RIP

Floyd Standifer, Seattle jazz leader for six decades, dead at 78

Quote of the Year!

An Exchange between Senator Specter and Alberto Gonzales in Senate Judiciary Committe:

Specter: Now wait a minute, wait a minute. The Constitution says you can't take it away except in the case of invasion or rebellion. Doesn't that mean you have the right of habeas corpus?

Gonzales: I meant by that comment that the Constitution doesn't say that every individual in the United States or every citizen has or is assured the right of habeas corpus. It doesn't say that. It simply says that the right of habeas corpus shall not be suspended.


Source

Like President, like Attorney General?

A courages solution on Israel-Palestinian conflict. One State!

A must watch interview on Israel-Palestinian conflict.

rtsp://video.c-span.org/archive/arc_btv/arc_btv121606_4.rm?mode=compact

Differences or Commonalities

It is now in vogue to do articles like Can You Tell a Sunni From a Shiite?.

It is interesting that no one would write articles on "Can you tell the commonalities between Sunni, Shiites, Christians, Jews, Buddhist...?"

The article is an indication of the author's goal. If you are looking for conflict you need to find and magnify the differences, if you are looking for peace and harmony you would be interested in the commonalities. Win/Win can be achieved only through understanding and magnifying the common grounds. Any thing else ultimately would lead to lose/lose for all of us.

Britian's National Id Program

"startling" new material from a dead man!

The Australian newspaper article Dead spy linked to Yukos break-up says:

....
It emerged yesterday that Mr Litvinenko travelled to Israel just weeks before he died to hand over evidence to a Russian billionaire of how agents working for President Vladimir Putin dealt with his enemies running the Yukos oil company.

He passed this information to Leonid Nevzlin, the former second-in-command of Yukos, who fled to Tel Aviv in fear for his life after the Kremlin seized and then sold off the $US40 billion ($51 billion) company.

Mr Nevzlin said it was his duty to pass on the file. "Alexander had information on crimes committed with the Russian Government's direct participation," he said. "He only recently gave me and my attorneys documents that shed light on the most significant aspects of the Yukos affair."

Investigators said Mr Litvinenko had apparently uncovered "startling" new material about the Yukos affair and what happened to those opposing the forced break-up of the company.
....

Interesting! Now Leonid Nevzlin can make up any document with "startling" new material and claim it to be genuine and "his duty to pass on" the information. Dead man can never say no that is fake!

Shocking

"...advanced forms of biological warfare that can target specific genotypes may transform biological warfare from the realm of terror to a politically useful tool."

Lebanon assasination, who done it?

Haaretz, the Israeli newspaper, has an interesting article on the latest asasination of "anti Syrian" politician in Lebanon.

The article, Round up the usual suspects says:

However pure political and diplomatic logic makes it difficult to see Damascus behind the assassination. The day he was killed, Syria chalked up one of its most significant diplomatic achievements since its defeat in Lebanon in April 2005: the renewal of full diplomatic relations with Iraq. Syria is also on its way to achieving a semi-official stamp of approval from Washington as an entity capable of calming tensions in Iraq. Syria could have been on the verge of an important political success in Lebanon - the possible fall of Fuad Siniora's government, which would mean Syria could increase the power of its supporters in the government by means of the Hezbollah ultimatum. If that came about, the international tribunal on the murder of Rafik Hariri would be delayed, or at least be of a sort convenient for the Syrians. With three such achievements, the last thing Damascus needed was a new accusation of a political murder in Lebanon. It goes on to make the conclusion One of the Syrian intelligence organizations might have been behind the act, as revenge on those it deems responsible for the bashing it will take at an international tribunal. If that is true, it puts Syrian president Bashar Assad in an embarrassing position, with elements of his regime working behind his back.

The assumption and statement of the facts that this assasination doesn't serve Syria seems logical. The conclusion, however, is rather strange. It assumes that there is no one else other than Syria in the middle east.

You have Israel with completely opposite interest to Syria. Furthermore, they have demonstrated in their bombing of Lebanon that their intention is to create civil confict in Lebanon to create an alternative front for the Shiites and Hizbollah. As such, it seems to me the probabilty of Israel to be behind the assassination is much higher that that of a rogue element in Syrian intelligence service, or for that matter anyone esle. Essentially, if you are "anti Syrian" politician in Lebanon, your greatest worry is if Israel decided your blood is needed for its purposes.

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Like Father/Like Son, Like Saddam/Like Senator

"I believe that the Mahdi Army continues to pose a threat," ..... "I believe al-Sadr has to be taken out."

Sen. John McCain


Al-Sadr, 33, comes from one of Iraq's most prominent religious families. He's the fourth son of Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, one of the country's top religious leaders. The senior al-Sadr was gunned down along with two of his sons in 1999, allegedly by Saddam Hussein's henchmen.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2006-11-12-al-sadr-cover_x.htm

Where does Hizbollah get its weapons?

