Religion of Peace in its own words

As reported by MEMRI, Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi called upon Muslims to sacrifice themselves in order to achieve their rights: "We must revive what the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan Al-Bana, called 'the death industry'." That's what I call eloquence - "revive... death"! "Industry", of course, brings to mind the mass enterprise of the 1940's, in which the predecessors of the current philistines, headed by the genocidal Grand Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini, took some part - much as they could. The Sheikh suggests that "[Israel] must be eliminated, as it was founded on the basis of thievery..." He calls for jihad at "all levels – military, political, economic, cultural, and religious." Sheikh Yousef wants Allah  to "help him fight the Zionists and cause loss of life among them, and that he be hit by a bullet that will separate his head from his body" (I'd add that the order should be reversed if Allah is listening).

Now, the Sheikh is the head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars. See - scholars. He is a scholar. Who am I to believe regarding the proper Muslim thinking - him or George W. "Islam is religion of peace" Bush? I'll take the good Sheikh's opinion on what Islam is every time - over that of Bush or even Barack Hussein himself (although I am not sure how much the latter's opinion on the existence of Israel differs from Yousef's). On one point I agree with the Sheikh wholeheartedly - with his laments on that "there is a group among us still chasing the illusion of peace." Except, of course, he exaggerates in the flowery Oriental fashion the influence of that group among the umma  - there is no such group there (otherwise we would hear about it, wouldn't we). As much as we, on the other hand, want peace, it cannot be bought by concessions and the immoral "land for peace" principle. This principle started World War II. History has proven that it's a folly time after time.

Dershowitz's choice

I have again come across a pre-election piece by Alan Dershowitz, placed by him in Huffington Post, and thought that it is helpful to understand the convoluted rationale of well-intended people who elected Barack Hussein. It shows how wrong assumptions and unidimensional thinking can drive one to wrong decisions, and, at the same time, help explain the problems we suffer from these decisions.

Let's suppose Dershowitz was indeed so credulous as to decide that Obama "strongly supports Israel" based on the information that "[d]uring the debates each candidate has gone out of his and her way to emphasize strong support for Israel as an American ally and a bastion of democracy in a dangerous neighborhood". Considering that pre-election verbiage is well known to be unreliable, mildly put, while Obama's associations with antisemites and Israel-haters had been well known, Dershowitz would have to be daft to buy it, which he is not. He must have known - but disbelieved - that Obama's professed love for Israel is opportunistic and false. It was and is true, however, that, as Dershowitz wrote, "Obama's views on Israel will have greater impact on young people, on Europe, on the media and on others who tend to identify with the liberal perspective." That's exactly what Obama's views, turned into his anti-Israel policy, do now, supporting the rise of antisemitism on campuses and in the world. It is because of his policy that his support in Israel dropped to the unprecedented 4% - not because of his middle name as he put it, slandering Israelis as racists.

The problem with Dershowitz is that the falsity of attributions and predictions that he made was obvious at the time when he wrote his Huff piece to anybody whose critical abilities were not suspended. It is unfortunate that they were suspended in so many, and so many usually smart and well-informed people were and are guided by the left ideology and wishful thinking. Then again, whole nations were blinded by them, leading from one disaster to another.

Peace pardnership

As we find out for the umpteenth time, our "peace pardners" the philistines are really not. They are ready to wage war against Israel once Arab countries get to that. A friend commented that this is another example of taqiyya on the part of Abbas, a lie Muslims are supposed to be free to use when dealing against the kuffar, unbelievers. I think, however, that people have to be intentionally blind to buy this kind of taqiyya, or have concerns that override Israel's (and ultimately, this civilization's) security. Muslims have to be either exceptionally stupid to think it's believable, or simply realistic, knowing that however stupid and improbable their lie is, it is good enough to be either believed by the "international community", or used by the latter as another pretext to punish Jews for what they have never done - from killing Jesus to contemporary blood libels. No need to try hard.

If we, you and I, can get enough information from open public sources to detect damn lies of our "peace partners", shouldn't those having access to intelligence know a bit more? What additional proof is needed that whatever verbal concessions are given by them in English, they translate into their opposite in Arabic or, at best, are abrogated at the first opportunity - just as this is prescribed by Muhammad? Allah himself used to abrogate Koranic suras once they would become inconvenient to the ingenious "prophet" - remember the "Satanic verses", not the Rushdie book, but the actual Koran 53:19-20? Arafat openly called the Oslo accords Hudaybiyyah peace, referring to the 10-year truce that Muhammad signed with the Meccans when he was too weak to fight them, only to violate it in two years when he was ready to attack them. Why the hell wasn't Arafat and his gang immediately kicked out at least after that? The consequences of Oslo had been obvious to so many before Israel reimported sworn enemies and bandits. ZOA, for instance, of which I am a member, was against it, as it was against the abhorrent self-imposed ethnic cleansing of Gaza. Nobody among the decision-makers listened. Nobody does. I am afraid, nobody will. We are governed by people lacking not only morality, but also knowledge and the intellect to use it.

