce compassion via legislation is what causes persons insurmountable heartache and ruins lives.
Would this guy be upset if he asked his spouse to fix something, his spouse ignored him repeateedly, the problem worsened over a period of several months, then refused to fix the issue, and purposefully made the issue worse since she disagreed with how to solve the issue?
If you replace the spouse with the government and the guy with the American people, replace several months with 20 years and that explains and justifies the Tea Party's anger. Tea Party is directed at how the government has ignored citizens' concerns for many years. There has been an expansion of government control, and our government has exacerbated problems over the years while citizens' concerns have fallen on deaf years, and politicians have even blasted full speed ahead in the opposite direction than we the people consent to so we have every right to be angry.
The three branches of the government have undergone a metamorphosis and morphed into far reaching tentacles that has spread like a horrible disease infecting the United States. Liberals want our government to mirror European-style socialist government while our Founders instituted a Constitutional Republic to avoid a centralized government type of government like that of Europe that would greatly reduce citizens' freedom. Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence which proclaims that all men are equal in rights, regardless of birth, wealth, or status, and that the government is the servant, not the master, of the people. The problem is that Today liberals are trying to make the government our servant instead of it being the other way around. This author thinks that Jefferson wouldn't have been agreed with the way citizens acted at townhall meetings but I believe that Jefferson would have been proud of these people who are standing up for individual citizens against the enslavement of the government. Townhall attendees and Tea Party participants have been displaying righteous anger in the face of an out of control government. I believe that Thomas Jefferson would have been appalled at how our politicians are mistreating citizens and the likes of SEIU members who threaten, are violent and beat up individuals like Kenneth Gladney, a black conservative who was selling patriotic merchandise outside a townhall meeting.
Obama Birth Certificate Questioned on House Floor
While I tend to think that Obama was born in the U.S. or is considered a U.S. citizen I do believe it is proper for him to follow the chain of Presidents in releasing his birth certificate and other documents.
“Little baby with ink on their foot, stamped right there on the birth certificate – there’s one in this country we haven’t seen,’” he said. “But the footprints on those we have seen. Those little babies owe Uncle Sam $44,000.”
“Little baby with ink on their foot, stamped right there on the birth certificate – there’s one in this country we haven’t seen,’” he said. “But the footprints on those we have seen. Those little babies owe Uncle Sam $44,000.”
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Defending Our Second Amendment Rights: Guns Save Lives
This is one example of how guns save lives:
Here is Keyes speaking on the 2nd Amendment:
Guns Save Lives by John Stossel:
Here is Keyes speaking on the 2nd Amendment:
Guns Save Lives by John Stossel:
It's all too predictable. A day after a gunman killed six people and wounded 18 others at Northern Illinois University, The New York Times criticized the U.S. Interior Department for preparing to rethink its ban on guns in national parks.
The editorial board wants "the 51 senators who like the thought of guns in the parks -- and everywhere else, it seems -- to realize that the innocence of Americans is better protected by carefully controlling guns than it is by arming everyone to the teeth."
As usual, the Times editors seem unaware of how silly their argument is. To them, the choice is between "carefully controlling guns" and "arming everyone to the teeth." But no one favors "arming everyone to the teeth" (whatever that means). Instead, gun advocates favor freedom, choice and self-responsibility. If someone wishes to be prepared to defend himself, he should be free to do so. No one has the right to deprive others of the means of effective self-defense, like a handgun.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Jon Voight: An Open Letter To President Obama
President Obama:
You will be the first American president that lied to the Jewish people, and the American people as well, when you said that you would defend Israel, the only Democratic state in the Middle East, against all their enemies. You have done just the opposite. You have propagandized Israel, until they look like they are everyone's enemy — and it has resonated throughout the world. You are putting Israel in harm's way, and you have promoted anti-Semitism throughout the world. CONTINUED
Should General McChrystal Stay or Go?
In a Rolling Stone's article, General McChrystal's aides let loose on Obama, Biden, and everybody who is anybody on Obama's national security team. Its obvious that General McCrystal wanted his discontent and observations with the way in which this war is being handled leaked out to all the civilian mishandlers in Washington. It seems to me that General McCrystal started out with high hopes for a turnaround in Afghanistan but soon realized that he was placed in an impossible situation that has ended up endangering our soldiers' lives all for the sake of fghting our enemy "fairly". When has giving our enemy an unfair advantage ever been the same as fighting a war fairly? When has forcing our soldiers to fight with one arm around their back ever produced a win in a war? Never. This article shows how the new rules of engagement are helping our enemy and harming our troops who are risking their lives overseas so that we may remain free.
