The Zonka Blog

This blog has moved...

2006-09-10T20:12:00.000+02:00

I have decided to move my blog to my own server(s) to have full control over the whole process, from writing, through publishing to presenting, including tweaking at the tiny little knobs in the server software to make the best presentation, and without having to rely on the goodwill of some 3rd party hosting... This way I'm 100% in control of my blog for good and bad...

The address of the new blog is http://beta.kimcm.dk/

Happiness is found in Denmark

2006-09-03T04:14:00.000+02:00

Happiness is found in Denmark
From Sydsvenskan.se, September 2, 2006
Translation from Swedish: Zonka

If you want to be happier. Move to Denmark ? it's the place where people are most happy in the whole world.

What makes people happy?
The Socialphychologist Adrian White from the university of Leicester have compiled hundreds of surveys, which together contains what 80,000 people around the world have answered on questions about they feeling of happiness and unhappiness.

Nowhere in the world do people feel more happy than in Denmark. The nordic countries are seen as a whole the happiness center of the world: Iceland is 4^th, Finland 6^th and Sweden 7^th on the list.

Health, prosperity and education is the three factors that people mostly associate with happiness, says Adrian White.
There is a conception that capitalism creates unhappy people. However, when people are asked whether they feel happy and satisfied with their life, then it is those that lives in countries with a good health care, good mean income and access to education that mostly answers yes.

Several studies ave earlier shown that when people reach a level where they can satisfy their basic needs, then the connection between money and happiness is lessened.

Christian Bjørnskov who is a national economist, teacher and researcher at Handelshøjskolen (Business School -- ed) in Aarhus, proclaims that peoples trust as the decisive factor in why Denmark is at the top of the happiness list. In the small and homogeneous Danish society the inhabitants largely believes the best about their fellow people. They feel save and the social stability is solid.

Among the 178 countries that are in Adrian White's study it is countries that are plagued by oppression, war and/or civil war where people find themselves least happy. On the last seven places on the list is Armenia, Sudan, Ukraine, Moldavia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe and lastly Burundi in Central Africa.

Read it all

Pause in blogging...

2006-09-02T21:49:00.000+02:00

I have been taking a break from blogging here, not because there have been nothing to write about, quite the contrary... but I feel that sometimes it's good to take a pause and do other things so that any one thing doesn't consume all your time.

So the blog isn't abandoned it's just that the author had to take a break and enjoy some time doing some other stuff and trying to do some thinking without making my head explode...

YOU MAY BE AN ISLAMOPHOBE IF...

2006-08-15T01:41:00.000+02:00

From: Democracy Frontline

This little test is delivered to our readers by Warner

You refer to the midwinter holiday as »Christmas«.
You save loose change in a p***y-bank.
You allow your children to read unexpurgated versions of Winnie the Poo.
You doubt whether it's politically correct to stone rape victims.
You believe that the earth is round.
You think there's something weird about a 50 year old man marrying a six year old girl.
Your children have Barbie dolls or Teddy Bears
You object to being a second class citizen in your own country.
You fail to celebrate cultural diversity when your daughter is gang-raped for not wearing a headscarf.
You think government policy should be determined by your elected representatives rather than a howling mob.
You object to your taxes being used to support people who are plotting to kill you.
You aren't convinced that 'Jihad' means 'Inner Spiritual Struggle'.
You don't understand why the Jews must be exterminated.
You allow your children to play with LEGO.
You aren't married to at least one of your cousins.
You sometimes have doubts about BBC reporting.
You occasionally wonder what's inside those walking tents.
You realise that taqiyya is not a Mexican beverage.
You believe moderate Muslims ride unicorns.
You don't appreciate the multicultural need for Methodist grandmothers to be body-cavity searched before boarding aircraft.
You claim to understand the words »Slay the unbelievers wherever you find them«, even though you don't speak Arabic.
You object to taxpayers' money being spent for terrorists to hold a festival to commemorate the anniversary of their massacres.
You have reservations about 'faith schools' where the kids will be taught that you and your family are najis (excrement), at public expense.
You don't understand why flying your country's flag has become a hate-crime.
You don't appreciate why it is so insensitive and offensive for the police to prevent oppressed minorities venting their frustration by mass murder.

EVALUATING YOUR SCORE
How many of the questions did you answer 'YES'? On a scale of 0 to 25

0 you are a Dhimmi
1 to 5 you are a Najis Kaffir
6 to 10 you are an Islamophobe
11 to 15 you are a Thought Criminal
16 to 20 you are an Enemy of Allah
21 to 25 you are a Zionist Crusader offspring of pigs and monkeys.

Researcher: Danes fear muslims

2006-08-15T00:25:00.000+02:00

In his book "The conflict about the new Danes", written by the Jens Peter Frølund Thomsen, associated professor at Aarhus University, he states that 40% of the Danes consider Islam as a threat to the Danish Democracy. This number comes from a survey from 2002, where 1500 people were asked to complete a questionaire of about 70 questions about their attitude towards ethnic minorities. From the answers he concludes:

»There is almost a hostile attitude amongs the Danes towards immigrants and refugees, who have Islam as a religion. 40% of all danes consider Islam as a threat to the Danish democracy.«

»The immigration issue have been most important in many years and will continue to be so for a long time, and here I want to see if we can do thing differently. That, I believe, is the duty of researchers. We need to point at problems, and then other must figure out what needs to be done.« says the associated professor.«

Since the survey was made in 2002, I guess the number of Danes who considers Islam to be a threat has gone up by now as more and more people have become aware of what Islam is about and generally not liking muslims after what happened during the Muhammed Cartoon Controversy. And I also believe that most Danes don't consider it a problem that we have a healthy scepticism or even feel antagonistic towards Islam, and though people might fear Islam and a possible Islamic terror attack on Denmark – I don't believe that fear is the right word to use with respect to the Danes attitude towards Islam – disdain, anger, frustration and insecurity is probably more accurate emotions use!

Times to wake up?

2006-08-13T11:32:00.000+02:00

On Friday a day after the averted airplane attacks, Gerard Baker of the British Times wrote an opinion piece The first step towards defeating the terrorists: stop blaming ourselves, that suggests that some elements of the Times actually have their eyes quite open and cleared of sand. Gerard Baker, suggest that it is time that we realize that the attacks are not a response to something that we're doing, they are not a response to the wars in the Middle-East, they are not a response to the politics of Bush or Blair... They are carried out by muslims who yearns for a muslim dominated world and by diverting our attention to other explanations we're missing the point and even worse we're unable to lock onto the real threat and come up with ways of stopping the threat.

Go read the whole story: The first step towards defeating the terrorists: stop blaming ourselves

British police thwart aircraft bomb plot

2006-08-10T14:27:00.000+02:00

British police and intelligence service have most foiled a major terror attack, aiming to blow up several airplanes in transit, presumably hoping to create a bigger catastrophe than 9/11. Police have rounded up the suspects and are investigating the situation while both Britain and the USA have raised the terror-alert to the highest level!

Of course AP doesn't mention that the suspected terrorists are British born muslims of Pakistani origin... sigh!

British police thwart aircraft bomb plot
LONDON (AP) - British authorities said Thursday they had thwarted a terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up several aircraft heading to the U.S. using explosives smuggled in carry-on luggage. British Airways canceled all flights between London's Heathrow airport and all points in Britain, Europe and Libya for the day.

Britain's Home Secretary John Reid said 21 people had been arrested in London, its suburbs and in Birmingham, including the alleged "main players" in the plot.

Huge crowds formed at security barriers at Heathrow as officials searching for explosives barred nearly every form of liquid outside of baby formula.

Officials raised security to its highest level in Britain and banned hand-carried luggage on all trans-Atlantic flights.

The extreme measures at a major international aviation hub sent ripple effects throughout the world. Heathrow airport was closed to most flights from Europe.

The U.S. government responded by raising its threat alert to its highest level for commercial flights from Britain to the United States amid fears the plot had not been completely crushed. The alert for all flights coming or going from the United States was also raised slightly.

In Washington, two U.S. counterterrorism officials said the terrorists had targeted United, American and Continental airlines. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.

A U.S. intelligence official said the plotters had hoped to target flights to major airports in New York, Washington and California, all major summer tourist destinations.

Britain's Home Secretary John Reid said 21 people had been arrested in London, its suburbs and in Birmingham following a lengthy investigation, including the alleged "main players" in the plot. Searches continued in a number of locations.

The suspects were "homegrown," though it was not immediately clear if they were all British citizens, said a police official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case. Police were working closely with the South Asian community, the official said.

The official said the plotters intended to simultaneously target multiple planes bound for the United States.

"We think this was an extraordinarily serious plot and we are confident that we've prevented and attempt to committee mass murder on an unimaginable scale," Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson said.

READ ALL

Michelle Malkin have more information as does The Counterterrorism Blog.

*** UPDATE ***
Exile has an interesting take on the media coverage of The Non-attack on Heathrow.

Are we ready for confrontation?

2006-08-09T11:50:00.000+02:00

The following opinion letter showed up in Jyllands-Posten on Monday – it is interesting for several reasons, not only because the content is very relevant to the conflict between the Islamic world and the Western world, that is brewing and getting worse all the time. It is also an eye-opener as to the way that the debate is more open here in Denmark than many other places. The letter would never have been accepted in many other European countries. In fact in many of those countries the letter would be condemned as racist, alarmist, islamophobic, or similar and then quickly dumped into the shredder. To be fair there is a couple of Danish newspapers that would give this letter the same treatment, but fortunately not all.

This post is also available on Gates of Vienna – thanks to Baron Bodissey, who have some comments of his own and a picture of Dr. Hasselbalch.

Article: Are we ready for confrontation?
By Ole Hasselbalch, professor, Doctor of Laws – Jyllands-Posten, August 7, 2006
Translation: Zonka

There is no more respite for being slow of perception or fickleness. He who doesn't understand the foundations for the benefits, he enjoys and is willing to act in accordance to that, is bound to lose them.

It isn't written anywhere that the West and our model of society will win. Thus there are no basis for dialogue with Islam, as long as that faith's practicioners only considers such as a tool for deception, says the author of todays article.

The waters have been parted after the Muhammed-affair. Those, who do not now understand, what the situation is, will hardly ever understand.

It wasn't a case of a spontaneous and popular indignation over some not very sensational cartoons: The affair started months after the publication, the Egypt government acted as birth helper, and the authentic cartoons was supplemented with a set of fakes and lies. And one doesnøt burn embassies and flags in that part of the world without governmental approvement.