Lebanese Ali Mohammed inspects unexploded ordnance dropped by Israeli warplanes during the 34-day long Hezbollah-Israel war, in the southern village of Kfar Sir, Lebanon, Monday, Nov. 13, 2006, after they were gathered for detonation. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)


The shells seems to have a "return to the sender" label on them!

Where did all the money go?

Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, right, talks with a soldier of the Afghan National Army on a base in the eastern province of Paktika, Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan on Sunday, Oct. 22, 2006. Eikenberry was on hand to congratulate the soldiers for a battle with Taliban militants last week in which 22 insurgents were killed after ambushing a U.S. patrol. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)


Notice the helmet, it is WWII vintage helmet. With all the fan fare, even on the occasion of the "Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry" visit, the afghan soldiers that are suppose to fight with the Taliban are entitle to a helmet that NATO soldiers would have!

And how much money has the Bush administration has spend on forming the Afghan National Army?

Throw away your tv....

Ten Top Must Watch Documentaries

Dreaming of a tresspass from size 6 harem!

The trailer for the Campaign for Real Beauty reminded me of the the last paragraph in the book Scheherazade Goes West by Fatima Mernissi, the Moroccan Feminist. While travelling in Europe and America, promoting her book "Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood" she reaches the following conclusion:

"I thank you, Allah, for sparing me the tyranny of the 'size 6 harem'" I repeatedly said to myself while seated on the Paris-Casablanca flight, on my way back home at last. "I am so happy that the conservative male elite does not know about it. Imagine fundamentalists switching from the veil to forcing women to fit size 6."

How can you stage a credible political demonstration and shout in the streets that your human rights have been violated when you cannot find the right skirt?

I highly recommend her books, it is very informative and good read.

"we support the desire of the people to have a government responsive to their needs and a government that is free, truly free."

April 18, 2006

President Bush Welcomes Prime Minister Siniora of Lebanon to the White House
The South Lawn



President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Fouad Siniora of Lebanon address the press on the South Lawn Tuesday, April 18, 2006. White House photo by Paul Morse


11:51 A.M. EDT

PRESIDENT BUSH: It's been my honor to welcome the Prime Minister of Lebanon to the Oval Office. Prime Minister, thanks for coming.

PRIME MINISTER SINIORA: Thank you very much for giving us the opportunity.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, we just had a really interesting discussion. I told the Prime Minister that the United States strongly supports a free and independent and sovereign Lebanon. We took great joy in seeing the Cedar Revolution. We understand that the hundreds of thousands of people who took to the street to express their desire to be free required courage, and we support the desire of the people to have a government responsive to their needs and a government that is free, truly free.

President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Fouad Siniora of Lebanon address the press on the South Lawn Tuesday, April 18, 2006. White House photo by Paul Morse We talked about the need to make sure that there is a full investigation on the death of former Prime Minister Hariri, and we'll work with the international community to see that justice is done. We talked about the great tradition of Lebanon to serve as a model of entrepreneurship and prosperity. Beirut is one of the great international cities, and I'm convinced that if Lebanon is truly free and independent and democratic, that Beirut will once again regain her place as a center of financial and culture and the arts.

There's no question in my mind that Lebanon can serve as a great example for what is possible in the broader Middle East; that out of the tough times the country has been through will rise a state that shows that it's possible for people of religious difference to live side-by-side in peace; to show that it's possible for people to put aside past histories to live together in a way that the people want, which is, therefore, to be peace and hope and opportunity.

And so, Mr. Prime Minister, we're really glad you're here. I want to thank you for the wonderful visit we've had, and welcome you here to the White House.

Lebanon PM hails exit of 'disappointed' Israeli troops

Mon Oct 2, 12:39 PM ET

BEIRUT (AFP) - Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora has welcomed the departure of "disappointed" Israeli troops from southern Lebanon but warned much remained to end the Jewish state's "occupation".
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"The occupier has left disappointed," Siniora told a cabinet meeting Monday the day after Israeli troops all-but completely withdrew from Lebanon after their July-August war with Hezbollah.

"But we still have tasks to complete: recover the Shebaa Farms, free Lebanese prisoners held in Israeli jails and the enemy still refuses to hand over maps of the landmines they left behind" after leaving in 2000, he said.


.....

How you can tell it is Oct in Election year....

Headlines:

Anthrax Dispute Suggests Bioshield Woes


Iraq says it's closing in on terror head


FBI worries about an Osama-mobsters link

Last but not least..... From the video archives:

Video shows laughing 9/11 hijackers in Afghan hideout


Sex sells, Bin Ladin videos elect!