'Young officers and enlisted soldiers and Marines, typically speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect their jobs, speak of “being handcuffed,” of not being trusted by their bosses and of being asked to battle a canny and vicious insurgency “in a fair fight.” '
Here are a couple hghlights from the Rolling Stone's article:
Now, flipping through printout cards of his speech in Paris, McChrystal wonders aloud what Biden question he might get today, and how he should respond. "I never know what's going to pop out until I'm up there, that's the problem," he says. Then, unable to help themselves, he and his staff imagine the general dismissing the vice president with a good one-liner.
"Are you asking about Vice President Biden?" McChrystal says with a laugh. "Who's that?"
"Biden?" suggests a top adviser. "Did you say: Bite Me?"
Even though he had voted for Obama, McChrystal and his new commander in chief failed from the outset to connect. The general first encountered Obama a week after he took office, when the president met with a dozen senior military officials in a room at the Pentagon known as the Tank. According to sources familiar with the meeting, McChrystal thought Obama looked "uncomfortable and intimidated" by the roomful of military brass. Their first one-on-one meeting took place in the Oval Office four months later, after McChrystal got the Afghanistan job, and it didn't go much better. "It was a 10-minute photo op," says an adviser to McChrystal. "Obama clearly didn't know anything about him, who he was. Here's the guy who's going to run his fucking war, but he didn't seem very engaged. The Boss was pretty disappointed."
I think that McCrystal's resignation could be the proper outcome in this situation, especially since Obama acts like a whiny child when it comes to his being criticized in any way, and after this article I can't see Obama and General McCrystal working together comfortably and cohesively for the betterment of the Afghan War. While some political pundits are asserting that General McCrystal's lapse in judgement rises to the level of Mac Arthur's insubordination Ken Allard gives some insight why appearances are deceiving. But, we should take into account what is best to win the War in Afghanistan.
'Young officers and enlisted soldiers and Marines, typically speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect their jobs, speak of “being handcuffed,” of not being trusted by their bosses and of being asked to battle a canny and vicious insurgency “in a fair fight.” '
Here are a couple hghlights from the Rolling Stone's article:
Now, flipping through printout cards of his speech in Paris, McChrystal wonders aloud what Biden question he might get today, and how he should respond. "I never know what's going to pop out until I'm up there, that's the problem," he says. Then, unable to help themselves, he and his staff imagine the general dismissing the vice president with a good one-liner.
"Are you asking about Vice President Biden?" McChrystal says with a laugh. "Who's that?"
"Biden?" suggests a top adviser. "Did you say: Bite Me?"
Even though he had voted for Obama, McChrystal and his new commander in chief failed from the outset to connect. The general first encountered Obama a week after he took office, when the president met with a dozen senior military officials in a room at the Pentagon known as the Tank. According to sources familiar with the meeting, McChrystal thought Obama looked "uncomfortable and intimidated" by the roomful of military brass. Their first one-on-one meeting took place in the Oval Office four months later, after McChrystal got the Afghanistan job, and it didn't go much better. "It was a 10-minute photo op," says an adviser to McChrystal. "Obama clearly didn't know anything about him, who he was. Here's the guy who's going to run his fucking war, but he didn't seem very engaged. The Boss was pretty disappointed."
I think that McCrystal's resignation could be the proper outcome in this situation, especially since Obama acts like a whiny child when it comes to his being criticized in any way, and after this article I can't see Obama and General McCrystal working together comfortably and cohesively for the betterment of the Afghan War. While some political pundits are asserting that General McCrystal's lapse in judgement rises to the level of Mac Arthur's insubordination Ken Allard gives some insight why appearances are deceiving. But, we should take into account what is best to win the War in Afghanistan.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Passing of a WWII Icon: Edith Shain
From U.S. Newswire: "Ms. Shain was a Registered Nurse, kindergarten teacher, public access cable television producer who became a world famous figure following her participation in the 50th Anniversary of V-J Day in August of 1995."
Her son Michael Shain described the photo as having captured "an epic moment in American history, one that inspired patriotism, unity, joy and a spontaneous national pride in victoriously ending the war."
Lifetime Highlights of World War II "Icon" Edith Shain:
•Born and raised in Tarrytown New York July 29, 1918
•New York Hunter High School graduate (age 16)
•1947 graduate from New York Doctors Nursing School
•Bachelors degree in education New York University
•Hancock Park & Burbank Kindergarten Teacher (30 yrs)
•Continued nursing license, working night shift at Cedars Lebanon.
•She was the subject of a Life magazine article in 1979 her and Eisenstadt
•Co-founder, Producer of Full Disclosure Public Access TV Program in Los Angeles
•Director, American Association of Women, Public Affairs Education
Edith Shain's participation in Veteran Memorial events included :
•60TH Year Anniversary WW II to New York Times Square
•25 ft. statute next to the war ship in San Diego
•Grand Marshall of numerous parades
•Grand Marshall Veterans Day in NY City
•Laid Down the wreath of WW2 Tundra Tomb Washington DC
•Numerous overseas appearances for Veterans Memorial events
Monday, June 21, 2010
Gaza O Gaza! So much misery
Gaza is not as poor as liberals would have you believe.