Within the Arabic cultural sphere a feigned anger over an alleged offense is a wellknown trait. Last winter there were many reasons to invent such an outrage: Egypt was facing a parlamentary election, and the regime needed a case to boost their image. Iran needed a diversion from the Western attention to the nuclear ambitions of the country. Syria needed to have the pressure lifted after the involvement in the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister. The negotiations about Kosovos future was imminent. The new Palestinian government needed credit. Finally there were a need for tougher blasphemylaws to cap the increasing tendency in Western European medias to occupy themselves with the unacceptable parts of Islam – the British parlament was about to discuss "The Religious Hatred Bill".

In short, the Muhammed-affair wasn't set off by an offense. It was created in the expanding muslim world in use for the conflict with the West.

This conflict is fundamentally about whether a political ideology, clothed in a religious mantle will be allowed to force their dogmas and even dictate, that these must replace empirical knowledge. If this succeeds, we're back to the times when Copernicus and Galilei was facing the inquisition. On such a foundation no decent society can be built.

As the Muhammed-affair shows, the means, that are employed against us are unusual.

The core element is the population development. As Per Stig Møller is noting in JP Jul. 7:

In the middle of this century half a billion Europeans – included herein a large number of muslim immigrants – will be facing a Middle-East and Northern Africa with four times as many people.

He could have added that demographers at Copenhagen University have predicted a muslim majority in Denmark within this century. (Berlingske Tidende August 8, 2005).

This situation is being exploited by the frontrunners of Islam. In Norway the resident fundamentalist, Mulla Krekar says it this way:»Look at the development in Europe's population, where the number of muslims are growing like mosquitos. Each western woman in EU produces on average 1.4 children. Every muslim woman in the same countries are producing 3.5 children. In 2050, 30% of the population in Europe will be muslims« (Dagbladet March 13, 2006). Libya's Gadaffi states it this way: »We have 50 million muslims in Europe. They are a sign that Allah will give Islam victory over Europe – without swords, without canons, without conquest. The 50 million muslims in Europe will turn Europe muslim within a few decades. Allah is mobilising the muslim Turkey and adds that to the European Union. That is an addition of 50 million more muslims. Then there will be 100 million muslims in Europe. Albania, which is a muslim country is already in the EU. Bosnia which is a muslim country is already in the EU. 50% of the population in those countries are muslim.« (Memri-TV)

It is furher known, which currents that dominates the muslim immigration groups. Based on the Muhammed-affair one can mention the survey LO published in Ugebrevet A4 on March 13, 2006: Under half would distance themselves from the Danish-hostile riots in the Middle-East – 11% even fully endorsed flagburnings, destroying embassies and boycotting Danish goods.

The so-called moderate muslims are insignificant. Only 1,000 signed up for "Democratic Muslims" in four weeks – the same number as the fundamentalists at any time can muster in Nørrebrohallen (Meeting place of Hitzb-ut-tahir – translator). The moderates will thus very likely be silenced in the long run, simply because there will be insufficient police resources to protect them.

Now it is certainly not a law of nature that the most populous cultures always are victorious. The spaniard Cortez toppled the mighty Inca empire with a few hundred soldiers. The people behind the Muhammed-affair know that they can neither defeat the West militarily or economically. This is why they operate on the psychological level by inventing fictive offenses and demand "respect" for their "religion". They need our passitivity, until the population development will make it impossible to stop them.

Therefore criticism of Islam is characterized as smear campaigns and hatred, natural defenses are called "discriminatory", and those who for 25 years have warned about what is going on, are being labelled and stigmatized with the aid of Danish collaborators as "rightwing extremists".

If we for that reason allow ourselves to be sucked into debates about the "tone of the debate", we lose precious time – and at the same time overlook how the respect for other religions are being practiced the the deeply intolerant Middle-East, where in the last 100 years they have virtually succeeded in wiping out the Christian and Jewish societies.

Status today is, that Europe is about to be lost because of European leaders lacking ability to identify the character of the threat or at least is looking the other way, fickleness, and a reluctance to say things clearly and a dislike of taking the unpleasant steps now, that will prevent something even worse later on.

As a consequence of this a society after Middle-Eastern fashion with corruption, nepotism and religious madness is wating at the door. Along the way the freedom rights will be suppressed – first because he who risks being suicide bombed, usually rather gives on the ideals than lose his life. Taxation will break down as the conditions in the kiosks and small shops (mostly owned by muslim immigrants, and known for cheating on taxes – translator) will spread to other branches of commerce. The Police will not be able to in increasingly larger geographical areas. The social structure will collapse as a result of the muslims family structure, their views on womens palce in society and a lack of understanding among too many of them about the connection between giving and receiving benefits. The consequence will be worse that the midevival Black Death, since our successors will be a suppressed minority who will not have the ability to rebuild what has been lost.

Humans often have difficulties to imagine calamities that haven't happened yet, and the many influential Seidengfadens and Skov Christensens (multi-cultural islamic apologists – translator) will with their fantasy tales pull the wrong way.

There is however, no more respite for being slow of perception or fickleness. He who doesn't understand the foundations for the benefits, he enjoys and is willing to act in accordance to that, is bound to lose them. It isn't written anywhere that the West and our model of society will win.

It is thus damaging to continue to support the establishment of a culture here, whose supporters as a group considered haven't and after all human experience neither will ever understand, what the preconditions are for the peace and prosperity that they enjoy are. Such an "integration" is the same as retreat of the western society order on our own soil. We have both a right – and to our decendants a duty – to protect ourselves from such.

Therefore the distribution of citizenship to persons, who cannot be expected to respect our values, must stop – and those who have received citizenship anyway, must be motivated to strike camp. Likewise the current influence of Middle-Eastern culture in the daily life of Danes must be opposed and not supported. When Jewish high-shool are being harrassed and threatened in school, their parents are not to be adviced to transfer their children to other schools, but the school have to be cleared of muslims, who can't behave. And if muslim ladies can't bathe together with others in swimmingpools, they are to be referred to the Red Sea instead.

It is furthermore important to gain insight into how much influence have been purchased by petrodollars on the press, the bureaucracy and politicians who are pushing in the direction of where we are heading, and which manipulation of Middle-Eastern origin the public is exposed to. It is known that the oil-sheiks have bought not only American ambassadors, but even a former president. How is the situation in this country? NATO can resist a frontal tank battle, but the Western leaders have been completely unprepared for the scams and tricks behind the Muhammed-affair. Are they better prepared today?

Finally and not the least it is thus that respect for Islams wickedness isn't promoting islamic soul searching. Islam as of today contains some serious systematic problems: It interferes aggresively and without paying attention to the means, in other peoples lives in the same way as totalitarian ideologies. Other world religions had to be re-interpreted before they – in the past – could be used in the same way.

There is thus no basis for a dialogue with Islam, as long as this belief's practicioners just considers such as a tool for deception.

Hizbollywood

2006-08-08T05:46:00.000+02:00

What started with the questions at the EU Referendum blog about the photographs of the bombing of Qana, then continued with the discovery of faked photographs by Adnan Hajj. And now the search have started to uncover more staged, manipulated and faked photographic "evidence" from the conflict in Lebanon... And so far the results doesn't look good, as each stone is turned, what is revealed underneath is not pretty – expect the confidence in news agencies to plummet drastically!

As an example the blog Drinking From Home has found a couple of photos that might not have been doctored, but are definitely staged or we are having a case of a very unfortunate woman who have now twice in a very short time been robbed of her home by Israeli bombs....

A Lebanese woman wails after looking at the wreckage of her apartment, in a building, that was demolished by the Israeli attacks in southern Beirut July 22, 2006. REUTERS/Issam Kobeisi (from Yahoo News)

A Lebanese woman reacts at the destruction after she came to inspect her house in the suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Aug. 5, 2006, after Israeli warplanes repeatedly bombed the area overnight.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla) (from Yahoo News)

Same clothes, same scar on her left cheek, same mark under her right eye. Two pictures of the same woman, maybe even taken on the same day.

And this is just the beginning, there's more... see A bridge too Weird and as the blogosphere dig deeper I'm sure a lot more will be uncovered. We are being led by the nose by islamic propaganda, and our own medias and others are buying the propaganda wholesale. And it didn't start with this current conflict it has most likely been going on for years, coloring our perceptions of what is really going on in the Middle-East. Up to now Islams propaganda war has been working, and it's about high time that they are exposed and we pull the plug on being lied to and misled every step of the way.

Our medias have to do some serious soul searching to regain some of their integrity and honesty and it's not a minute too soon!

*** UPDATE Aug 11, 2006 ***
Zombietime have a nice round-up of the Reuters photo fraud.

Help support the Israeli Soldiers

2006-08-08T04:33:00.000+02:00

Send a hug and some chocolate to Israeli soldiers by following this link – it won't cost you anything except a minute of your time!

(h/t: Bombe i en turban)

Reuters Image Problem

2006-08-07T16:50:00.000+02:00

Well Reuters have admitted that the fake picture with the smoke billowing over Beirut was doctored, and that they won't use the photographer again. Which is good, but it seems like this picture was just the tip of the iceberg... after the blogosphere have started to investigate the matter and the photographer, many more fakes have show up – many from the same photographer Adnan Hajj but also from others.

I won't repeat all of the pictures or the analysis here (but see links below), but suffice it to say that Reuters and other news agencies are having a major image problem on their hands. It is very reminiscent of the Pallywood productions – see the following video:

So while Reuters and other may have problems it's mostly of their own doing, in order to save money they are relying on local photographers and stringers to provide them with the news, and doesn't really check whether the stories and pictures they receive are biased or not, and particularly not when the story they receive is fitting with their own agencies bias. After all the worst that can happen to one of the local crew that get caught is that he is fired, however if the local crew brings images or stories that doesn't suit the local top dogs (Hizballah) then he might end up being dead (for real) in the next Hizbollywood production.

Doctored, Staged and Misleading Images and Analysis
To see the images that so far have been found to be misleading, faked, doctored and/or staged visit the following webpages and blogs:

Ed Driscoll: Picture Kill: How we got here
The Jawa Report: Reuters Doctoring Beirut Photos (Updated)
Ace of Spades HQ: Another Hajj Photo That Should Be Retracted (Seriously)
Michelle Malkin and LGF has numerous recent posts about the Reuters Incident.

*** UPDATE ***

Reuters withdraws all photos by Lebanese freelance

LONDON, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Reuters withdrew all 920 photographs by a freelance Lebanese photographer from its database on Monday after an urgent review of his work showed he had altered two images from the conflict between Israel and the armed group Hizbollah.

Global Picture Editor Tom Szlukovenyi called the measure precautionary but said the fact that two of the images by photographer Adnan Hajj had been manipulated undermined trust in his entire body of work.

"There is no graver breach of Reuters standards for our photographers than the deliberate manipulation of an image," Szlukovenyi said in a statement.

"Reuters has zero tolerance for any doctoring of pictures and constantly reminds its photographers, both staff and freelance, of this strict and unalterable policy."