As I write this, I am listening to a Fox News report (courtesy of the ever-smiling Reena Ninan) of the "discrimination" against "Palestinians" buying real estate in Jerusalem. Of course, the "fair and balanced" reporter asks only a complaining Arab - of course, Abu Abdullah, looking so noble, decent and peaceful - how he suffers, with no possibility of finding out what the criminal Zionists think about that. I am not holding my breath for Fox News, bought by the memorable prince al-Waleed (who also helps families of suicidal murderers a little), to decry the discrimination against Jews buying land - not just in any of the 22 Arab states, but from a "Palestinian", who would be executed by the "peace pardners" if he decided to sell any. After all, the Jews got their land as stolen by the Europeans from the "Palestinian" natives, a payment for that dubious Holocaust. Just ask Barack Hussein. We know to whom he thinks Jerusalem belongs.

CNN's condolences to terrorists

HonestReporting.org informs of condolences to Hizballah that CNN's Senior Editor of Mideast Affairs, Octavia Nasr, expressed on her Twitter page: "Sad to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah.. One of Hezbollah's giants I respect a lot.." One wonders what the other Hizballah giants she respects, considering that there are so many to choose from. What fatwas of the "giant" Fadlallah does she particularly admire - those to sanction suicide bombings of American and French peacemakers in Lebanon in 1983 or other "martyrdom operations"? Here is his learned opinion on them:

The martyrdom operations have had quite a significant role in our Jihad movement and modern history. We have clarified, from a juristic viewpoint, that these kinds of operations are not heresies in Jihad issues, because Allah did not specify to us the means for Jihad. Any means that aims at strengthening the legitimacy of war without offending a major human value is considered Jihad.

Therefore, we do not need special juristic evidence that legitimizes these kinds of operations to conform with the martyrdom path if the war was legitimate. Yet, we have to know where this Jihad method lies, and what are the major causes that it serves. Or, is it some kind of propaganda that serves narrow and minor causes.

Sounds like the definition of the Communist morality: everything was moral that served the interests of the "proletariat". Such was the "spiritual" advisor to Hizballah. See, an organization of mass murderers usually needs a spiritual advisor or two - probably because humans need to suspend any vestiges of morality to get involved in mass murder en masse, and this requires a moral sanction from a "spiritual" advisor. On occasion, the murder-gang chieftain can perform a dual function of a Fuehrer and a high priest, like it was with Lenin, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, etc. By tradition, long-term cults like Islam sometimes require a "Grand" ayatollah for that. Shiites are old-fashioned like that, as opposed to more democratic Sunnis, where somebody like Sheikh Usama can do both killing and preaching. On the other hand, when Shiites get to rule a state, like ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini did, they also combine both functions, and he was not even "Grand", I think. A question is, why our own head of state, Barack Hussein, needed a "spiritual guide" who is little different from Fadlallah? 

One thing is clear. Even if Ms. Nasr gets fired from CNN (you know, because of  the all-powerful Zionist lobby and its faithful servants), she will have no difficulty finding a job with another media "source" in the US. Or, worst comes to worst, in Europe, which has stopped pretending that its hate for Jews, albeit cowardly called "Israel" nowadays, was quenched by the genocide of the Shoah. Or, absolute worst (or is it actually best?), in a Muslim country, where such pretending is not only not needed, but may even be punished. I'd suggest Lebanon, Ms. Nasr's, Nasrallah's, Fadlallah's and Hizballah's homeland.

July 8, 2010. - Ah, Zionist lobby, why are you so omnipotent... The poor Ms. Nasr did get fired. Her "experience and deep knowledge of the Middle East" and " 2006 Excellence in Journalism award from the Lebanese-American Chamber of Commerce" and "CNN World Report’s 2003 Achievement Award for her numerous contributions to the program" (read her stellar bio) did not help. Neither did her helpless attempt to "explain" how Fadlallah, who, in her own words, was "spiritual leader" of Hizballah when it "bombed the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 299 American and French peacekeepers", still deserved to be "revered across borders". She says, "I lost family members in that terror attack". Perhaps herein lies the true explanation of her position. Perhaps those family members were not the peacekeepers, but those Lebanese relatives of hers who were "spiritually guided" by this worthy "descendant of the prophet" to blow themselves up to murder the peacekeepers. It is telling that her defenders, commenting on her hardly apologetic "explanation," invariably and passionately hate Israel. Well, they really should not be upset for Ms. Nasr. As mentioned above, she is certain to land a job where her nuanced treatment of spiritual mass murder guides will be appreciated.