The Left likes to play the poor Gaza game to promote their anti-Israeli propaganda, much like they use the race card to advance their political agenda here in the U.S., when Hamas is the real entity that holds the cards to Gaza's economic freedom and prosperity. Hamas is the real reason Gaza is poor.
Freedom of Speech Being Trampled Upon in America
The Catholic Knight has a great analysis of this video.
He gives three reasons why the number of Muslims are growing in America and their solutions:
1) The single greatest threat to Christianity in the Western world is not Islam. It's not militant Secularism, Communism, Fascism or Marxism. (Though these are all great threats!) The single GREATEST threat to Christianity in the Western world is none other than ARTIFICIAL BIRTH CONTROL or ARTIFICIAL CONTRACEPTION. For decades now, this is been reducing the size of Christian families, and thereby limiting the number of Christians repopulating the Western world - even the United States. The solution to this problem is simple, but involves sacrifice, and it is mainly the burden of today's young married couples. The solution is to START HAVING BABIES AGAIN! Ideally, Christian families should have no less than four children - three at an absolute minimum. The more the better though, and this serves a great purpose. By having more children, Christians are contributing to securing a better future for any and all children they have. The reason for this is simple. How comforting is it to have just one or two children, knowing that those children will inherit an Islamic majority in the distant future? By the time they're grown, and have children of their own, Sharia law will be a daily part of their lives, either directly or indirectly. Wouldn't it be better to have more Christian children now, thus reducing the likelihood of an Islamic majority later? The fact is our government will not import more Muslim immigrants from Africa and Asia if it already has a plentiful taxable population already here in the United States. Uncle Sam just wants his tax revenue. He doesn't care if it's Christian dollars or Muslim dollars. He just wants the dollars! When Christians depopulate, through artificial birth control, Uncle Sam has to get his money from somewhere. If we Christians won't produce tomorrows taxpayers, then Uncle Sam will import them from wherever he can, and there are plenty of Muslims just itching to get into the United States.
2) The second greatest threat to Christianity in the Western world is failure of parents to pass on the Christian faith to their children. Practice Christianity in your home, and be sure to transmit the faith on to your children. There is no use having more Christian children if they're only going to lose their faith as adults. Failure to practice the Christian faith in your own home may very well result in Muslim, Pagan or atheist grandchildren.
3) The third greatest threat to Christianity in the Western world is the failure of Christians to share their faith with non-Christians. Evangelize! And when necessary, use words! There is nothing wrong with befriending your Muslims neighbors. I'm talking about real friendship here! I'm not talking about making friends so you can preach at them. If you befriend your Muslim neighbors, the evangelism of your kindness will speak more to them than anything else. There is no need to pester them about religion, but at the same time, there is nothing prohibiting you from sharing it when the legitimate opportunities present themselves.
H/T The Catholic Knight
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Dedication For Fathers Who Have Passed Away
This is a dedication to all those who have fathers who have passed away. This is especially dedicated to my Father-in-Law who my husband lost when he was eight years old.
Happy Father's Day Dad
Here is a picture of the Bay Bridge
Love,
Teresa
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Papal SmackDown Against Heresy
VATICAN CITY, June 11, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Sin, satanic influence and the toleration of heresy lie at the root of the priestly sexual abuse scandals, Pope Benedict XVI said today. Precisely because it is an institution erected by God to make himself sacramentally "present to all men and women," the devil is interested in destroying the priesthood, he said.
Referring to the line in Psalm 22 ("Your rod and your staff - they comfort me"), Benedict became explicit about the need for the "rod" of discipline to correct errors in the Church.
"The Church too must use the shepherd's rod," he said, "the rod with which he protects the faith against those who falsify it, against currents which lead the flock astray."
"Today we can see that it has nothing to do with love when conduct unworthy of the priestly life is tolerated. Nor does it have to do with love if heresy is allowed to spread and the faith twisted and chipped away, as if it were something that we ourselves had invented."
Pope Benedict spoke today to 15,000 priests at the closing Mass of the Vatican's Year for Priests at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
The priesthood, Pope Benedict said, is not "pleasing to the 'enemy,'" (the devil).
"He would have rather preferred to see it disappear, so that God would ultimately be driven out of the world. And so it happened that, in this very year of joy for the sacrament of the priesthood, the sins of priests came to light - particularly the abuse of the little ones, in which the priesthood, whose task is to manifest God's concern for our good, turns into its very opposite."
With evident personal sadness, the pope again extended his apology to the victims of sexual abuse, saying, "We too insistently beg forgiveness from God and from the persons involved."
This was followed by a promise to "do everything possible to ensure that such abuse will never occur again" by more scrutiny and better formation of those who apply for the priesthood.