The news and information agency announced the decision in an advisory note to its photo service subscribers. The note also said Reuters had tightened editing procedures for photographs from the conflict and apologised for the case.

Removing the images from the Reuters database excludes them from future sale.

Reuters ended its relationship with Hajj on Sunday after it found that a photograph he had taken of the aftermath of an Israeli air strike on suburban Beirut had been manipulated using Photoshop software to show more and darker smoke rising from buildings.

An immediate enquiry began into Hajj's other work.

It established on Monday that a photograph of an Israeli F-16 fighter over Nabatiyeh, southern Lebanon and dated Aug 2, had also been doctored to increase the number of flares dropped by the plane from one to three.

"Manipulating photographs in this way is entirely unacceptable and contrary to all the principles consistently held by Reuters throughout its long and distinguished history. It undermines not only our reputation but also the good name of all our photographers," Szlukovenyi said.

"This doesn't mean that every one of his 920 photographs in our database was altered. We know that not to be the case from the majority of images we have looked at so far but we need to act swiftly and in a precautionary manner."

The two altered photographs were among 43 that Hajj filed directly to the Reuters Global Pictures Desk since the start of the conflict on July 12 rather than through an editor in Beirut, as was the case with the great majority of his images.

Filing drills have been tightened in Lebanon and only senior staff will now edit pictures from the Middle East on the Global Pictures Desk, with the final check undertaken by the Editor-in-Charge, Reuters said.

Hajj worked for Reuters as a non-staff contributing photographer from 1993 until 2003 and again since April 2005. Most of his work was in sports photography, much of it outside Lebanon.

Hajj was not in Beirut on Monday and was not responding to calls. He told Reuters on Sunday that the image of the Israeli air strike on Beirut had dust marks which he had wanted to remove.

Questions about the accuracy of the photograph arose after it appeared on news Web sites on Saturday.

Several blogs, including a number which accuse the media of distorted coverage of the Middle East conflict, said the photograph had been doctored.

Premature Detonation

2006-08-06T20:41:00.000+02:00

If you ever are contemplating a suicide mission you might want to consider not riding a bike on bumpy roads with fully armed explosives attached to your body... or you might end up blown to bits in a nearby ditch, not the way to go to become a martyr and be welcomed in Islam's Heavenly Brothel...

Man exploded on bicycle
From Ekstra Bladet, August 6, 2006
Translation: Zonka
A suicide bomber exploded early Sunday on his bicycle, when his bomb belt exsploded prematurely. The police have afterwards found his head.

Early Sunday morning in the town of Hub in the Southwestern Pakistan a loud boom was heard, caused by an exploding suicide bomber.

Fortunately only the suicide bomber himself was killed. His bomb belt went off by an error, when the terrorist was on his way on a bicycle towards his target, says the police according to Fox News.

- This man came driving on his bike. He had secured explosives to his body, so that he was ready for his suicide attack, when the bomb suddenly went off, says the local chief of police, Munir Hussein.

Afterwards the man's head was found.

It is yet uncertain what target the man had chosen, but it is being investigated.

In the Baluchistan where the town of Hub is located, there have previously been attacks on gas pipes.

Photoshopping for war

2006-08-06T11:40:00.000+02:00

The photographer Adnan Hajj, that was also involved in the Qana photo controversy is apparently at it again, this time with the following photo:

Click here to see the original context of the image (original link removed from the net)

It is obvious that there is something amiss in this photo, the repeating patterns in the smoke and upon closer examination buildings are being duplicated as well. This doesn't bode well for the photograph and it will be interesting to see how Reuters who is responsible for publishing the photo will react to this...

For more information about the photo and how it was doctored see:

Allahpundit's The worst Photoshop I've ever seen
LGF's Reuters Doctoring Photos from Beirut
The Shape of Days: Adnan Hajj isn't even trying anymore

Reuters have three options now as I see it:

Apologize for being duped and getting rid of Adnan Hajj
Show conclusively that we are all mistaken and that the photo is genuine (and pigs can fly)
Act as if nothing have happened and lose credibility as the story spreads even wider

Also don't miss the Qana Director's Cut

The UNdemocratic United Nations

2006-08-05T14:07:00.000+02:00

Finally a sane voice in the Sea of increasingly political correct and leftwing dominated media, that dares to break through the taboo of criticizing the U.N. and show that they have an anti-democratic political agenda. The U.N. myth is just that a myth, that unfortunately it is still convenient to believe in, but it is becoming increasingly clear that the U.N. have been hi-jacked on almost every level by corrupt, and anti-democratic forces, being a testament to the increasingly global democratic deficit. Perhaps it is time for truly democratic countries to pull the plug on the United Nations farce and walk out. Like the predecessor of the U.N. – The League of Nations failed to fulfil its purpose and was dismantled, it seems increasingly clear that the U.N. is racing down towards the same fate. The League of Nations displayed their impotence in the Manchurian question in the 1930s, the U.N. is displaying their impotence, corruption and ineptitude to take a stand for their own ideals all over the place, and like the League of Nations failed on the brink of a major global armed conflict, so it seems like the U.N. is doing the same following in the footsteps of their predecessor!

Whatever the successor of the U.N., if any is uncertain, but if there needs to be a super-national body we in the west must demand that it will be a more democratic and open organization!

Speech without mandate
By Hans Hauge, Jyllands-Posten, August 5, 2006
Translation: Zonka

The U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland was visiting Beirut last week. He then stated that Israel was violating international humanitarian laws. He then demanded that Israel should stop the bombing. Can he do that?

The problem is that Jan Egeland isn't democratic elected by anyone. The "International Community", that he comes from is a community without a people – demos. Neither is he a judge, yet he judges a whole country.

Jan Egeland belongs to a Norwegian elite of socialdemocrats; his wife is a former minister for relief-aid, and he represents special interests. He is one of numerous Norwegians, who makes a career on relief-aid's illuminated by the media spotlight. I would never vote for him, if I had the opportunity, but I don't.

In the same way Kofi Annan isn't democratically elected by anyone. Those two cannot demand anybody to to anything. Their words have no legitimacy.

It is something else with Ehud Olmert or George W. Bush. They have legitimacy, which has been granted them, because they are elected in democratic elections. They can be removed in an election, however we cannot get rid of Annan and Egeland using our vote. They are undemocratic bureacrats. The UN have a gigantic democratic deficit. Apparently nobody is worried about that. Even the EU is far more democratic than the UN. If one have to decide who can decide anything on the International scene, the choice will must always fall on USA instead of UN.UN.

The United States is made up of democratic states, while United Nations is made up of a long string of dictatorships and democratic national states. A state has to be "national" to be given access to the UN, but not democratic.

Who defends human rights best? USA or UN? Well, if you ask the leftwing, who always talks about democracy, they will answer UN. In the UN Sudan and Cuba are monitoring that the Human Rights are being kept in Denmark and other places. As everyone knows, USA is a country that promotes, spread and defends Human Rights. In fact they actually invented them. And there is the difference between the UN way and the USA way, that USA have the power to spread and defend Human Rights, while the UN can only organize large luxurious conferences about them.

When USA's UN ambassador John Bolton, speaks it is the voice of authority, while Egeland and Annan only have rhetoric, and that is a form of impotence. John Bolton have been through a public and democratic process to be elected in contrast with the others.

Jan Egeland was also in Sudan, when the genocide took place there, however Sudan is simply not as interesting for the medias as Lebanon. They have to die in solitude and outside the spotlight – forgotten by churches and human rights organizations, the radical Hizb-ut-leftwing and Ole Sippel (News Correspondent – ed). Have Egeland also condemned Sudan? What is the difference between the American perception of Human Rights and the Global perception? It is that in the USA the Human Rights exist for the benefit of humans. They should be adapted to what we want. The "Human-Rights-Fundamentalists on the other side believes that humans should adapt to Human Rights. They are humanists, we are fundamentalists.

In short: Global institutions of all kinds promotes moralistic and socialistic elites completely random exercise of power, which is beyond any democratic control. Therefor any democrat should support USA.

The Closed System of Academia

2006-08-05T12:36:00.000+02:00

On Snaphanen yesterday a story was referenced from Danmarks Radio about a new Ph.D. thesis that explains how we are voting – namely that the length of our education is decissive for where we put our vote and the longer the education, the more likely the vote is going to either the extreme left or the multi-cultural parties.

Well without being a Ph.D. I could have told the same thing, it's been obvious from centuries if not from the Dawn of Man, that people are generally seeking like minds and the parties that the "highly educated" people are voting for is the parties that is being built by people with high educations and with a majority of highly educated people in them. But it is also the political parties that are most out of touch with what is going on in reality and is living under the illusion that reality must conform to their ideological or intellectual ideas of a perfect society... theories that have been created and rehashed over and over again on the finest universities in the world... so how can they be wrong?

Well for starters, most of the highly educated people and politicians have lives a rather sheltered life – Reality is something you read about in a book, and not something that needs to be experienced! And likewise the perfect society can be described in a study and released as a thesis, that is neatly wrapped and contains all the right answers without having to check the contents of the thesis with reality, rather check it against previous work in the field!

In a way academics today are living such a sheltered life that they believe their books and thesis' more than reality, reality is often a big mess, complex, and not very easy to describe in simple terms, thus let us reduce reality to some simple models and fit our perception on reality to these simplified models! There is nothing wrong with this as it can help clarify certain aspects of reality, but if you forget to check the model against reality or completely abandon reality and believe that you have the perfect solution to all kinds of problems solely based on models of reality then there is a big problem: delusion!

And delusions are thriving within the academic world, there are so-called experts on every imaginable subject, that loves to talk long and hard on their speciality and also often have a very P.C. solution to just about everything. The P.C. part comes from the "indoctrination" in schools, college and universities where P.C. behavior and thinking is becoming more and more the norm and non-P.C. thinking and behavior is scorned. And with academics with little experience of life outside the academic circles they hardly know anything else.

In days gone past it was considered a good thing for an academic to be well versed in many different issues that had little to do with their chosen field. It was considered a good thing to wait a year or two after college to travel the world, have a regular job or generally get some other experiences than school before starting university... Not anymore, there is a pressure on young people to go directly from school to university and not "waste" any time getting their degree. Likewise in Denmark (at least) it used to be (until 1971) mandatory to take a course called Examen philosophicum irregardless of what your speciality were – to get a broader knowledge of general areas within academia and the philosophy-history behind our culture in a way to place education within context. Today we don't have that and academia have lost their sense of context to the sense that all the disciplines of education is not helping to pull the society together in a certain way, but pulling it apart by pulling each in their own way. And at the same time is struggling to find their own sense of context again, however, this time not as being part of society as a whole, instead by defining it solely upon the world of academics, in a closed little world of its own.

