Writing about Wahabism and Salafi-Islam, could fill many books. I will however in this article, try to make clear why it is of tremendous importance in our time. Both movements are considered as the origin of Islamic terrorism. A lot of recent Islamic terrorists such as Osama Bin Laden, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, and Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, have been inspired by Wahabism.
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1703 - 1792 ) was an Arab theologian born in Saudi Arabia and can be considered as the founder of Wahabism. Wahab is considered by many to be a great reformer of Islam, and at the same time as the "father of Islamic terrorism. Iwill not go deeply into his teachings, but expose the teachings of two of his contemporary followers.
Salman bin Fahed al-Auda, in his book "The End of History", asserts that the solution to Islamic distress , that may bring about the fall of America and the Western world, "exists in one word which is Jihad". According to al-Auda, the meaning of jihad is much broader than fighting with a sword. Appealing to Muslims throughout the world, he wrote: "We should not simplify this issue and narrow its meaning to a restricted military battle in one of the Islamic regions or even to an all-out war against the West, which is possible and predicted and we assume is arriving… Life as a whole is a battlefield. The weapons are not only the rifle, the bullet, the airplane, the tank, and the cannon. Not at all! Thinking is a weapon, the economy is a weapon, money is a weapon, water is a weapon, planning is a weapon, unity is a weapon, and so there are many types of weapons." In "The End of History", al-Auda concluded that the West by itself was already in an advanced state of decay: "The West, and above all the United States, and Western culture, in general are undergoing a historical process that is deterministic. This process leads to its total collapse, sooner or later." His jihad was intended to accelerate that collapse. During the 1990's, he was regarded as the most influential preacher in Saudi Arabia and Osama Bin Laden often cites out of his work.
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Posted by Walt in Religon, Terrorism categories at 7:41 AM EDT
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The US Navy SEALs has had a veritable past and a rich history of its own. The earliest veterans to man strategic missions were the Operational Swimmers of the Office of Strategic Services or OSS who manned many such missions before the Navy SEALs did.
Initial training
The initial training started in November 1943 in the Camp Pendleton. This training camp then moved to Catalina Island during January in 1944. Later on within 3 months the training camp finally moved to the Bahamas. These early versions of the US Navy SEALs initiated various Navy SEALs equipments such as flexible swimming fins, diving equipment which was closed circuit in nature, submersible swimming equipment, as well as diverse combat swimming tools.
The first OSS mission
It was in May of the year 1944 that General Donovan who was the current head of the OSS, segregated the entire team into various groups. Group 1 was headed by Lt. Choate to Admiral Nimitz in order to initiate this early Navy SEALs team into the Pacific Theater. In July 1944 this team became a part of the UDT-10. In the first submarine Navy SEALs operation performed by the OSS a team of 5 men carried out this task.
The Granite Plan
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Posted by Walt in US Military categories at 10:34 PM EDT
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For decades terrorists have been attacking Israel. The violence has pretty much been relentless and barely garners much beyond half hearted condemnation by the vaunted international community. And on the off chance that there is even recognition of the violence the Israeli’s deal with such recognition usually also contains condemnation of Israel and demands “restraint” in defending themselves.
But golly gee wilikers! When Israel has had enough and goes on an all out butt whooping rampage against the terrorists and those that support them, the United Nations under the ever decisive leadership of Kofi Annan leaps into action like Superman! Well, at least we know what it takes to get the vaunted “international community” off their butts. Who cares when Israel is under attack right? But if terrorist thugs are threatened with annihilation they cannot wait to jump in and save those poor soles. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Walt in Terrorism categories at 1:02 AM EDT
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By Thomas E. Brewton
How indicative of his character and beliefs is Senator Obama's having launched one of his political campaigns at the home of his friends Bernadine Dohrn and Bill Ayers?
Who are Bernadine Dohrn and Bill Ayers? And why would Senator Obama wish to associate his political beliefs with those of Dohrn and Ayers?
Might his friendship with these Weatherman terrorists of the 1960s and 70s be a clue to the voting record that led National Journal to rate Mr. Obama the most liberal member of the Senate?
The New York Times reported on September 11, 2001, ironically, the day the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were bombed:
"Life With the Weathermen: No Regrets for a Love of Explosives"
By Dinitia Smith
"I don't regret setting bombs," Bill Ayers said. "I feel we didn't do enough." Mr. Ayers, who spent the 1970's as a fugitive in the Weather Underground, was sitting in the kitchen of his big turn-of-the-19th-century stone house in the Hyde Park district of Chicago. The long curly locks in his Wanted poster are shorn, though he wears earrings. He still has tattooed on his neck the rainbow-and-lightning Weathermen logo that appeared on letters taking responsibility for bombings.