A Documentary that you wont see in NPR

Must Watch: Documentary on failed, CIA-backed 2002 coup against Chavez government in Venezuela

Are we "fed propaganda and conspiracy theories that blame others"?

September 19, 2006

President Bush Addresses United Nations General Assembly
United Nations
New York, New York

Imagine what it's like to be a young person living in a country that is not moving toward reform. You're 21 years old, and while your peers in other parts of the world are casting their ballots for the first time, you are powerless to change the course of your government. While your peers in other parts of the world have received educations that prepare them for the opportunities of a global economy, you have been fed propaganda and conspiracy theories that blame others for your country's shortcomings. And everywhere you turn, you hear extremists who tell you that you can escape your misery and regain your dignity through violence and terror and martyrdom. For many across the broader Middle East, this is the dismal choice presented every day.


Full Text

Sept 20, using American Supplied Weapons:



A Palestinian girl sits on the rubble of her family home after it was flattened in an Israeli air strike in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. A Palestinian was killed by Israeli army fire in the northern Gaza Strip, security officials said.(AFP/Said Khatib)

"fundamental difference between Christianity" and Islam?

One should not judge a religion or philosophy just by actions of its practitioners. It would be ludicrous, opportunistic to use actions of self proclaimed leader of Islam Bin Ladin, or born again George W Bush as representative of Islam or Christianity, religions that are practices by millions of people. But the words of its scholars on the other hand opens a window into the current interpretation and mind set of the religions.



In a homecoming speech to his native homeland, Germany, Pope Benedict XVI quotes Byzantine empire....

"The emperor comes to speak about the issue of jihad, holy war," the Pope said. "He said, I quote, 'Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.'" Benedict added "I quote" twice to make it clear these were someone else's words.

What is next "I quote" twice from Adolf Hitler statements on Jews and Gypsies?

"Jihad" has a simple meaning, it means struggle. Nancy Reagan called for "War on Drugs" in Arabic that would be called Jihad against drugs. There has been war on illiteracy, that would be Jihad against illiteracy. Right now people of New Orleans, and Lebanon have a struggle to rebuild their communities, that would be Reconstruction Jihad. And yes, there are some in the Islamic world that feel their countries are being occupied, the resources being taken away against their will, they have called for Jihad against the invaders.

He also says:

...fundamental difference between Christianity's view that God is intrinsically linked to reason (the Greek concept of logos) and Islam´s view that "God is absolutely transcendent." Benedict said that Islam teaches that God's "will is not bound up with any of our categories, even that of rationality." The risk he sees implicit in this concept of the divine is that the irrationality of violence can potentially be justified if someone believes it is God's will. "As far as understanding of God and thus the concrete practice of religion is concerned, we find ourselves faced with a dilemma which nowadays challenges us directly. Is the conviction that acting unreasonably contradicts God's nature merely a Greek idea, or is it always and intrinsically true?"

I am not sure on what logos his Holiness makes a claim that there is any historical "logos" in Christianity. Wasn't it the Chaotic church that was prosecuting the Galilee for reasoning that earth is round? Evne today, isn't it the Catholic church that is against the basic common sense issues as contraceptive and aids prevention?

May the victims of the Christian atrocities, the South American Indian culture that was devastated by the invading Catholics, the victims of the Spanish inquisitions, the victims of the crusaders, the witch hunts, the world wars....... one day will find comfort in that there is "logos" behind the christian atrocities.

It is far more interesting to compare the comments of the Pope Benedict with that of a Islamic scholar, former Iranian president Seyed Mohammad Khatami, in a speech he delivered at the Washington National Cathedral, he said:

"Jesus is the prophet of kindness and peace. Muhammad is the prophet of ethics, morality and
grace. Moses is the prophet of dialogue and exchange," he said. "It's good at the present time,
where war, violence and repression is so prevalent across the world, for all of us who are
followers of God's religion to pursue all efforts for the establishment of peace and security."

What is evident is that in the eye of an Islamic scholar, there is no putting down the Christianity or Judaism. For the pope it appears as if Islam is a nuisance that he just needs to deal with. Where as for A Muslim scholar he accepts Christianity and Judaism and feels that his interpretation is closer to reality. It appears that at least as far as the scholars are concern, the Catholic church is stuck in Byzantine times, while Islam has moved on with sensibilites that are required in the Global Village.


Full text of Khatami Speech is available at: National Cathedral Web Site

After 5 years of War on Terror....

Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pennsylvania, took the floor after Reid's comments and denounced them.

[After five years of fighting the "war on terror"...]"The very people that planned the attacks are the people who are in Iraq -- al Qaeda in Iraq -- causing that sectarian violence," he said. "Should we ignore that, I ask the senator from Nevada?"

Source