So I believe that the main problem is that the academia is becoming a closed system, with limited knowledge of the world outside the academic circles, and the ideologies that thrive in this closed system is high-flying theories and ideologies that have time and again proven to be not working in the real world, no matter how good they sound on paper, such as P.C.-ism, Marxism, Communism, Multi-Culturalism, Cultural-Relativism, etc.

I don't have the solutions to this, but maybe some partial ones: I believe that something like the Examen philosophicum should be re-introduced as mandatory with a curiculum of giving the students a broad introduction to the history, philosophies and values of our culture, as to give them an anchor in which they can see the perspective of their society and culture and a sense of purpose in their education, instead of drifting to and fro. I also believe that it is a mistake to pressure young people to go directly from school to college to university, without taking a break and experience the life outside of schools, and it should also be encouraged that students have some real work experience before graduating from university – and not just student-jobs but real life jobs, meeting people from other walks of life and building a network that isn't just confined to academia!

What happened at Qana Updated

2006-08-04T02:01:00.000+02:00

The story of what happened at Qana continues to develop, as new evidence and attempted rebuttals comes in, and new manipulated stories are being uncovered. Read the updates at the end of the original post.

The Social Work by Hizballah

2006-08-03T07:54:00.000+02:00

Every so often one hears that the so-called terrorist organizations such as Hizballah are doing the people in the area they control a great service by providing social work, in the form of schools, hospitals and such institutions. Which on the surface seems to indicate that they do care for the people and often mitigates their terrorist status in the medias. However, the purpose of undertaking such social work, does not seem to be for the benefit of the people it was supposed to help, but an integral part of their overall strategy of winning the PR war as well as winning the struggle against Israel, as the following letter to the editor of Die Tageszeitung, from a Lebanese Shiite, explaining Hezbollah?s evil strategy:

I lived until 2002 in a small southern village near Mardshajund that is inhabited by a majority of Shias like me. After Israel left Lebanon, it did not take long for Hezbollah to take have its say in other towns. Received as successful resistance fighters and armed to the teeth, they stored rockets in bunkers in our town as well. The social work of the Party of God consisted in building a school and a residence over these bunkers! A local sheikh explained to me laughing that the Jews would lose in any event because the rockets would either be fired at them or if they attacked the rockets depots, they would be condemned by world opinion on account of the dead civilians. These people do not care about the Lebanese population, they use them as shields, and, once dead, as propaganda. As long as they continue existing there, there will be no tranquility and peace.

Difference between IDF and the opposition

2006-08-02T00:41:00.000+02:00

The IDF unlike their opponents tries to avoid killing civilians, and to that end they often announces where they will strike in advance either by fliers, radio announcements or even calling residents in target areas by phone, giving them a chance to get away before the boms falls. Something that you cannot say about the opposition, that gladly target civilian areas with rockets filled will ball bearings, designed to maximize civilian death count on impact, and naturally no warnings are given.

But even the tactics of warning the civilians are seen as a sinister psychological warfare of the IDF:

From: LA Times, August 1, 2006:

Last week, many Khan Younis residents answered the phone and heard a recorded warning message in Arabic. The Israeli army also has broken in on the frequency of the Hamas radio station to broadcast warnings.

In all cases the message was similar: Don't harbor militant fighters or store weapons for them. Those who do will place themselves in harm's way.

"It's intense psychological pressure," said Abu Ahmed, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad. "They're trying to force the civilians to drive the resistance away from the civilian population centers."

What happened at Qana?

2006-08-01T21:52:00.000+02:00

It seems more and more likely that the tragedy of Qana was not caused by IAF bombings, but rather a staged event by Hizballah for the benefit of the world media, which has been grateful for the chance to prop up their anti-Israel rhetoric with pictures of "innocent civilians" bombed by the cold hearted Israelis!

It seems again that it is left to the blogosphere to uncover these staged events and find the truth as the MSM seems to have very little interest in the truth in these matters, they want their »Death Porn« and confirmation of the evilness of the Israelis! And again the blogosphere have provided evidence that things aren't exactly as they seem to be if you're only looking at the biased MSM coverage!

And as Islamic clerics have made abundantly clear – »There are no Civilians in Islamic Law« and it is mandated in the Qu'ran and Hadith that they should fight the infidels using every stragatem of war, and that »War is Deceit«... So when the Western media is so eager to help their cause, why not help them by staging some gruesome events and blame it on Israel... After all it's all Halal!

See the following webpages for an extensive coverage of the events at Qana:

War Porn [Gates of Vienna]
Were the Qana Bodies Staged? [Confederate Yankee]
Qana's Unresolved Questions [Confederate Yankee]
Milking it? [EU Referendum]
Who is this man? [EU Referendum]
A Tyre For Qana? [Riehl World View]
Qana Staged? [Strata-Sphere]
Who killed Mohammed al-Dura? [Worldnet Daily] – Background info.

*** ADD ONS ***
Read also:

The Weaponization of Children by Vanderleun.
What happened in Qana? Michelle Malkin on Hotair
The curious Qana body count [The American Thinker]

*** UPDATE I ***

And now AP staffers are congratulating themselves with a job well done... patting each other on the back and awarding cash prizes. A letter sent to all staffers were intercepted at LGF, before reading you might want to grab a barf-bag, just in case you'll need it.

Dear Staffers:

Last Sunday proved to be one of the most dramatic days in the war between Israel and Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon. AP?s extensive photo team produced a stunning series of images that day that beat the competition and scored huge play worldwide.

Rumors surfaced early Sunday morning that an Israeli airstrike had flattened a house in the southern Lebanese village of Qana. The number of deaths wasn?t immediately known, but the seriousness of the incident was clear. Beirut-based photographer Hussein Malla immediately called AP photographers Nasser Nasser, Lefteris Pitarakis and stringer Mohammed Zaatari and advised them to rush to the scene. Nasser arrived as the bodies of many civilians ? including numerous children ? were being pulled from the rubble. Lefteris later took over, enabling Nasser to get his pictures swiftly onto the wire. Kevin Frayer was dispatched from Beirut to boost AP?s presence. Throughout the morning, AP?s team filed a steady stream of powerful images.

Meanwhile, in Beirut, a small Hezbollah demonstration exploded into violence at word of the Qana attack. Hezbollah supporters stormed the nearby United Nations building, scaling walls and smashing their way past bulletproof glass barriers to enter the building itself. Photographers Hussein Malla, Kevork Djansezian and Ben Curtis were all there to capture the rioting. Beirut-based photo editor Dalia Khamissy coordinated with photographers in the field and handled a steady stream of stringer photos. All day long, AP photographers relayed what they were seeing to AP reporters for print stories.

Nasser?s most haunting image showed a man emerging from the rubble carrying the lifeless and dust-covered body of a child. Calm, morning light shone down on man and child, highlighting them against an almost monochrome background of pure rubble. The photo is here. Nasser?s image ran on the front pages of at least 33 newspapers, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the New York Post. It also won a double-page center spread in The Guardian of London. Lefteris?s image of a resident weeping next to a row of bodies made the front of The Washington Post, among many others. Hussein, Kevork and Ben?s images of the storming of the UN building easily beat those of the competition.

For a day of outstanding a memorable photos, taken in conditions of substantial danger, the Lebanon photo team of Nasser Nasser, Lefteris Pitarakis, Kevin Frayer, Mohammed Zaatari, Ben Curtis, Hussein Malla, Kevork Djansezian and Dalia Khamissy shares this week?s $500 Beat of the Week award.

*** UPDATE II ***

Jihad Watch reader S have posted an open letter to AP, AFP, and Reuters about the Qana photos:

To Whom It May Concern,

Many powerful photographs were taken following the recent tragedy at Qana. Legitimate questions have arisen regarding the actual times certain photos were taken.

News agencies have begun responding to some of the questions raised. Here is AP's response: http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/08/01/ap2920008.html:

The AP had three different photographers there who weren't always aware of what the others were doing, and filed their images to editors separately, said Santiago Lyon, director of photography.

There are also several reasons not to draw conclusions from time stamps, Lyon said. Following a news event like this, the AP does not distribute pictures sequentially; photos are moved based on news value and how quickly they are available for an editor to transmit.

The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse all distributed photos of which questions have been asked relative to the time shot. What Lyon of AP does not address, is that the exact time of digital capture is recorded along with the image. This EXIF information cannot be altered, and would give accurate timings as to the sequence of all photos released.

We urge AFP, AP, and Reuters to make available to this website a small JPEG file, with all EXIF data attached, of each of the photos analyzed on the various websites that have raised this issue. A list will be provided if they are not already known. Sensitive IPTC data may be removed, if any responding agency wishes. The EXIF is the only important data.

The actual capture times, between photos of all agencies, would then be made a public record -- chips falling where they may.

It is the responsibility of a free press to ferret out information that those in power wish to withhold. It is the responsibility of an informed citizenry to openly request information from press sources when there is the appearance that they are withholding information critical to their mission of maintaining the public trust.

We await response from AP, AFP and Reuters that could lay to rest this one important issue.

To which I have a slight nit-pick, that it is possible to alter the EXIF information embedded in the digital photos from most digital cameras, it's even possible that the date and time on different cameras aren't even close to being in sync with the real time or set to times in other timezones. So the time/date information will not be conclusive evidence – in a way the most fishy result would probably be doctored EXIF timestamps that shows a consistent and stringent timeline! However, that doesn't defray from the other suspicious points being raised in the Qana "incident".

*** UPDATE III ***

It seems like the Qana story isn't the only one that smells fishy... Riehl World View have the story of the Israeli bombing of two ambulances, that's also most likely a piece of fiction that the MSM have bought and brought uncritically!

Italy to legalize 350,000 illegal immigrants

2006-08-01T06:59:00.000+02:00

After Prodi won the election in Italy, it is following in the footsteps of Spain, who also gave amnesty to a whole lot of illegal immigrants. One might think that such acts are an internal problem to the countries granting such amnesties – wrong... it's a problem for the other European countries in the Schengen agreement! Once these people are legal in one Schengen country they are free to move within the other countries as well. So instead of being a problem for Italy... Italy is now exporting the problem to the rest of Europe as well, without having to consult the rest of the Schengen countries!

Italy warned over immigrant amnesty
From the EU Observer, July 31, 2006

The European Commission has issued a warning to Italy that it could face EU sanctions if its move to legalise up to 350,000 immigrants breaches union law.

Justice commissioner Franco Frattini said that the Italian authorities would have to check each one of the thousands of applications for regularisation to make sure they comply with EU law.

"I am asking the Interior Minister Giulio D'Amato to examine one by one the 350,000 requests for regularisation from immigrant workers," said Mr Frattini in Rome, according to news agency AFP.

"Checks are needed to determine if these are fictitious demands or if they effectively correspond to a work offer and lodging. Otherwise, European Union sanctions are envisaged," he said.

