Sunday Reading List, January 13, 2008
The Lost Archive -- Missing for a half century, a cache of photos spurs sensitive research on Islam's holy text (WSJ)
On the night of April 24, 1944, British air force bombers hammered a former Jesuit college here housing the Bavarian Academy of Science. The 16th-century building crumpled in the inferno. Among the treasures lost, later lamented Anton Spitaler, an Arabic scholar at the academy, was a unique photo archive of ancient manuscripts of the Quran.The 450 rolls of film had been assembled before the war for a bold venture: a study of the evolution of the Quran, the text Muslims view as the verbatim transcript of God's word. The wartime destruction made the project "outright impossible," Mr. Spitaler wrote in the 1970s....
Memo to Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England: This is What an Islamic Law Expert Looks Like, IntelFusion
Since Major Stephen Coughlin (USAR) is departing the Joint Staff when his current contract expires in March, 07, and since he was hired as a so-called "expert" on Islamic law, in spite of the fact that he has no formal training in it, I thought it might be valuable for all concerned, particularly the Deputy Defense Secretary, to meet an authentic expert on the subject - Khaled Abou El Fadl....
2007 International Privacy Ranking - Leading surveillance societies in the EU and the World 2007 (pdf version here)
Bin Laden's son seeks life of UK country gentleman
Applies for visa to live with Brit wife, have child, become activist for peace, (WND) Also see " ... the British grandmother who married Osama bin Laden’s son, Omar. At the time of their marriage, the 52-year-old new Mrs. bin Laden defended the father of her 26-year-old sixth husband.
The Rant, Intel agents have had it with Bush
Rep. Peter Hoekstra, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, wrote a letter to President George W. Bush back in May saying the Administration probably violated the law by not informing Congress of his secret intelligence activities against Americans....
Islamism and Challenges to Resources for U.S. Strategic Planning Against Jihad
As previously discussed, in addressing the strategic planning to fight Jihad, any blueprint strategy for national security must define Jihad, must address it within the national security threat, and must also define a national policy on the ideology of political Islamism. The 9/11 Commission report defines Islamism as follows: "an Islamic militant, anti-democratic movement, bearing a holistic vision of Islam whose final aim is the restoration of the caliphate." Yet the United States still has no foreign policy or strategic position on this ideology, even though the 9/11 Commission report has stated "Islamist terrorism is an immediate derivative of Islamism."...
Whom do you trust to confront Iran? (My answer is Fred Thompson)
Iraq's Progress, Safety and Blessing, Human Events
Darkness surrounded her as the helicopter lifted, whipping the air around her with a reverberating thump, thump, thump. A tall blonde in a war-torn Middle Eastern land, Debbie Lee felt a familiar ache in her heart.....
CIA: We said back in 1974 that Israel had nuclear weapons, Haaretz
The Central Intelligence Agency, backed by bodies including the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research and the Defense Intelligence Agency, determined in August 1974 that Israel had nuclear "weapons in being," a "small number" of which it "produced and stockpiled."Israel was also suspected of providing nuclear materials, equipment or technology to Iran, South Africa and other then-friendly countries....
The MUST READ ARTICLE FOR TODAY is "A Big Ms.- take", by Roger W. Gardner at Radarsite
Today (1/11/08) on Spree’s Wake Up America HCDL posted an astonishing little piece about how the famous -- perhaps now infamous -- Ms. women’s magazine refused to run the above ad promoting Israeli women in positions of power. What possible motive, HCDL asks, could they have for refusing to run an advertisement which clearly demonstrates the success of professional women in Israel?.... (continue reading)
BOOK REVIEW: How Iraq has ‘retribalised’ by Khaled Ahmed, Daily Times
Retribalisation has happened not only in the Pushtun hinterland, which was already allowed to remain tribal, but in Punjab too where tribe-oriented panchayats have begun to raise their ugly head in parallel to the state’s declining judicial system. The state has to go if you want to fight your war in the name of Islam. Jihad wins against the enemy by first undoing the state it wants to defend....
Report: Bush ordered IDF to be used to soften Hamas in Gaza for Abbas, Israel lInsider
Before he ended his visit to the country, President George W. Bush gave Israel his approval for a military operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, but said the purpose for any such action should not be to stamp out Palestinian rockets attacks, arms smuggling and stockpiling. Rather, IDF troops are to be put in harm's way so that Gaza can be handed on a silver platter to Mahmoud Abbas, rolling back his ouster, DEBKAfile sources report.
Which Party Has The Stomach To Take On Radical Islam?
From Investors Business Daily: a comparison of the two political parties regarding the threat from radical Islam.
Jewish cemetery attack now called hate crime
B5 TV News- Re-Baathification & W's Victory lap, with video
McCain and his idea of telling the truth...
Tribal Area Assessment from Muhammad, January 12, 2008
The people of tribal areas are also human beings and they have full right to demand peace for themselves. They have the right to demand better education facilities for their children. At least I want that US should help us in attaining these goals. The tribesmen will certainly welcome the US troops to hunt and eliminate terrorists, who are bent upon destroying this world....
Secretary Negroponte: Secure The Release of At Least One Jailed In Vietnam
In the endless, general discussions of international diplomacy, sometimes, it seems, absolutely nothing is accomplished.For that reason, we urge U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, who travels to Vietnam this week, to make a commitment to free Le Thi Cong Nhan, a young Ho Chi Mihn City attorney in a communist Vietnam jail.
Germany - Terror Warning Issued
Lebanese authorities warned of terrorist attacks on targets within Germany after arresting an al-Qaeda suspect in Beirut, prompting the Justice Ministry in Berlin increase security, authorities said on Saturday.“There was a tip from Lebanon - a warning tip,” said Stefanie Amft, a spokesperson for German federal police.
She gave no further details, except to say it was part of a global threat. “It is known that Germany is part of this worldwide threat,” she said.
A drill instructor in the National Guard has been convicted in a Wisconsin federal court of illegally transferring a machine gun after a rifle he loaned to a student malfunctioned, setting off three shots before jamming.The verdict of guilty on one count in the case against David Olofson was confirmed yesterday by the clerk's office in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
THE LAND OF EMPTY, 2026 A.D.
The year is 2026. Well past middle age now, you still remember the life that was. Memory is a curse, you think, for it means endless grieving for the America that once meant freedom, hope, and plenty. Only 20 years ago you were part of a thriving middle class envied by the world. Despite encroaching globalism, your future seemed secure.___________________________________________________________________________________ Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Rosemary's Thoughts, A Blog For All, 123beta, Adam's Blog, Shadowscope, Leaning Straight Up, Big Dog's Weblog, Conservative Cat, Pursuing Holiness, Adeline and Hazel, third world county, Allie is Wired, Stix, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The World According to Carl, Pirate's Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Global American Discourse, Dumb Ox Daily News, CORSARI D'ITALIA, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
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