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Posted by Walt in Communism, Presidential Race, Terrorism categories at 10:13 PM EDT
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From 1789 to 1815 Congressmen received $6.00 daily, but only on the days they showed up. From 1815 to 1855 Congressmen received a modest salary, compared to the massive salaries of the Congressmen today. In 1855 their salaries increased to $3,000 annually. Then in 1865 they gave themselves a 66% increase to $5,000 annually. 6 years later they boosted their salaries another 50% to $7,500 per year. The American People became so outraged by the greed that congressmen were showing, that congress was forced to take a 33% paycut, which lasted 34 years until 1907, at which time they gave themselves another 50% increase back to $7,500 annually. They took two other paycuts, both of which were during the Great Depression, for a total of 15%. These are the only 3 times in American History that any Congressmen have ever taken salary cuts.
In 1935, Congress voted themselves a 19% increase, then they didn't receive another pay raise until 12 years later, when they gave themselves a 25% increase in 1947. In 1955 Congress gave themselves a whopping 80% increase. In the years 1987, and 1991 Congress received 2 raises per year. 3% + 20% in 1987, and 4% and 25% in 1991. Within the last 10 years Congress has raised their salaries 8 times for a total of 26%. While the lowest paid American Workers have only received 1 raise within the last 10 years.
In the last 25 years Congress has seen 18 salary increases totaling 277%. While the lowest paid American Workers have only seen 5 wage increases in 25 years totaling a mere 166%. In the last 25 years the cost of living has increased 251%. The Minimum Wage has not been increased since 1997. While Congressmen's pay has increased 8 out of the last 10 years. To see what Minimum Wage would be, if Congress had given American Workers the same amount of increases they took, click here.
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Posted by Walt in Economics, Politics categories at 11:40 PM EDT
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Who could have predicted the explosive growth in the popularity for blogs as news or media outlets? Today, more and more people are tuning into their favorite news blog instead of catching the morning or evening news on the TV or radio. While the majority of those receiving news still get it from the major media outlets, more and more media blogs are becoming the go-to source for news.
Short for “web log,” a blog is a specialized site that allows one or more people to share a running log of events and personal insights with online audiences. Basically, a blog is an online journal.
There are millions of blogs currently out there. In fact, there is probably not one topic out there that does not have its own blog. With topics ranging from food to fantasy, home improvement to hot news topics, college sports to celebrities, or baseball to beauty products, blogs are everywhere. Blogs that are particular to political or current-events themes have especially grown in popularity. These blogs, serving as news outlets, have become “soap boxes” for instant mass-audience commentary.
After all, what is media without criticism or commentary? Who does not want to talk about what they see, hear, or read about in the news? The news is a part of our everyday lives – what we see, hear, or read about largely affects us – worldwide, nationwide, and even community wide. With all of the news stories thrown out there, you can hardly expect people to keep quiet about it.
Hence, this is the number one reason for the ever-growing popularity of media blogs as news and commentary outlets.
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Posted by Walt in News Media categories at 7:57 PM EDT
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By Alan Caruba
I really don’t care how many times Barack Hussein Obama says he is a Christian. I believe he is a Muslim and I believe he chosen to hide his true faith in the name of the jihad being waged by the militant branch of Islam through acts of terror and intimidation and the world.
Few in the West know of the doctrine of “taqiyya”, the concealment of a Muslim’s true faith. As Robert Spencer explained it in his book, “The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades)”, there are “two enduring Islamic principles: the permissibility of political assassination for the honor of the Prophet and his religion and the allowance for the practice of deception in wartime.” Indeed, Mohammed is quoted as saying that, “War is deceit.”
Jihad is war. It is a holy war. It is central to the practice of Islam.
To put the practice of deception in its historic context, Spencer notes that, “When Shiite Muslims were persecuted by Sunnis, they developed the doctrine of taqiyya, or concealment: They could lie about what they believed, denying aspects of their faith that were offensive to Sunnis. This practice is sanctioned by the Koran warning Muslims that those who forsake Islam will be consigned to Hell—except those forced to do so, but who remain true Muslims inwardly.”
In Iraq, Sunni Muslims, fearful of being attacked by the Shiite majority, shared information about how to make themselves and their homes appear to be Shiite. The practice of taqiyya was applied and with good reason. It is worth noting that Sunnis are the majority sect of Islam, whereas Shiites are concentrated in Iraq and in neighboring Iran.
This is why Obama’s profession of faith as a Christian permits the concealment of being a Muslim in his heart. What he does not deny is that he was raised and educated as a Muslim, attended a Muslim school for four years while living in Indonesia. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the school taught Wahhabism, a fundamentalist version of Islam that has it roots in Saudi Arabia. At age 10, his twice-divorced mother moved to Hawaii.