Taking figures from a 2004 survey, the justice commissioner pointed out that Italy had a higher than average amount of people working on the black market.

"Italy had 16-17 percent working 'on the black', compared to a European average of four to five percent: the fight against illegal immigration also has to be seen in this light."

Mr Frattini's warning comes after Rome last week announced that it intended to put in place a quota of 350,000 non-EU citizens who would be able to legalise their status in Italy as well as regularising more than 500,000 workers already in the country.

This is not the first time the EU has warned member states about these kinds of moves.

Brussels grumbled when Spain last year put in place an amnesty allowing thousands of immigrants to be legalised saying governments should make these steps in a more harmonised manner.

Madrid's surprise move was also criticised by some member states leading to calls for an early warning system to be put in place when governments are considering immigration procedures that will affect other countries.

Learn about the Dangers of Radical Islam

2006-07-30T22:36:00.000+02:00

Click Image to enlarge

View the movie Obsession and visit the homepage of the documentary! Show it to all your friends and those that need to know more about the dangers of "Radical Islam". The documentary is very well put together, and convincing.and is an excellent way of introducing people to the very real Islamic danger that is facing all of us, without being too extreme or alarmist to scare off those that really need to hear the message. All in all go see it and show it to all those that need to see it as well.

Danes were to be kidnapped during the Muhammed crisis

2006-07-30T02:13:00.000+02:00

According to information gathered by Jyllands-Posten at least four kidnapping attempts of Danes at the height of the Muhammed affair, were foiled by sheer luck. All of the attempts were on the West Bank in the Palestinian self-governed area. Pure luck was the reason that the four, all women escaped being captured.

The information comes from documents in the Foreign ministry that Jyllands-Posten have gained access to and have been confirmed by the head of the Danish representation in Ramallah on the West Bank, Rolf Holmboe.

Jihadi Cowards

2006-07-29T21:08:00.000+02:00

In a macho-culture as Islam it is almost incomprehensible that the so-called brave and courageous muhajedeen (holy warriors) routinely hide behind civilians, women and children. Instead of fighting with honor and dignity they choose to hide behind civilians and then blame the deaths of the civilians on their enemy! Where's the dignity and honor in that?

h/t: Hodjas blog

Another Anti-Israel Demonstration in Copenhagen

2006-07-29T19:29:00.000+02:00

Abu Laban speaks at an Anti-Israel demonstration in Copenhagen, 2006.07.28 – photo: Sappho

Yesterday another Anti-Israel demonstration took place in Copenhagen with up to 500 people, mostly Middle-Eastern muslim immigrants demonstrationg against »Israel's bloody invasion of Lebanon«!

Prominent members of the demonstrators were Abu Laban and Abdul Wahid Petersen waking arm in arm in front of the demonstration, also present were the member of the radical leftwing party Enhedslisten and former TV2-host Asmaa Abdol-Hamid.

It is funny to see how these demonstrations gets some of the better known muslims to come out of the woodwork and show their true color, and at the same time it must be frustrating for the muslims that despite their pretty good organizational skills and networks that they apparently is having problems gathering a crowd above 500 demonstrators!

h/t: Snaphanen & Polemiken

Ahmadinejad bans western words

2006-07-29T16:52:00.000+02:00

According to the Norwegian newspaper VG (h/t: Polemiken) the Iranian president Ahmadinejad has banned about 2000 word with western roots, in government and cultural institutions. The words are words such as »pizza«, »cabin«, and »chat« which are now referred to as »elastic bread«, »small room« and »small talk«.

Yet another example of Ahmadinejad following in the footsteps of his role model: Adolf Hitler! In the 1930s Nazi-Germany also underwent a »Germanification« of the language, eliminating foreign or borrowed words replacing them with German equivalents both to bolster German's sense of nationality and superiority! Curiously the same idea has been used in France since de Gaulle!

But this is relatively harmless, and in the long run will either fail or serve to isolate the Persian people even more from the rest of the world!

New Trend in Danish Asylum Policy?

2006-07-29T00:10:00.000+02:00

More Christian Quota Refugees in Denmark
Danmarks Radio July 28, 2006
Translation: Zonka

The Social Liberals wants the Minister of Integration, Rikke Hvilshøj to explain, why Denmark is receiving more and more Christian Quota Refugees.

In the last three years more Christian refugees have arrived in Denmark, shows a survey conducted by DR's P3 News and Radioavisen have made.

When »Udlændingeservice« (»The Integration Authorities« -- ed) travels to the refugee camps of the world to find the 500 quota refugees that will be received in Denmark, it is no longer only muslims who are selected.

– We no longer received those that have the greatest need of protection, but those who are more like to ourselves, says Integration Speaker from the Social Liberals Morten Østergaard.

Votes with the Law
For many years Denmark have mainly received quota refugees from the Middle-Easr, but in the last three years several hundred refugees have arrived in Denmark from Burma and Africa with Christian background.

Morten Østergaard believes that the increase in Cristian refugees is conveniently coinciding with a law that went into effect about a year ago, which instructs Udlændingeservice to prioritize the quota refugees with the best integration potential.

Christians are good at Integration
It has been demonstrated that integraton of Christian refugees are going quite well, they quickly acquire a Danish network though their association with the church.

According to the UN Conventions a country are not allowed to use religion as a criteria when they select refugees, who will be granted residence permission, and Denmark isn't doing so, says department head of Udlændingeservice Birgit Petersen.

– It's a coincidence that there have been more Christian refugees in the last years, she says.

I hope to God, that this random coincidence will continue, and that Udlændingeservice will continue to prioritze those refugees that have the best Integration Potential and if that coincidentally happens to be non-muslims so much the better. Could we please get another law that states that only people who have shown consistent integration and allegiance to their new country will be granted citizenship, and those on residency permission will have to show the same to get permanent residency permission.

And for Rikke Hvilshøj, please explain to Morten Østergaard and others who think like him, that there unfortunately are a lot of refugees in the world, and most of those that need to be granted asylum are non-muslim minorities persecuted and oppressed by muslims, and many of the muslim refugees are not truly refugees – but people who wants to take advantage of our welfare system... and have no problem returning to the countries that they supposedly fled in fear of their life, for extended vacations as just recently seen with the 5000+ "Danes" that were caught in the hostilities in Lebanon!

Swimmers threatened with Machete

2006-07-28T22:00:00.000+02:00

From the free Danish newspaper »Urban« – July 28, 2006:

Swimmers threatened with Machete

ESPERGÆRDE · ‘You are not to be nude in front of my daughter,’ shouted a man, when a married couple from Espergærde Wednesday evening, at about 8:30pm, came out of the water. The man changed his wet bathing shorts into dry underwear, which made an approx. 30 year old arabic looking man to become furious, says Frederiksborg Amts Avis. He disappeared shortly only to return with a large machete, and yet again he stated his threats against the chocked couple

I hope this maniac will be caught by the police and tried for attempted murder and aggravated assault, and if not a Danish citizen then expedited out of the country!

First ECRI, now CERD.

2006-07-28T12:00:00.000+02:00

The Danish blogger Exile has put together a nice post about the various ways that EU and UN is trying to paint Denmark as a xenophobic and racist country and society. Read it all.

First ECRI, now CERD.

The lunatics have finally taken over the asylum. I am sure of this as I sit here and read that Denmark is to be examined by CERD, The United Nations Commitee on Racial Discrimination, to see if it is doing enough to fight racism. A group of civil servants from from Geneva is to come to Denmark to question whether or not we are adhering to the convention for the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination.
Strangely, this examination comes shortly after the inaccurate, lacking and incorrect report from ECRI (the EU Commission against Racism and Intolerance) had been published. Coincidence? No, I don't think so.

The ECRI report was so far off the mark that it was totally rejected by the Danish Government. So now it would appear that the EU is soliciting the help of the UN bully boys from Geneva to put us in our place.

ECRI decided that Danmark is a hotbed of racism, now CERD is going to make it a certainty, so that ECRI can continue the point the finger legitimately and without criticism. It is still wrong of ECRI to do so, but that doesn't matter. They have decided it is so. After all, they wrote a long report saying just that, so now it must be confirmed. No point in confusing them with facts. And, of course, how can two "independant" commitees be wrong when they both agree? That both are financed and employed by the left wing liberals of the EU and the UN has nothing to do with it.

No. Difficult little non-conformist Denmark must officially be sent into the corner until it has learned its lesson.

It should be noted that the ECRI report states that Muslims are "a threatened minority" in Denmark. If there is any racism to be found here, it is in that minority. But that would never be published.

Amazing find in Ireland

2006-07-27T20:03:00.000+02:00

A truly remarkable archeological find in Ireland and coincidently the book of psalms were open at psalm 23 in which the people of Israel are besieged by other nations seeking to wipe them out!

Ancient Book of Psalms Unearthed in Irish Bog

DUBLIN (AP), July 25 Irish archaeologists Tuesday heralded the discovery of an ancient book of psalms by a construction worker who spotted something while working in a bog.

The approximately 20-page book has been dated to 800-1000 A.D. Trinity College manuscripts expert Bernard Meehan said it was the first discovery of an Irish early medieval document in two centuries.

"This is really a miracle find," said Pat Wallace, director of the National Museum of Ireland.

"There's two sets of odds that make this discovery really way out. First of all, it's unlikely that something this fragile could survive being buried in a bog at all, and then for it to be unearthed and spotted before it was destroyed is incalculably more amazing."

He said an engineer was digging up bog land last week to create commercial potting soil in Ireland's midlands when, "just beyond the bucket of his bulldozer, he spotted something." Wallace would not specify where the book was found because a team of archaeologists is still exploring the site.

"The owner of the bog has had dealings with us in the past and is very much in favor of archaeological discovery and reporting it," Wallace said.

Crucially, he said, the bog owner covered up the book with damp soil. Had it been left exposed overnight, he said, "it could have dried out and just vanished, blown away."

The book was found opened to a page describing, in Latin script, Psalm 83, in which God hears complaints of other nations' attempts to wipe out the name of Israel.

Wallace said several experts spent Tuesday analyzing only that page -- the number of letters on each line, lines on each page, size of page -- and the book's binding and cover, which he described as "leather vellum, very thick wallet in appearance."

It could take months of study, he said, just to identify the safest way to pry open the pages without damaging or destroying them.

Ireland has several other holy books from the early medieval period, including the ornately illustrated Book of Kells, which has been on display at Trinity College in Dublin since the 19th century.

Showdown at the UN Corral

2006-07-27T14:38:00.000+02:00

"I am shocked and deeply distressed by the apparently deliberate targeting by Israeli Defence Forces of a UN Observer post in southern Lebanon."
– Kofi Annan.