Statistics on the abuse scandals have found that the abuse cases are overwhelmingly homosexual in nature and occurred between the 1960s and 1980s, at time in which psychological and theological trends were against excluding men with homosexual inclinations from the priesthood.
Benedict, as Cardinal Ratzinger, was clear with a 2005 document issued from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the office that had oversight on the abuse scandals around the world, that men with such inclinations should not be admitted to seminaries.
Benedict also made more subtle references to the movement from the Church's extreme left wing to open the priesthood to women and to married men. Among the opening lines of his homily, Pope Benedict laid out the nature of the priesthood, saying it is not a matter of mere functionality but a sacramental reality derived from Christ himself.
"The priest is not a mere office-holder," he said, "like those which every society needs in order to carry out certain functions."
Referring to the line in Psalm 22 ("Your rod and your staff - they comfort me"), Benedict became explicit about the need for the "rod" of discipline to correct errors in the Church.
"The Church too must use the shepherd's rod," he said, "the rod with which he protects the faith against those who falsify it, against currents which lead the flock astray."
"Today we can see that it has nothing to do with love when conduct unworthy of the priestly life is tolerated. Nor does it have to do with love if heresy is allowed to spread and the faith twisted and chipped away, as if it were something that we ourselves had invented."
Pope Benedict spoke today to 15,000 priests at the closing Mass of the Vatican's Year for Priests at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
The priesthood, Pope Benedict said, is not "pleasing to the 'enemy,'" (the devil).
"He would have rather preferred to see it disappear, so that God would ultimately be driven out of the world. And so it happened that, in this very year of joy for the sacrament of the priesthood, the sins of priests came to light - particularly the abuse of the little ones, in which the priesthood, whose task is to manifest God's concern for our good, turns into its very opposite."
With evident personal sadness, the pope again extended his apology to the victims of sexual abuse, saying, "We too insistently beg forgiveness from God and from the persons involved."
This was followed by a promise to "do everything possible to ensure that such abuse will never occur again" by more scrutiny and better formation of those who apply for the priesthood.
Statistics on the abuse scandals have found that the abuse cases are overwhelmingly homosexual in nature and occurred between the 1960s and 1980s, at time in which psychological and theological trends were against excluding men with homosexual inclinations from the priesthood.
Benedict, as Cardinal Ratzinger, was clear with a 2005 document issued from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the office that had oversight on the abuse scandals around the world, that men with such inclinations should not be admitted to seminaries.
Benedict also made more subtle references to the movement from the Church's extreme left wing to open the priesthood to women and to married men. Among the opening lines of his homily, Pope Benedict laid out the nature of the priesthood, saying it is not a matter of mere functionality but a sacramental reality derived from Christ himself.
"The priest is not a mere office-holder," he said, "like those which every society needs in order to carry out certain functions."
Conference Recruiting Terrorists for Islamic New World Order?
From REALCourage.com: There is an anti-democracy group called Hizb ut-Tahrir America that is planning another event on July 11 in a Chicago suburb of Oak Brook, IL.
“Hizb ut-Tahrir America (HTA) released a video announcement for its 2010 “Khilafah Conference,” to be held on July 11 at the Chicago Marriott, Oak Brook. The conference is titled, ‘Emerging World Order: How the Khilafah Will Shape the World.’”
– “Last year, HTA announced its presence in the United States by hosting a conference at the Hilton in Oak Lawn, Illinois. The conference drew approximately 500 supporters, but did not appear to generate lasting momentum for HTA beyond the flurry of press reporting surrounding the event.”
– “Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) has a presence in more than 45 countries around the world and seeks to establish an Islamic state. Once its government has been established, HT intends to spread Islam to the rest of the world.”
H/T REALCourage
“Hizb ut-Tahrir America (HTA) released a video announcement for its 2010 “Khilafah Conference,” to be held on July 11 at the Chicago Marriott, Oak Brook. The conference is titled, ‘Emerging World Order: How the Khilafah Will Shape the World.’”
– “Last year, HTA announced its presence in the United States by hosting a conference at the Hilton in Oak Lawn, Illinois. The conference drew approximately 500 supporters, but did not appear to generate lasting momentum for HTA beyond the flurry of press reporting surrounding the event.”
– “Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) has a presence in more than 45 countries around the world and seeks to establish an Islamic state. Once its government has been established, HT intends to spread Islam to the rest of the world.”
H/T REALCourage
Friday, June 18, 2010
Vatican Endorses 'The Blues Brothers'
This is one movie that I haven't seen. This sounds like a fun loving and good movie to watch.
In an article marking the 30th anniversary of John Landis' classic movie 'The Blues Brothers', the Vatican's official newspaper 'L'Osservatore Romano,' has called the film a 'Catholic classic' and says it should be recommended viewing for Catholics everywhere.