If he were truly an apostate, a Muslim who had renounced Islam, the penalty for that is death.
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Posted by Walt in Presidential Race, Terrorism categories at 11:07 PM EDT
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By Alan Caruba
In late April, AccuWeather.com, led by Joe Bastardi, its chief meteorologist, issued a news release that was, to be kind, pure mush. The early warning forecast for 2008’s June to November hurricane season said that conditions like La Nina and a “continued warm water cycle in the Atlantic Basin” held forth the “chance for U.S. landfalling storms.”
The operative word here is “chance” when predicting hurricanes because it is largely a question of gaming odds on how many. What no self-respecting meteorologist, whether in private forecasting or working for the U.S. government’s weather service, wants you to know is that their highly sophisticated computer weather models quite simply cannot factor in a whole range of factors, not the least of which is clouds. Yes, clouds.
As I am fond of telling people, the best definition of the weather is “chaos” which is to say, beyond maybe four days, accurately predicting it is nearly impossible. This is not to denigrate the work of meteorologists and the scholarship of climatologists who study long-term trends and cycles. Bless them, bless them all!
Men have been trying to predict the weather since ancient shamans studied the entrails of chickens. The weather is one of the great determinant factors in all aspects of life on Earth and it is in a constant state of change.
A fine example is the last ten thousand years or so of temperate, even moderate, weather the planet has enjoyed. It gave rise to civilizations based on agriculture, allowing some to grow food while others engaged in conquest on foot, on horseback or sailing to places they then claimed for themselves. Nasty bunch those human beings. What we call history some might uncharitably call organized thievery, but farmers still want to know if it will rain next week.
Knowing about hurricanes takes on importance these days because most of the nation’s population lives within fifty miles of either coast. Since hurricanes are an East Coast and Gulf of Mexico event, the West Coast has to content itself with earthquakes (entirely unpredictable), wildfires, and other unpleasantries.
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Posted by Walt in General categories at 11:57 PM EDT
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Yogi Berra is definitely a character and certain Yogi Berra quotes sum up his personality to a tee. His birthday, May 15th, is right around the corner and these fifteen famous Yogi Berra quotes are a fabulous way to celebrate this American icon.
1. "You should always go to other people's funerals. Otherwise they won't come to yours."
2. "Never answer an anonymous letter."
3. "Little League baseball is a good thing because it keeps the parents off the streets and the kids out of the house."
4. "A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore."
5. "I never blame myself when I'm not hitting. I just blame the bat and if it keeps up, I change bats. After all, if I know it isn't my fault that I'm not hitting, how can I get mad at myself?"
6. "The game is supposed to be fun. If you have a bad day, don't worry about it. You can't expect to get a hit every game."
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Posted by Walt in Humor categories at 7:41 AM EDT
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By Jim Kouri
Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton finally agreed to appear on the highly-rated Fox News show The O’Reilly Factor. Her interview, which was taped earlier this
week while she was campaigning in South Bend, Indiana, was broadcast on The Factor over two consecutive nights.
On Thursday night, part two of “Hillary in the No Spin Zone” aired, and she was asked questions on the topics of foreign policy, the War on Terror, and illegal immigration. When Bill O’Reilly turned to the immigration debate, he asked, “Will you shut down sanctuary cities?” Hillary responded, “No, I will not.”
According to a new report from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the illegal immigrant population within the United States currently exceeds 13 million, an estimate that has almost doubled since 2000. Given this increasing trend, Hillary’s response should be frightening to American families, who are forced to live with frequent criminal activity committed by illegals in sanctuary cities. Even during the Senate debate of the Grand Amnesty bill last year, Senator Clinton voted against the Coleman Amendment which would have banned sanctuary cities (Roll Call 177).
“It is an outrage that Hillary Clinton is running to become President of the United States, yet she is openly admitting that she will not enforce America’s laws,” said Eagle Forum Executive Director Jessica Echard.
“Sanctuary city policies put all Americans in danger, and as an elected official, Hillary Clinton is well aware of that fact. Do we really want to elect someone who will enable criminal aliens to roam our streets?” she added
Last August, several African-American college-bound teenagers were brutally murdered while listening to music in a playground in Newark, New Jersey, one of many US sanctuary cities. Although Newark is no stranger to violence, the perpetrator was an illegal alien from Peru, who had been previously charged with raping a 5-year-old girl, but was released despite his obvious illegal presence in this country.
“If Hillary Clinton will not enforce the law against sanctuary cities, why should we believe she will enforce any other immigration laws or build the fence?” stated Echard. “She will simply continue the Bush open border policies which she pretends to condemn and that have allowed our illegal immigration population to nearly double since 2000.”
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Posted by Walt in Immigration, Presidential Race categories at 11:11 PM EDT
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