"I am shocked and deeply distressed by the premature accusation by the General Secretary, that suggests that Israel deliberately attacked the UN Observer post in southern Lebanon."
– Dan Gillerman, Israeli ambassador to the UN.

Using Ridicule as a Bunker Buster

2006-07-27T14:28:00.000+02:00

In a call for arms article at Gates of Vienna the Baron is calling for all infidels to combat the Great Islamic Jihad using one of our most potent weapons, humor and satire... Go read it all and help spreading the laughter...

Also check out the Khartoons and other declarations of war!

Why the UN post in Lebanon was targeted

2006-07-27T07:50:00.000+02:00

Jed Babbin writes in an article on WSJ OpinionJournal:

The U.N.'s years-long record on the Israel-Lebanon border makes mockery of the term "peacekeeping." On page 155 of my book, "Inside the Asylum," is a picture of a U.N. outpost on that border. The U.N. flag and the Hezbollah flag fly side by side. Observers told me the U.N. and Hezbollah personnel share water and telephones, and that the U.N. presence serves as a shield against Israeli strikes against the terrorists.
Read it all

Not really a sign of impartial relationship between the UNIFIL forces and the Hizbollah forces!

Or as Andrew Bolt writes in the Herald Sun:

The lynching of Israel continues, this time with United Nations boss Kofi Annan accusing it of the "apparently deliberate targetting" of a UN observation post, killing four observers.

The usual suspects are now running with this line, with The Age front page screaming: »UN told: please explain.«

The venom against Israel - as splashed about by former Deputy Prime Minsiter Tim Fischer on ABC 774 this morning - is extraordinary. Do these people seriously think Israel aims to kill UN staff, and that this was not simply - as Israel insists - a tragic mistake?

What makes Annan?s allegation so unforgiveable is that his UN Interim Force in Lebanon has been warning for days about what almost certainly caused this tragedy. Hezbollah fighters, who have already been firing behind screens of women and children, have also been shooting from behind and next to the UN positions, presumably hoping Israel will not dare shoot back and risk exactly this kind of propaganda disaster.

Read the UNIFIL press releases for yourself to learn that Hezbollah has not just shot at and seriously wounded UNIFIL observers - without any protest from Kofi Annan or The Age. You?ll also learn that UNIFIL has repeatedly reported Israeli shelling and bombing near UNIFIL outposts because Hezbollah fighters were shooting from right beside them .

Says the UNIFIL press release of 20 July:

Hezbollah firing was also reported from the immediate vicinity of the UN positions in Naquora and Maroun Al Ras areas at the time of the incidents (of Israeli return fire).

Can the jeering critics of Israel stop catcalling for a minute and explain how Israel is to defend itself against an enemy that shoots from among women and children, and from behind UN soldiers? Can they explain why they are such apologists for terrorists? Can Annan explain why he did not call on Hezbollah to stop risking the lives of his staff, or pull them out when they were being used to screen terrorist fighters?

And in the words of Canadian PM Stephen Harper:

OTTAWA (AFP) - Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper said an Israeli attack on a UN outpost that killed four, including a Canadian, was a "terrible tragedy" but not likely deliberate.

At the same time, he questioned why the UN had manned the outpost in Lebanon near the Israeli border as bombs exploded all around.

"We want to find out why this United Nations post was attacked and also why it remained manned during what is now, more or less, a war during obvious danger to these individuals," he told reporters.

Asked about UN head Kofi Annan's statement suggesting Israel had targeted the outpost, Harper said: "I certainly doubt that to be the case."

"The government of Israel has been cooperating with us in our evacuation efforts, in our efforts to move Canadian citizens out of Lebanon and also trying to keep our own troops that are on the ground, involved in the evacuation, out of harm's way," he added.

The Pineapple Grenade Drink

2006-07-26T13:30:00.000+02:00

The energy drink Bomba, which is sold in a bottle ressembling a pineapple grenade have come under criticism from the Danish Army Demolition and explosive ordonance expert, major Poul Nedergård. He is afraid that the bottle will be used in demonstration and street fights and that it could be mistaken as a real grenade.

The manufacturer have been surprised by the criticism, as they have sold the drink for more than a year now without prior complaints, and the bottle is sold in 18 other European countries as well as USA, Canada and several Latin American countries without problems. The bottle also won the British 'Shine Award 2001'.

Now I'll admit that there is a slim chance that somebody would mistake the bottle for a real grenade in the midst of a heated street fight or riot, particularly at night or in otherwise dense fog... But in the heat of such a battle, I doubt that anybody is taking a real close look at what is being thrown at them, but tries to duck and generally avoid being hit. And wouldn't really notice whether the bottle thrown at them is from a Bomba drink, a Coca-Cola bottle or a Jack Daniels bottle...

So I wonder what all the fuss is about or whether it was just a case of the major wanting his 15 minutes of fame... Though I like the design of the bottle as well and might just have to get a bomba to see how well they taste

Who Supports an Immediate Cease Fire in the Middle-East? Part II

2006-07-25T23:19:00.000+02:00

(hattip: LGF)
Seems like The Independent, borrowed the graphic from Information, and erased the Danish flag in the »No« column! The two newspapers have a history of working together and swapping stories, so that the Danes can be "educated" by the "great mind" of Robert Fisk [sic!] (As a side note both newspapers are apparently also featuring the painter Paul Gaugin at the moment -- I wonder how deep the editorial collaboration between Information and The Independent really is!)

The purpose of the grapic is clear enough, that the countries in the »No« column are in the wrong and clearly in an overwhelming minority, made even bigger by removing countries that are manifestly in the »No« column, like Denmark. Even the original Danish version didn't tell the whole story, several countries that should have been in the »No« column were put in the »Yes« column (e.g. Canada)

So while the idea behind the graphic most likely were to shame the countries who weren't backing an immediate ceasefire, I choose to view it as a sad commentary to the fact that many countries are sadly under the influence of the anti-semitic forces of Islam and Leftwing politicians.

On the brighter side lets have this graphic shown in Israel, the USA and one other country and one more flag will disappear one at a time and we would all agree.... NOT!

*** UPDATE ***
Canada indeed seems to be in the »No« camp...

Israeli ceasefire no solution to peace in Lebanon, MacKay says
July 23, 2006 - 16:57

OTTAWA (CP) - It's time to start working diplomatically toward peace in Lebanon - but that doesn't mean a unilateral ceasefire by Israel, says Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay.

Speaking Sunday on television, MacKay refused to join other countries who have called on the Israelis to rein in their military offensive in the region.

Before hostilities can end, he said, both sides will have to agree on a solution that will ensure Israel doesn't come under attack again from Hezbollah guerrillas using Lebanon as their base of operations.

"A ceasefire and a return to the status quo is a victory for Hezbollah," MacKay warned. "Let's not forget that this was an unprovoked attack by a terrorist organization . . . . The discussions have to focus on the long-term end of violence in the region."

MacKay's comments were in keeping with Prime Minister Stephen Harper's insistence, since the start of the crisis, that Hezbollah was to blame for sparking the violence and a unilateral Israeli pull-back would not solve the problem.

The Conservative government has come under heated criticism from Arab-Canadians, thousands of whom rallied in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and other cities on the weekend to try to put pressure on Harper to moderate his position.

MacKay was non-committal Sunday on whether Canada would agree to participate in any peacekeeping force that might be assembled under NATO or UN auspices.

He also said he hasn't decided yet whether he could help move the diplomatic process along by paying a visit to the Middle East.

For the time being, said MacKay, he is concentrating on making sure every last Canadian who wants to get out of Lebanon can do so.

More than 6,000 had fled the country by Sunday on government-chartered ships, but many more remain.

"The numbers could be as high as 30,000 who may still wish to leave," said MacKay. "What those final numbers will be is an inexact science. But we will be there with the means to remove them as long as there are Canadians there who wish to leave."

Most of the Canadians still in the country are in or around Beirut, but as many as 3,000 are believed to be in war-ravaged southern Lebanon.

Canadian officials announced plans Sunday to send a chartered ship to the most dangerous hotspot in south Lebanon.

The ship, with room for 1,000 evacuees, was set to arrive dockside in Tyre at 7 a.m. to load any Canadians who can make it to the port.

If you know of other countries that are opposed to an immediate cease fire or calling on an unilateral cease fire from Israel please let me know in the comments (links to stories confirming the claim will be preferred) – let's try to get a more realistic picture!

Who Supports an Immediate Cease Fire in the Middle-East?

2006-07-25T17:32:00.000+02:00

[Front page of »Information« 2006.07.24]

Sadly less than a handful of nations are supporting Israel in it's struggle to protect its people and its existence... So far it seems like the only real supporters that Israel have is the USA, Denmark and the United Kingdom... though apparently the U.K. is unfortunately getting a case of cold feet!

I'm proud that my Country is among those that supports Israel in its righteous campaign against Hizbollah and Hamas, and not puting pressure on Israel to enter a premature cease fire, that will only serve to maintain status quo, which is an intollerable situation where Israeli citizens have to live in fear within their own country, waiting for the day when their enemies get strong enough to push them into the sea, which have been the ambition of the arab states since the creation of Israel in 1948.

And it's not only the Danish government that is on the side of Israel, also the leading newspapers:

Israel is at war, Israel is under attack. In that light we must all be Israelis these days [Editorial in Jyllands-Posten]

Israel is the defending part. It is Hamas and Hizbollah, whic threatens Israel on two fronts, and does it with deliberate attacks on civilians, while Israel is making an effort to minimize civilian casualties.[Editorial in Berlingske Tidende]

The situation in the Middle-East calls for standing clearly on the side of Israel. Israel have been subjected to assaults that no civilized country can tolerate: Unprovoked Hizbollah have crossed Israels borders, taken soldiers as hostages and bombarded civilian Israelis with rockets. [Editorial in B.T.]

Cafe Osama forced to change name

2006-07-24T23:33:00.000+02:00

Ananova.com writes:

A cafe called Osama opposite the US embassy in Belgrade has been told to change its name after diplomats complained.

The word Osama means 'secluded' in Serbo-Croat and cafe owner Milomir Jeftic said he had named his shop after a local shelter for the homeless.

But he has been told to change it after an official complaint from the US Embassy, local media reported.

But Jeftic said: "I had no intention of offending Americans. It is just a word in Serbian.

"I admit I have heard of Osama Bin Laden, but until now I was not quite sure who he was."

I don't know what astonishes me more -- that somebody is offended by the coincidence of the word ‘osama’ in serbo-croatic coincides with the first name of one of the most wanted terrorists or that the café owner didn't have a clue about who Osama bin Laden is!

Adhesive Jesus Bandages

2006-07-24T23:24:00.000+02:00

Prepare for Christian riots, burning down of pharmacies, torching of points of sale of this outrageous and blasphemous piece of heresy. Religious bulls calling for the beheadings of those responsible for this outrage is surely being drafted as I write this by the Papal Curia.... not!