The film tells the story of Jake and Elwood, played by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, who set out on a 'mission from God' to raise money for the Catholic orphanage where they grew up - run by a nun they call 'the Penguin'. Their rampaging concert tour includes car chases, clashes with the police and neo-Nazi groups, and attempts at revenge from a spurned lover.
Besides Belushi and Aykroyd, the film features an all-star cast including musicians James Brown, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker, and Chaka Khan, who provide a classic blues soundtrack; and actors John Candy, Carrie Fisher, Charles Napier, and Henry Gibson, and cameo roles for Frank Oz, Steven Spielberg, Landis, Mr T and Paul Reubens.
Here is a movie clip - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCTJeT2i9QU
H/T ICN
In an article marking the 30th anniversary of John Landis' classic movie 'The Blues Brothers', the Vatican's official newspaper 'L'Osservatore Romano,' has called the film a 'Catholic classic' and says it should be recommended viewing for Catholics everywhere.
The film tells the story of Jake and Elwood, played by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, who set out on a 'mission from God' to raise money for the Catholic orphanage where they grew up - run by a nun they call 'the Penguin'. Their rampaging concert tour includes car chases, clashes with the police and neo-Nazi groups, and attempts at revenge from a spurned lover.
Besides Belushi and Aykroyd, the film features an all-star cast including musicians James Brown, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker, and Chaka Khan, who provide a classic blues soundtrack; and actors John Candy, Carrie Fisher, Charles Napier, and Henry Gibson, and cameo roles for Frank Oz, Steven Spielberg, Landis, Mr T and Paul Reubens.
Here is a movie clip - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCTJeT2i9QU
H/T ICN
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Reflections on the Oil Spill, the Cleanup & Obama's Speech
The president’s speech indicates that the Obama administration’s central preoccupation has been in taking advantage of the oil crisis and advancing his radical cap & trade agenda instead of stopping the oil spill from gushing which should be their top priority. You know things are getting really bad for Obama when more people are disapproving of the Obama administration’s response (or lack thereof) than they were of the Bush administration’s response to Hurricane Katrina. The language Guru, Paul J.J. Payack, president of Global Language Monitor makes the claim that Obama is too ‘professorial’ for his target audience. The language guru also claims that Obama’s phraseology makes him seem aloof and out of touch. I do believe that the President is detached, aloof, and out of touch. He has had a hands off approach to this oil spill. The Obama administration seems to be showing their true colors in letting their allegiance to unions to get in the way of the oil cleanup by refusing to waive the Jones Act, which would then allow outside help from other nations into the Gulf. Many of God’s creatures are being killed and hurt because of this disastrous oil spill and fisherman’s livelihoods are being affected greatly too. Let us keep these creatures and fisherman in our thoughts and prayers. Let is hope and pray that the oil leak is stopped ASAP.
Below, here is a video showing a mass Democrat defection as liberals attack Obama’s response to oil spill.
Abortion, Dissension & Excommunication
Jimmy Akin gives a great analysis as to whether Sr. McBride did authorize a direct abortion or not, explains latae sententiae (automatic) excommunication, and reasons why Bishop Olmsted has an obligation to follow Canon Law.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Support Three Navy Seals: "Soul of An American Warrior"
Always Catholic, an excellent Traditional Catholic blog, has posted a piece on Elizabeth Kilbride who has authored a book, called "Soul of An American Warrior", which is being touted for both its content and raising funds in support of three navy seals who were accused of "abusing a terrorist" and for their subsequent defense.
Author & Publisher Rally Support Behind Three Navy SEAL’s.
Elizabeth Kilbride and Father’s Press Publishing announced they would donate $4 from the sale of Kilbride’s book “Soul of An American Warrior” to the Navy SEAL’s Defense Fund.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LEE SUMMIT, MO – Kilbride’s donation is aimed at helping to offset the overwhelming legal fees associated with defending three U.S. Navy SEALs – SO2 Matthew McCabe, SO2 Jonathan Keefe and SO1 Julio Huertas – who have been charged with abuse of a terrorist insurgent.
“Matt McCabe and his fellow SEALs have the best possible legal representation. The best comes with a price tag,” Kilbride said firmly. Mike Smitley, owner of Father’s Press Publishing, said, “Having been to Iraq with our warriors, then writing about them, Kilbride knows their sacrifices first-hand, which is why she wanted to do more than just verbally give her support. We intend to help these SEALs by providing them with two strategic weapons to help them fight their battle — a book to help educate their fellow Americans and some funds to help in their defense.”
At the invitation of a Marine Corps general, who was impressed by her book on World War II, Elizabeth Kilbride accompanied a Marine unit to Iraq for five weeks in the spring of 2006. This is a memoir of that journey along with one to battlefields in Vietnam.