Builders of the future

Today's quote of the day from President Obama (town hall meeting in Racine, Wisconsin):
"We can return to what we know did not work, or we build a stronger future. We can go backwards, or we can go forward. And I don’t know about you, but I want to move forward in this country" (I heard it on TV, but copied the text off the site Organizing for America, whatever it means).

For those who have not lived in the unlamented Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, "building a stronger future" may sound either awfully nice or awfully hollow, depending on the part of the political spectrum one fits. For those who have spent any conscious years in the Motherland of the World Proletariat, among the Vanguard of Progressive Humankind,  these words sound as coming from a nightmare. We, who did live in the Soviet Union, have heard the phrase about building a future since we started hearing anything. The self-name of the Soviet people was Builders - of Communism, of the bright future, of the better (best) society - always moving forward. During the Demonstrations of Laborers on the 1st of May holiday - for which mass "spontaneous" expressions of building enthusiasm the masses were "organized" by their employment places,  - the announcer's voice from the megaphones on the lamp posts thundered, "Long live the great Soviet People, the Glorious Builder of Communism". The "glorious builders" joked, "yeah, long live the great Soviet people, the eternal builder of Communism." As for moving "forward", that is, in the direction of "catching up with and overtaking America" (an official slogan of Khrushchev's era), the joke was, "Why is the glorious Soviet people trying to catch up with and overtake America, which uncontrollably rolls to the abyss?"   

Sure I know that the right wingnuts like myself always try to scare Americans with their paranoid fantasies of socialism in the land of the free. Perhaps we indeed are a bit scared - at least those who have the Soviet Union as the reference point for political events and phenomena. Some of us wingnuts, however, may be scared justifiably. Arguably, we are finely attuned to detect anything that may pave the road to the bright socialist future, including the use of familiar cliches and newspeak we are so used to. The 60's Soviet  placard on the left, with the large ДОГНАТЬ и ПЕРЕГНАТЬ at the bottom,  "catch up with and overtake", quotes Lenin: "Either to perish, or to catch up with the leading countries and overtake them economically... Either to perish, or to rush full steam forward." Sounds a little familiar? The Soviet people did go forward. The future was great.

Dashing general

Call me paranoid (probably many of us who come from the Soviet Union are justifiably so anyway), but I doubt General Stanley McChrystal was indeed reckless to say what he said regarding the Supreme Balaboss. No way he did not know the MO¹ and ROE² when dealing with a CO³, especially as hollow as BHO. Surely Stan knew that one is not supposed to malign anybody a notch above you in the Army hierarchy - that's the whole Army thing. No army can function if the lines of authority are not strictly maintained. My uneducated guess is that the general, far from being rash, mindless and a bad example to his subordinates, did it - the only alternative left - on purpose. Say, got tired of the supreme incompetence of the likes of Biden and his golf buddy in the WH (do they often get to play together or the interests of national security keep them playing separate?). Say, decided that whatever comes  - resignation or retirement, - his replacement will be listened to with greater attention and the critical decisions will not take forever. He did apologize, but I am willing to read into that apology non-admission of guilt: he said, "What is reflected in this article falls far short of [his] standard [principles of personal honor and professional integrity]", and the reflections are not necessarily true.  Especially when those reflections are in a leftist musical gossip magazine (a nice picture of The Beatles playing in water though).

All this may be a stretch or wishful thinking, but it does not matter much. Even if the general said it thoughtlessly, and carelessly entertained that kind of disparaging remarks about the administration from his subordinates, it tells at least as much about the administration as it does about McChrystal's army etiquette. To wit, that the administration has not earned as little respect from people who risk their lives every second as for them to at least follow their common rules of conduct. These people see their Supreme Commander on the news declaring that they serve America's vital interests, which, one guesses, will cease to be so in, oh, about a year when the troop withdrawal is scheduled to start, with no victory mentioned. They know that it took months for him to accept McChrystal's request for more troops on which their lives depended, and then deducting a quarter from the number requested. Those who do research using governmental funding are well familiar with the thinking behind deductions like that. This is one of the many ways for bureaucrats to exercise their power and show their creativity - to cut a study's budget by 15, 25 or another round number of percentage points, despite the fact that the budget has been approved by peer review, i.e. by people who know how much is needed to do what's planned. It is not good for research, nor is it for the Army where lives are at stake. This is the type of strategy Leo Tolstoy made a joke of in War and Peace, talking about German generals-bureaucrats with their calculations, "Die erste Kolonne marschiert... die zweite Kolonne marschiert... die dritte Kolonne marschiert." Call me a doubting Thomas, but I am afraid that Gen. Petraeus, who has been exposed to Obama's "strategery" before, does not hold a lot of respect for him either. How long will it take for him to have enough?
_____
¹MO, modus operandi
²ROE, rules of engagement
³CO, commanding officer