As seen on Archie McPhee

The Evil Queen of Denmark

2006-07-23T20:15:00.000+02:00

By Kim Hundevadt & John Hansen, Jyllands-Posten, July 15, 2006
Translation to English: Zonka

From a single statement to errornous conclusions, exaggerations and conscious manipulation. Thus began the story that Queen Margrete in reality was behind the controversial Muhammed-Cartoons.

Disinformation
Queen Margrete was the big villain behind the Dane's evil campaign against Islam and muslims, which culminated with the 12 cartoons of the prophet in Jyllands-Posten. It was her that started the ball rolling, when she in the spring of 2005 encouraged her people to oppose islam and fight the muslim minorities in Denmark.

This fantastic revelation was printed in numerous media in the islamic world, when the Muhammed Cartoon Crisis reached its peak in February with flag burnings and torching of embassies.

Two examples from arabic newspapers was then referred in the Danish media, but documents in the Foreign Ministry, that the press and the public have now been granted access to, shows that the stories about the evil and islamophobic Queen of Denmark reached a far wider audience than first assumed. They were no doubt helpful in legitimizing the boycotts and demonstrations weren't only directed against the presumptuous newspaper, who had printed the cartoons, but against the nation as a whole, as it was now documented that the insults came from the highest place.

Important Error
It all began with a small, but important error in a translation: In the book "Margrete", which was published in April 2005, the Queen spoke with journalist and author Annelise Bistrup about the totalitarian side of Islam, which she found frightening.

»Der må vises et modspil, og man må en gang imellem løbe en risiko for at få en mindre flatterende etiket hæftet på sig. For der er visse ting, man ikke skal være tolerant over for,« said the Queen.
»We must challenge [the muslims], and sometimes one have to run the risk of getting a less flattering label attached to oneself. Because there are certain things, one should not be tolerant about.« [my translation -- ed]

The immediate reaction from the Danish muslims were actually positive:

»It is a correct signal from the Queen,« said imam Abdul Wahid Pedersen. »We must challenge each other in the religious area. There is no better way to reach a tolerance, than to meet each other.«

The story also caught the foreign telegram agencies interest. The British Reuters made a soft translation of the Queens remark which became: »A certain response must be shown.« The American news agency AP, sharpened it: »Resistance must sometimes be shown (to religious fanatics).«

However the French news agency AFP, really let it out: »We have to show our opposition to Islam,« as the Danish Queen was quoted. In Berlin a correspondent from the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph saw the telegram from AFP as a confirmation of the picture she already had of Denmark as a xenophobic country, so an extra layer was added:

»Queen Margrete II of Denmark have encouraged the Danes to show our resistance against Islam irregardless of the criticism that such an attitude might bring from abroad. Her comments undermines further the image of Denmark as a sheter for people who seeks a new life in Northern Europe. The Danish government have already been accused of nourishing xenophobia by introducing new rules and regulations, which have in effect closed the country for asylum seekers. But in undisguised political terms from an official biography, which was published yesterday, Queen Margrete states some comments that will most likely complicate her country's relations with muslims.«

Via the Pan-Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat, which have their base in London, this version reached the Islamic world, where it was quoted in some media, though without making a big splash. But more than nine months later when the cartoon controversy was nearing a dramatic peak, it was retrieved from the archives. The Saudi-Arabian newspaper Saudi Gazette put themselevs in the lead, with a large article on January 30, and using the article from The Daily Telegraph could tell that the cartoons were part of a larger pattern, which involved an islamophobic government and Queen.

Racist Queen
Now the story gained serious speed. The documents from the Foreign Ministry shows that Denmark's embassies in the following days found a number of versions in the Arabic press. They tried in some cases to correct the worst exaggerations, but the more times the story was told the worse it got and the worse the retoric.

Akhbar Al-youm in Egypt claimed February 1, that the queen officially was behind the cartoons, because she had called Islam a threat and encouraged the Danish government not to show tolerance towards Islam.

The next day Al Watan in Saudi-Arabia suggested that the Queen not only was islamophobic but also racist. She had among other things »encouraged her right-wing government to not show tolerance towards the muslim minority.«

The brave and valiant Omar Bakri Mohammed

2006-07-23T12:10:00.000+02:00

The radical Muslim cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed, who is banned from the United Kingdom has attempted to board a ship evacuating Britons from Lebanon. When refused, he fled to the hills outside Beirut in fear of Israeli air strikes. Bakri Mohammed argued he should be allowed back to the UK to see his children, but was turned away by British officials. The former leader of the banned terror-supporting al-Muhajiroun group was banned from the UK in August last year because his presence "was not conducive to the public good."

This particular cleric who for years have preached holy war against the state of Israel and others and telling his listeners that he is a brave jihadist, that would happily die for Allah -- Yet his followers were shocked that he?s attempted to flee from Beirut because of some rumor that the Israelis know where he is, have his address as a bombing target and are after him.

Brave indeed, as long as it doesn't cost you anything, but when he gets the chance of living up to his claims of being a jihadist and wanting to fight Israel comes to him, what does he do. He runs away scared instead of putting his money where his mouth is! Pathetic really!

Stranded "Danes" in Lebanon...

2006-07-22T18:13:00.000+02:00

In the last couple of days many Danes have been astonished about the fact that Lebanon apparently have been one of the most popular places for ?Danish? tourists. When hostilities broke out almost two weeks ago -- many believed that there would only be a handful of Danes in Lebanon... The usual diplomats and staff, business people and a few tourists, but to everybody's surprise, upwards of 10,000 ?Danes? apparently were on vacation in Lebanon, using their Danish passports to flee the country in the ongoing evacuation. The Danish Foreign Ministry have already paid for 5,000 of these to be evacuated back to Denmark.

The funny thing is that most of these people fled Lebanon once and were granted residence permission or Danish citizenship in the first place, in order for them to have a place where they could be secure from oppression, persecution, torture, assassination and other bad things that allegedly would happen to them if they stayed in their country of origin. So the humanitarian right thing to do would be to grant them asylum! But apparently no asylum was needed for these people, who voluntarily travelled back to their home country for extended vacations, with welfare checks coming in each month courtesy of the Danish tax payers -- so that they can live on that in the country that they supposedly cannot live in!

When Søren Espersen (Danish People's Party) suggested that when these so-called Danish tourists returns to Denmark, they should be checked against public records, to see whether they we're on welfare and not really available to the job-market (as required by the law) or otherwise engaged in social fraud... an outcry was heard from the social system, and large groups of politicians ranging from the far left and into the government.... why pick on people who have just been in a really bad situation!

Why indeed? Well, for starters because it is required by law that people on welfare gets checked if it is suspected that any type of fraud is going on! Secondly because it is mighty suspicious that people spend extended vacations in a country that they supposedly have fled to save their life, while being on welfare.

Now that the suspicions have been raised, wouldn't it be in everybody's best interest to clear the matter, of whether there have been social fraud going on or not, irregardless of what the people have just been through?

But apparently some of the returned Danes are being checked, according to the daily newspaper B.T. at least one person only managed to get onto Danish soil before getting arrested! The 38 year old man had travelled to Lebanon in May with his two year old daughter, even though the mother had the custody of the child. The police issued an international arrest order, but couldn't do anything further, due to lack of coorporation in these kind of matters from Islamic countries. The man had contacted the Danish authorities to get evacuated, which he was and arrested as soon as he was back in Denmark. The daughter reunited with the mother in the airport and the man now faces up to 4 years prison for the kidnapping.

Demonstrations in Copenhagen

2006-07-22T11:19:00.000+02:00

Saw on LGF that a thousand strong demonstration against Israel took place in Copenhagen... The demonstration was considerably smaller, only about 500... and mostly lebanese and Hizbut-Tahir supporters. A very small demonstration, given that just about 5000 "Danes" just returned from their interrupted "vacation" in Lebanon, courtesy of the Danish Foreign Ministry.

Friday about 500 lebanese and supporters participated in a demonstration from Nørrebro to the Town Hall Square in Copenhagen, demanding that Israel terror should be stopped. The demonstration was arranged by Hizbut-Tahir, who on their homepage wrote ?to stop the the terror of the jewish state in Lebanon and Palestine?.

But of course there were also a demonstration in support for Israel, with participation of the chief rabbi Bent Lexner. And in contrast to the angry "Allahu Akbar" shouting crowd, these demonstrators called for thought, prayer, singing and compassion!

Also note the presense of both Danish and Israeli flags, symbolizing solidarity between Denmark and Israel, something that the Hizbut-Tahir demonstrators wouldn't dream on carrying. Their demonstration had nothing to do with Denmark, it just happened to be the place that these people were!

Sources for the story: Ekstra Bladet, Little Green Footballs, Snaphanen

Imams: The Danes are a hateful people

2006-07-16T08:36:00.000+02:00

Imams: The Danes are a hateful people
By Kim Hundevadt and John Hansen, Jyllands-Posten, July 13, 2006

The Danish government and the Danish people were behind a hateful campaign against Islam and muslims, according to the imams who in December participated in the delegations to the Middle East. A media-researcher belives that they consciously tried to give the Danes a collective responsibility for the Muhammed cartoons.

The Danish imams who in December travelled to the Middle East to create an international pressure on Denmark, were in at least 10 important interviews the source of misleading or false information, which helped inflame the minds of the Islamic world.

The imams claimed among other things that it wasn't just a Danish newspaper, but also the Danish government and the Danish people who was behind a hateful campaign against Islam and muslims, and that there were plans for further “terrible humiliations”.

They also told that they weren't able to be heard in the Danish media and appealed for muslim support to prevent continued attacks -- from blasphemic films to theats of buning down mosques.

This can be read from documents made available by the Foreign Ministry - including reports from the Danish embassy in Cairo, who in collaboration with the Danish-Egyptian Dialogue Institute tried to keep an eye on what was said and written in the Middle Eastern press.

Disinformation
However, media-researcher Hanna Ziadeh, who during the Muhammed crisis were employed at the institure and followed the Egyptian coverage closely, estimates that the approx. 10 interviews most likely only were a smaller part of the disinformation that the imams were responsible for.

“There haven't been a systematic registration, so I am only aware of the examples that I have stumbled upon, and these are primarily from the printed press, where it is easier to document, what is being said. But there are no doubt a number of other examples. I know that incorrect claims were stated in certain TV-programs such as "el beyt beytak", but the stations refused to provide the relevant tapes,” says Hanna Ziadeh.

The imam from Funen Abu Basha, who were the leader of the delegation to Egypt and the spokesman of the imams Ahmed Akkari, have said at several occasions that they only spoke the truth during their travels and all errors must be attributed to the journalists.