In her own words, “I went from the average DC resident to boom, being in a war zone—no basic training for me…. Each one of the Marines made me feel like I was a part of their unit—a unique opportunity for a writer to have.” But though treated “as if I were their sister,” the ride was not all honeymoon for Kilbride. She quickly learned that “Independent media…are treated as their considered second-class citizens, unless you are a big name reporter.” Nonetheless, this was a “defining moment” in her life that would not have been possible if she were a “big name reporter.” She learned that there’s another side to the story in Iraq that’s not being reported by the media, a story “of our Armed Forces who are performing such amazing acts of compassion to help others in our name.” Kilbride reports this story with deft insight and a passion for truth. Especially provocative is her accusation that politicians and reporters exploit the armed services for political and personal gain by focusing solely on bombings and terrorist attacks. Consequently, the American people are ignorant of the good things the warriors are accomplishing in Iraq. “The forgotten warriors of this war are the Marines of the Al Anbar Province. This is probably because they do not complain, and are rarely mentioned in the media, unless there have been casualties.” This is a gross injustice that Kilbride claims can only be rectified by drastic action. “It is very clear when you consider the evidence being presented to us that there needs to be a complete change on Capitol Hill in upcoming elections. Both House and Senate need to be cleared out completely.” The media must also be held accountable for promoting mistrust and lies about the armed forces. “While the media plays politics using our military as fodder in their reports during war, they are aiding the enemy. This is a form of treason, which is dangerous and deadly to those in uniform….the media can take credit for any casualties, both during Vietnam and in the war in Iraq.” Bold words indeed. But how is this change in political opinion to take place? That everyone read Soul of American Warriors? Though she might like this, Kilbride suggests that the answer can only come when every American experiences a “defining moment,” like she has had. One profound suggestion is that every American visit a battlefield, walk inside a bunker, and feel the horror of war still residing there. This gutsy book lacks the grammatical polish of mainstream journalism, but rightfully so, since this is a dispatch directly from the heart. This book is highly recommended for relatives and friends of service members being deployed to a war zone. Every library serving a U.S. military community should acquire it.
CONTINUED
Author & Publisher Rally Support Behind Three Navy SEAL’s.
Elizabeth Kilbride and Father’s Press Publishing announced they would donate $4 from the sale of Kilbride’s book “Soul of An American Warrior” to the Navy SEAL’s Defense Fund.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LEE SUMMIT, MO – Kilbride’s donation is aimed at helping to offset the overwhelming legal fees associated with defending three U.S. Navy SEALs – SO2 Matthew McCabe, SO2 Jonathan Keefe and SO1 Julio Huertas – who have been charged with abuse of a terrorist insurgent.
“Matt McCabe and his fellow SEALs have the best possible legal representation. The best comes with a price tag,” Kilbride said firmly. Mike Smitley, owner of Father’s Press Publishing, said, “Having been to Iraq with our warriors, then writing about them, Kilbride knows their sacrifices first-hand, which is why she wanted to do more than just verbally give her support. We intend to help these SEALs by providing them with two strategic weapons to help them fight their battle — a book to help educate their fellow Americans and some funds to help in their defense.”
At the invitation of a Marine Corps general, who was impressed by her book on World War II, Elizabeth Kilbride accompanied a Marine unit to Iraq for five weeks in the spring of 2006. This is a memoir of that journey along with one to battlefields in Vietnam.
In her own words, “I went from the average DC resident to boom, being in a war zone—no basic training for me…. Each one of the Marines made me feel like I was a part of their unit—a unique opportunity for a writer to have.” But though treated “as if I were their sister,” the ride was not all honeymoon for Kilbride. She quickly learned that “Independent media…are treated as their considered second-class citizens, unless you are a big name reporter.” Nonetheless, this was a “defining moment” in her life that would not have been possible if she were a “big name reporter.” She learned that there’s another side to the story in Iraq that’s not being reported by the media, a story “of our Armed Forces who are performing such amazing acts of compassion to help others in our name.” Kilbride reports this story with deft insight and a passion for truth. Especially provocative is her accusation that politicians and reporters exploit the armed services for political and personal gain by focusing solely on bombings and terrorist attacks. Consequently, the American people are ignorant of the good things the warriors are accomplishing in Iraq. “The forgotten warriors of this war are the Marines of the Al Anbar Province. This is probably because they do not complain, and are rarely mentioned in the media, unless there have been casualties.” This is a gross injustice that Kilbride claims can only be rectified by drastic action. “It is very clear when you consider the evidence being presented to us that there needs to be a complete change on Capitol Hill in upcoming elections. Both House and Senate need to be cleared out completely.” The media must also be held accountable for promoting mistrust and lies about the armed forces. “While the media plays politics using our military as fodder in their reports during war, they are aiding the enemy. This is a form of treason, which is dangerous and deadly to those in uniform….the media can take credit for any casualties, both during Vietnam and in the war in Iraq.” Bold words indeed. But how is this change in political opinion to take place? That everyone read Soul of American Warriors? Though she might like this, Kilbride suggests that the answer can only come when every American experiences a “defining moment,” like she has had. One profound suggestion is that every American visit a battlefield, walk inside a bunker, and feel the horror of war still residing there. This gutsy book lacks the grammatical polish of mainstream journalism, but rightfully so, since this is a dispatch directly from the heart. This book is highly recommended for relatives and friends of service members being deployed to a war zone. Every library serving a U.S. military community should acquire it.