Nadson

I did my best to translate a poem by Semyon Nadson (Семён Надсон), a Russian poet. His father was son of a baptized Jew; he died when Semyon was two. Nadson was sincere, talented and immensely popular. His life, as often happens with poets, particularly in Russia, was hard and short: he died of consumption at the age of 25 (1862-1887). The original does rhyme - I did not have much time and had to choose between rhyme and rhythm. The translation is virtually literal. I would not do it if I could find one online - I have not looked for any hard copy ones. I did it at my wife's request. She thought it was still relevant and instructive. I agree. Please point out and forgive any errors - my English is far from perfect.

Я рос тебе чужим, отверженный народ, И не тебе я пел в минуты вдохновенья. Твоих преданий мир, твоей печали гнет Мне чужд, как и твои ученья. И если б ты, как встарь, был счастлив и силен, И если б не был ты унижен целым светом, - Иным стремлением согрет и увлечен, Я б не пришел к тебе с приветом. Но в наши дни, когда под бременем скорбей Ты гнешь чело свое и тщетно ждешь спасенья, В те дни, когда одно название "еврей" В устах толпы звучит как символ отверженья, Когда твои враги, как стая жадных псов, На части рвут тебя, ругаясь над тобою, - Дай скромно стать и мне в ряды твоих бойцов, Народ, обиженный судьбою! 1885

I've been estranged from you, the nations’ outcast. It was not you, to whom I sang my songs, inspired. Your tribulations’ weight, your torments' burden are All alien to me, as are your tales and teachings. And if you, as of yore, were happy and were strong, And weren’t, as you are, debased in every corner, - It wouldn’t be to you, to whom I would belong. I wouldn’t come to you, consumed by some endeavor. But when, aggrieved, in vain, you lower your head, By miseries beset, you’re crying for salvation, And when your very name, derided as is “Jew,” Is on the crowd’s lips a symbol of pariah, When enemies of yours, a pack of greedy dogs, Are tearing you apart, defaming and maligning,- Allow me to stand with you, confronting fate, And let me take my place among your humble fighters!

Israel's aggression

Still ongoing!

So you say there is no God…

by Lina.

Well thank you, a well-meaning atheist, for disabusing me of all these false notions. You really mean that god won’t throw lightning bolts at me as punishment for my sins?! And science totally explains the origin of the species?! Woweeh! All my questions finally answered and addressed. Totally, man. Free at last. I can leave my shtetl, liberated from these religious shackles. Love mankind for its ingenuity in dealing with ethical/moral questions throughout the ages -- ways that I hope are about to get even more creative now that we can just flush the ol’ 10 (or 7) commandments down the drain. And feel the love – from humanity that demonstrates daily its intuitions about compassion and justice.

I am totally stoked about viewing life from the perspective of almost complete determinism in which I am just a tiny rusty nut in the magnificent human race machine, not to mention the rest of the universe. My life mattering in the big picture about as much as a speck of dust on the surface of the moon. Oh, wait. May be I’ll get lucky and in a million years, should life on this planet exist for that long, my well-preserved corpse will be discovered by scientists to be that important link between their highly evolved forms and the schmendricks that came before us. That is bound to give meaning to my existence. Yay! As they pry open my skull while still debating whether such thing as consciousness exists and wondering whether the presence of an opposable thumb on the compost I’ve become could have been its symptom.

“Thanks again for shedding light into the dark swampy hole where I have been all this time, guys/gals or whatever you might now be in a million years. What can I say, it really made a difference.”

Deir Yassin and Other Morbid Arabian Nights

In our time, when remembering any history beyond the historic 2008 elections is not in vogue, many events may appear as new. Although the Arab world and the rest of progressive humanity are acutely aware of Israel's iniquities (hardly a day passes without them), they may still be surprised by another one because they have forgotten how it all started. One of the first events that formed that opinion of Israel was the 1948 "massacre" in Deir Yassin, an Arab village near Jerusalem.

This is a reminder of how anti-Israel Arab propaganda is made:


Then there was the Mohammed Al Dura blood libel (read here). Then Saeb Erekat's "Jenin massacre" (read here).  Now it's the "flotilla" with the innocent blood of peaceful humanitarians (calling for Jews to go to Auschwitz). Times change, but the Big Lie methodology does not. After all, the favorite leader of Pal Arabs is Amin al Husayni, Hitler's pal (here is some more, to place the "Palestinian struggle" into perspective).