Lies
Hanna Ziadeh claims though that the exaggerations and the lies are so numerous tat they cannot be the result of misunderstandments and misquotes. He also believes to be able to see a pattern in the many interviews:

“The declared intentions were to create an outcry in the muslim world so powerful that they could mobilize a broad public protest, which in the end would force Jyllands-Posten and the Danish government to apologize. But the cartoons apparently weren't enough in themselves, thus the imams were forced to emphasize that they weren't just foolhardy and harmless drawings in one newspaper, but part of a coordinated and systematic offense which included offensive movies, censorship of the Qu'ran and the government and the people of Denmark had to be hind this hate campaign against Islam and the muslims,” says Hanna Ziadeh.

Information, Analysis, Answers and Applications

2006-07-03T09:40:00.000+02:00

An Armchair Analysis of the Signs of Our Times

I have been thinking for a while to write this article for a while now, because I think it sums up the issues that we're facing quite nicely and it has helped me to put things into perspective. We're now standing at a nexus in time, where the future is being forged, and while that is more or less true for all points in time, this time it is very important, because our societies and cultures are under threats, both from outside and from within, and is most likely doomed.

Our way of life is about to end
The predominant culture in the Western world, is a product of the Renaissance and the Age of Reason -- the separation of state and church, the enlightened democracy and hard-won liberty and freedom ideals. But along the way corruption have set in on almost all fronts -- we no longer believe strongly in the foundations of our own culture, we have lost our moral compass, and we have become disillusioned, cynical and divided, all the signs of a culture in the process of tearing itself apart.

We are searching for answers in all places but are automatically rejecting those that comes from our own history and culture! We're rejecting our Judeo-Christian roots, and in the process losing our moral compass. We're rejecting individual responsibility and virtues like integrity, dignity and honor, giving up those qualities and assigning the blame to a faceless entity called "society". We have come to the point where we automatically considers our own culture corrupt and responsible for everything that has gone wrong, and is thus seraching for the answers in other cultures.

And thus started the Cultural Relativism, where all cultures are considered equal, equally good or equally bad! And this also implied the roots of the cultures involved, so we have a Religious Relativism as well. This sounds good on the surface, and like an extension of the liberty, equality and freedom slogan handed down to us from the French and American Revolutions. But the problem is that not all cultures, religions or ideologies are equally good, and they're certainly not compatible, and to try to mix and match -- take a little from each and trying to make a whole out of the pieces is a recipe for disaster.

Barbarians at the gate
If we can learn anything from history, this is not the first time and it will almost certainly not be the last time, that a culture have faced this problem. History is like a pendulum swinging back and forth from mono-culture to multi-culture and back again to mono-culture! From the Hellenistic culture, through the culture of the Roman Empire to the religious wars in Europe -- when a culture stops being a mono-culture, it starts to fall apart and disintegrate. It is happening to our culture at the moment and as it usually happens; vandals and barbarians are knocking on the gates threatening our culture.

As history shows there will most likely be a clash between the cultures, most likely leading to open war, and when the dust settles a new mono-culture will arise! Most people concentrate on the external foe, in this case Islam if they see it at all. However, Islam is only a part of the picture -- it wouldn't be a threat to us unless we were already weakened and divided! As Abraham Lincoln said in his A House Divided Speech in 1858: "A house divided against itself cannot stand." but more to the point here:

The result is not doubtful. We shall not fail -- if we stand firm, we shall not fail. Wise counsels may accelerate, or mistakes delay it, but, sooner or later, the victory is sure to come.

There is really no doubt in my mind that the threat from Islam will be defeated, the question is only how long it will take and the price it will take in doing so. As with any large scale conflict, nobody comes out on the other side unchanged.

The enemy within
If we were a cohesive culture, the external enemy wouldn't be a problem, we have ample means to protecting ourselves, we (the Western culture) are the predominant force on the face of the Earth, politically, economic and military. But when we as a culture is divided these strengths cannot be used efficiently, and as we have failed to make the point that our own culture is worth fighting for, more and more is seeing the opposition as the winning force and is aligning themselves with them.

This can be seen in the medias, with politicians and other public figures, who are gradually giving special treatment to the muslims, whether is is because of fear of terror attacks or because they want to be on the winning side or simply because they are in opposition to the current state of things -- The enemy of my enemy is my friend!

Can we avoid this conflict?
I don't think so. We have been in this conflict for more than 1300 years, and will have to face the same conflict as long as either side isn't defeated. On the other hand this is a defining point in time, where we each have to make our stand for what we believe and be ready to fight for it.

We can't go back to the way things were before, simply because that way didn't work, and paved the way for the current situation, and going back would only mean to have learned nothing from what have happened and repeating the same things again. Things will have to change, and change they will, whether we like it or not! But we can all be a part of affecting which way the change will go, simply by getting involved and gaining knowledge of what the situation really is, and figuring out where you stand and what is important to you!

If you believe in the Islamic course in creating the new Caliphate and a global Ummah by extending the Dar ul-Islam -- the House of Islam, then you will support that course and aid it! If you support the principles of democracy, liberty and freedom, you will have to be ready to defend those principles and standing up for them. There is no other options, those that think so are deluding themselves and will end up being the pawns of one or the other side, maybe winning a few concessions here and there but losing in the overall perspective.

But this is all too big for me!
If you believe this, then you have already given up, and giving your support for the forces against democracy, liberty and freedom! Yes I said forces (plural), since it's not just Islam, it's also forces within our own society, who might think that they can use the forces of Islam to their own purposes to change our societies, but they only succeed in destabilizing our societies and thus becoming pawns of Islam, who will be the stronger force.

So it is very much up to you and me to take a stand in this and to make our stand for what we believe. It is not up to the politicians, and it never were -- The politicians never really form the future, they give voice and structure to the currents in the population.

How to get involved?
The best way is by seeking information and knowledge, on both sides, and make an informed information about which side you're aligned most with, and then lend your help to the side that you ultimately support, and the side that you want to win. And if you come out with the "But neither side is what I want!" then think: Which side will let you voice your views?

I know which side I'm on, do you know which side you're on?

Continued here.

This blog is mostly inactive for the time being!

2006-06-12T20:00:00.000+02:00

I have too many other projects running at the same time to be able to devote time and energy to maintain this blog at the moment! And much of the material that I had in mind to put here is already covered at my Off-Topic's Boards in a forum devoted to the discussions of the connections between Islam, Jihad and Terrorism.

The Off-Topic's Boards also covers a lot of other topics as well and most of those are open to everybody – I won't lie and tell you that it's a huge and crowded board, but I like to think it's a nice place that has a good feel to it! So why don't you check it out?

Last updated: 2006.06.19

Women go 'missing' by the millions

2006-03-29T17:16:00.000+02:00

Ayaan Hirsi Ali -- International Herald Tribune -- SATURDAY, MARCH 25, 2006

As I was preparing for this article, I asked a friend who is Jewish if it was appropriate to use the term holocaust to portray the worldwide violence against women. He was startled. But when I read him the figures in a 2004 policy paper published by the Geneva Center for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, he said yes, without hesitation.

One United Nations estimate says from 113 million to 200 million women around the world are demographically "missing." Every year, from 1.5 million to 3 million women and girls lose their lives as a result of gender-based violence or neglect.

How could this possibly be true? Here are some of the factors:

In countries where the birth of a boy is considered a gift and the birth of a girl a curse from the gods, selective abortion and infanticide eliminate female babies.

Young girls die disproportionately from neglect because food and medical attention is given first to brothers, fathers, husbands and sons.

In countries where women are considered the property of men, their fathers and brothers can murder them for choosing their own sexual partners. These are called "honor" killings, though honor has nothing to do with it.

Young brides are killed if their fathers do not pay sufficient money to the men who have married them. These are called "dowry deaths," although they are not just deaths, they are murders.

The brutal international sex trade in young girls kills uncounted numbers of them.

Domestic violence is a major cause of death of women in every country.

So little value is placed on women's health that every year roughly 600,000 women die giving birth.

Six thousand girls undergo genital mutilation every day, according to the World Health Organization. Many die; others live the rest of their lives in crippling pain.

According to the WHO, one woman out of every five worldwide is likely to be a victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime.

What is happening to women and girls in many places across the globe is genocide. All the victims scream their suffering. It is not so much that the world doesn't hear them; it is that fellow human beings choose not to pay attention.

It is much more comfortable for us to ignore these issues. And by "us," I also mean women. Too often, we are the first to look away. We may even participate, by favoring our sons and neglecting the care of our daughters. All these figures are estimates; registering precise numbers for violence against women is not a priority in most countries.

Going forward, there are three challenges:

Women are not organized or united. Those of us in rich countries, who have attained equality under the law, need to mobilize to assist our fellows. Only our outrage and our political pressure can lead to change.

The Islamists are engaged in reviving and spreading a brutal and retrograde body of laws. Wherever the Islamists implement Shariah, or Islamic law, women are hounded from the public arena, denied education and forced into a life of domestic slavery.

Cultural and moral relativists sap our sense of moral outrage by claiming that human rights are a Western invention. Men who abuse women rarely fail to use the vocabulary the relativists have provided them. They claim the right to adhere to an alternative set of values - an "Asian," "African" or "Islamic" approach to human rights.

This mind-set needs to be broken. A culture that carves the genitals of young girls, hobbles their minds and justifies their physical oppression is not equal to a culture that believes women have the same rights as men.

Three initial steps could be taken by world leaders to begin eradicating the mass murder of women:

A tribunal such as the court of justice in The Hague should look for the 113 million to 200 million women and girls who are missing.

A serious international effort must urgently be made to precisely register violence against girls and women, country by country.

We need a worldwide campaign to reform cultures that permit this kind of crime. Let's start to name them and shame them.

In the past two centuries, those in the West have gradually changed the way they treat women. As a result, the West enjoys greater peace and progress. It is my hope that the third world will embark on this effort. Just as we put an end to slavery, we must end the gendercide.

(Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born Dutch legislator, lives under 24-hour protection because of death threats against her by Islamic radicals since the murder of Theo van Gogh, with whom she made the film "Submission" about women and Islam. This Global Viewpoint article was distributed by Tribune Media Services.)

The Zonkalicious Manifesto

2006-02-21T08:34:00.000+01:00

Gee, doesn't that sound magnamiously grand. Anyway, it's just a way to tell what the purpose of this blog is all about (at the moment, as I have no doubt that it will change over time). I will use this blog to publish some of my thoughts about various issues, that means something to me. These can't really be lumped into one nice little box as the issues are very diverse, ranging from Relationships over Computer & IT and Science to Politics and then of course the occasional flirt with something completely unrelated to any of the above categories.

In addition to this blog, I'm also running and/or hosting the following services:

Royce's Relationship Resource ? Information, help and support for trying to save a marriage or relationship.
Off-Topic Chat Board ? A general purpose chat board.