CONTINUED
Did Bishop Padovese, a Martyr, Save the Pope's Life?
An Italian Vatican expert is making the claim and presents evidence that Bishop Luigi Padovese prevented an assasination attempt on the Pope's life and, in effect may have saved the Pope's life.
An Italian Vatican expert is saying that Bishop Luigi Padovese, Apostolic Vicar of Anatolia and President of the Turkish Bishops’ Conference, canceled his trip to Cyprus because he feared that his driver –who later confessed to killing the bishop- might attempt an attack on Pope Benedict XVI during his stay on the island, reports Catholic News Agency.
Analyst Fr. Fillippo di Giacomo, who writes for publications such as L’Unitá and La Stampa, revealed that “hours before Padovese was killed, the Turkish Government called him to say that his driver, who they themselves had put in his service four years before, had gotten out of hand. That is to say, he had embraced the fundamentalist cause.”
Speaking to the Spanish daily El Pais, Fr. di Giacomo added that “knowing this, Padovese canceled the tickets he had reserved to Cyprus for himself and Altun (his driver). He preferred to stay home rather than to make the trip because he feared that his driver would take advantage of his proximity to the Pope and make an attempt on his life.”
According to El Pais, “the death of the Capuchin Franciscan bishop, known as an intellectual open to Islam, and who adored Turkey, occurred at a dramatic moment in the Middle East, right after Israel killed nine people (eight Turks and an American) in their assault on the humanitarian flotilla in international waters that attempted to pass through the Israeli blockade of Gaza.”
Another less-covered topic, which is nevertheless of concern to the Vatican, was the expulsion of 28 Christians from Morocco, El Pais added. The Spanish daily argued that the Moroccan government took advantage of the international chaos to deport the missionaries who worked with the poor because they “perturbed the mentality of the good Muslim.”
In his interview with the Spanish daily, Fr. di Giacomo asserted that the expulsion was a consequence of the “fatwa promulgated by 7,300 Moroccan Muslim doctors who recently declared that Christian charity ought to be considered religious terrorism.”
During the celebration of Bishop Padovese’s funeral Mass, the Turkish TV station NTV announced that the 26 year-old driver, Murat Altun, had confessed to killing the bishop. He died after being stabbed 25 times, eight of them in his heart, and was almost completely decapitated by Altun, who said he murdered Bishop Padovese because he had received a “divine inspiration.”
NTV added that Altun shouted “Allahu Akbar” a number of times after the murder, despite having presented himself as a Catholic.
H/T Christian Telegraph
An Italian Vatican expert is saying that Bishop Luigi Padovese, Apostolic Vicar of Anatolia and President of the Turkish Bishops’ Conference, canceled his trip to Cyprus because he feared that his driver –who later confessed to killing the bishop- might attempt an attack on Pope Benedict XVI during his stay on the island, reports Catholic News Agency.
Analyst Fr. Fillippo di Giacomo, who writes for publications such as L’Unitá and La Stampa, revealed that “hours before Padovese was killed, the Turkish Government called him to say that his driver, who they themselves had put in his service four years before, had gotten out of hand. That is to say, he had embraced the fundamentalist cause.”
Speaking to the Spanish daily El Pais, Fr. di Giacomo added that “knowing this, Padovese canceled the tickets he had reserved to Cyprus for himself and Altun (his driver). He preferred to stay home rather than to make the trip because he feared that his driver would take advantage of his proximity to the Pope and make an attempt on his life.”
According to El Pais, “the death of the Capuchin Franciscan bishop, known as an intellectual open to Islam, and who adored Turkey, occurred at a dramatic moment in the Middle East, right after Israel killed nine people (eight Turks and an American) in their assault on the humanitarian flotilla in international waters that attempted to pass through the Israeli blockade of Gaza.”
Another less-covered topic, which is nevertheless of concern to the Vatican, was the expulsion of 28 Christians from Morocco, El Pais added. The Spanish daily argued that the Moroccan government took advantage of the international chaos to deport the missionaries who worked with the poor because they “perturbed the mentality of the good Muslim.”
In his interview with the Spanish daily, Fr. di Giacomo asserted that the expulsion was a consequence of the “fatwa promulgated by 7,300 Moroccan Muslim doctors who recently declared that Christian charity ought to be considered religious terrorism.”
During the celebration of Bishop Padovese’s funeral Mass, the Turkish TV station NTV announced that the 26 year-old driver, Murat Altun, had confessed to killing the bishop. He died after being stabbed 25 times, eight of them in his heart, and was almost completely decapitated by Altun, who said he murdered Bishop Padovese because he had received a “divine inspiration.”
NTV added that Altun shouted “Allahu Akbar” a number of times after the murder, despite having presented himself as a Catholic.
H/T Christian Telegraph
Monday, June 14, 2010
Save Mosab Yousef: His Deportation Will Result in His Certain Death
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From Jihadica.com :On 21 August 2008, the al-Qaida-affiliated Global Islamic Media Front released a statement written by Abu al-Harith al-Ansari concerning the conversion of Mosab Hassan Yousef from Islam to Christianity. This conversion is significant because Yousef’s father is a senior Hamas leader in an Israeli prison and Yousef himself allegedly was in a leadership position in Hamas’ youth movement. Ansari explains that he felt compelled to respond to Yousef’s conversion and he uses four points to frame the conversion. He then outlines a course of action Muslims should take in response. The following is a brief synopsis:
<!--[if !supportLists]-->1. <!--[endif]-->Further research must be done to ascertain the truth about whether or not Yousef converted and then pass judgment.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2. <!--[endif]-->Yousef chose his own path and it is important to remember other noteworthy infidels, who also chose their own path, like Noah’s son and wife, Abraham’s father, and Muhammad’s paternal uncle.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->3. <!--[endif]-->The fate of infidels does not change. The previously mentioned notables are all in Hell.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->4. <!--[endif]-->“Islam is larger than men.” Yousef’s actions will not harm Islam.
Ansari then gives several pieces of advice to individual Muslims and Hamas:
<!--[if !supportLists]-->1. <!--[endif]-->Muslims must announce their disavowal from Yousef’s actions and ask for God’s forgiveness upon him.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2. <!--[endif]-->Just like the United States is dangerous and attacks Islam, Christianity’s evangelical institutions are dangerous too. There are many Christian schools in Gaza where 90% of the students are Muslims. Hamas must be aware of this.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->3. <!--[endif]-->While Yousef’s criticisms of individuals are not related to Islam, his criticisms of Hamas’ leadership have merit. Hamas must review its actions and seek guidance from Islam in further decisions.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->4. <!--[endif]-->Due to his apostasy, Yousef is weak-minded. “What do [Hamas supporters] know of Islam except the name? We see their fanaticism for the movement as if it were fanaticism for religion.” Hamas must learn about Salafism and read the proper books from writers like al-Tahawi, Ibn Taymiyya, and the Najdi scholars.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->5. <!--[endif]-->Yousef went to the United States in search of work. However, the immigration of a Muslim to a non-Islamic country for work is forbidden.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->6. <!--[endif]-->Israeli and Hamas oppression in Gaza is probably the biggest reason for Yousef’s apostasy. This does not justify it, but it is possible that God will guide him back to Islam.
If he comes back to Islam great, but if he does not, his fate is as an infidel without honor. The prophet Muhammad said, “Whoever alters his religion, kill him [Ansari’s font changes].” He should not have proper burial rights and he should not be buried with Muslims.
This is his fate under God’s law. The situational laws and human legislation is what causes the spread of apostasy, allows infidel institutions, and protects these institutions.
Such attacks on Hamas are common by al-Qaida and its supporters because Hamas’ nationalistic and more pragmatic approach to Islam challenges al-Qaida’s dogmatically unchanging and global Islamic view. Al-Qaida supporters see Hamas as a direct threat to its hegemony in the Middle East and it is attempting to break Hamas by bringing its followers into al-Qaida’s fold. Ansari tries to do this through discrediting Hamas’ leadership by blaming Gaza’s problems on them and proposing al-Qaida’s ideology as a solution. This is a common al-Qaida tactic against Hamas.
Ansari is also able to connect the believed dangers from the United States and Christianity to Gaza. In doing so, he is attempting to frame the Palestinian conflict in al-Qaida’s Islamic narrative where almost everyone is an enemy. This is in contrast to Hamas’ Palestinian narrative that has much more grey area, depending on Hamas’ goals at a particular time, about who the enemy is and how to deal with the threat.
Ansari does not mention that one of Yousef’s stated criticisms of Islam are those who have an unwavering and rigid doctrinal view, such as Ansari’s view. Thus, Ansari’s solution to the so-called problems in Gaza is unlikely to alleviate any of his stated grievances. It will be interesting to monitor the standoff between al-Qaida and Hamas, but given Hamas’ current authority and popularity in Gaza, it is unlikely that al-Qaida will make much headway in its goal of splitting Hamas’ leadership from its rank and file.
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