Just Say No

This sentiment is prevalent at Mahmood’s Den where today he respectfully asks His Highness Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa to allow more economic mobility and freedom for the Shia in Bahrain, specifically to allow them to serve in the military.

The crown prince of course is one of the top leaders of the country, and it is in his power to change things for the better. Everyone loves him and now has gained an international reputation as a moderate and a statesman. So i hope I will not cross the line by advising him - as a friend - that he should immediately implement policies to those organisations he oversees which will translate all of his excellent positions as articulated in this and other interviews and open the gates of employment to the Shi’a into the armed forces.

Not everyone agrees, especially commenter riffa4u:

try also walkiing and working in the economy . leave your iran based dreams aside also after what happened in iran in 1986 kaaba attack and 1987 the arms cache siezed in from the passengers coming from iran for haj also dont blame the government of bahrain for this as iran once held a claim on bahrain and bahrain has a high number of irani bahrainis , who in the past have also contributed the most towards dystroying the peace in the country and presently do so , if the government does trust then are you ready to respond or will continue to burn and cry

are u trying to say that the shias in bahrain dont bow to iran or in the future will not run on iran orders god sake dont say no i know if these people get ever chance they have tried in the past and are going to do in the future thats why u cannot get job in bahrain military or police or in key positions for your ill acts supporting iran based demands

Emphasis mine. This Shia hysteria has at its roots the situation in Iraq (see, it’s Bush’s fault), at least that is the impression I get from this article by Faud Ajami. An excerpt:

In the fullness of time, the Arab order of power will have to come to a grudging acceptance of the order sure to take hold in Baghdad. This is a region that respects the prerogatives of power. It had once resisted the coming to power of the Alawites in Syria and then learned to accommodate that "heretical" minority sect and its conquest of Damascus; the Shia path in Iraq will follow that trajectory, and its justice is infinitely greater for it is the ascendancy of a demographic majority, through the weight of numbers and the ballot box. Of all Arab lands, Iraq is the most checkered, a frontier country at the crossroads of Arabia, Turkey and Persia. The Sunni Arabs in Iraq and beyond have never accepted the diversity of that land. The "Arabism" of the place was synonymous with their own primacy. Now a binational state in all but name (Arab and Kurdish) has come into being in Iraq, and the Shia underclass have stepped forth and staked a claim commensurate with the weight of their numbers. The Sunni Arabs have recoiled from this change in their fortunes. They have all but "Persianized" the Shia of Iraq, branded them as a fifth column of the state next door. Contemporary Islamism has sharpened this feud, for to the Sunni Islamists the Shia are heretics at odds with the forbidding strictures of the Islamists' fanatical variant of the faith.

Read the whole thing. I myself have bought into this idea that Shia = Iran, if only because in Sadr’s case I believe it’s true. Follow the money. This does not mean that if Sadr gains control of Iraq he will be a puppet of the Mullahs, but rather he will be very beholden to Iran, dependent on Iran, and scarred of Iran. He will therefore be very slow to distance himself from Tehran to the detriment of Iraq and the US. That does not mean all Shia take their orders from the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, not even in Iran, but those with substantial monetary connections to Iran can be assumed to be heavily influenced by Iran. I doubt this is the case in Bahrain. What I find ironic is that the US has empowered the Shia in Iraq yet I believe far more Shia are killing our troops than Sunni.

Celebrations: Compare and Contrast

Azarmehr, who blogs For a Democratic Secular Iran, laments the fact that since it coincides with the Ashura the Sadeh Celebration will not be celebrated as the Iranian Mullahs do their best to eradicate all aspects of Persia’s culture.

Today, the day of Sadeh Celebration, should be the third most important celebration in the Iranian calendar after Nowrooz and Mehregan. In the Book of Kings, according to Iranian mythology, it is the day man discovered how to create fire at will and control it for the benefit of mankind.

Traditional celebration of Sadeh involves lighting a big fire outdoors. The ceremony is followed by singing and dancing around the fire by the people gathered for the festivity. Everyone is expected to participate in the festival by bringing wood for the fire.

By contributing to feed the flames of fire collectively together, we symbolically provide light and illumination to our mind, and hence the Zoroastrian tenets of Good Thoughts, Good Words and Good Deeds. By contributing to feed the flames of fire collectively, we remember the visible symbol of the Invisible Divine Light to fight evil.



But there will be no large fires in the birth place of Zarathustra today. There will be no singing and dancing around the fire. Today coincides with the Shiite ceremony of Ashura on the lunar Arab calendar. A day in which a battle between Arabs in Karbala is commemorated. A day in which heads were decapitated and raised aloft on spears as trophies, and little babies killed by arrows through their throats. A day in which water was denied to thirsty children, stranded in the desert.

Instead of singing and dancing in the land of Cyrus, men will beat their bare chests, and whip their backs with chains, men and children will draw blood by striking their heads with large daggers and Shiite priests will perform sermons in mosques with the sole intention of making the faithful weep.

Today in the land of Zarathustra, martyrdom, blood, death, lamentation and self flagellation have displaced the singing, dancing and the zest for life and pursuit of happiness.

The Real Cuba has a quiz. Since Hugo Chavez is following so closely in Castro’s footsteps they thought it would be fun to see if people can tell which of the following Quotes came from Fidel or Hugo.

Who said what?
Hugo Chávez is now repeating almost word by word, the same mountain of lies that his mentor Fidel Castro said 50 years ago. It is like following the script for a new version of the same horror movie. Here we have some quotes from these two liars. See if you can figure out which one belongs to Chávez and which one to his Cuban mentor (Scroll down for the answers):

1A: “I never saw a contradiction between the ideas that sustain me and the ideas of that symbol, of that extraordinary figure Jesus Christ.”
1B: "One of the greatest rebels, who I really admire: Christ. He was a rebel. He ended up being crucified. He was a great rebel"
2A: "I have said it already, I am convinced that the way to build a new and better world is not capitalism. Capitalism leads us straight to hell"
2B: “I find capitalism repugnant. It is filthy, it is gross, it is alienating... because it causes war, hypocrisy and competition”
3A: "Now we have full freedom of the press. I doubt very much that there is any other country where freedom of speech is so respected"
3B: "In two words: The Revolution respects everyone's right to say what he wants, no matter if he is from the right or the left, or the extreme right or extreme left."
4A: "They are at the service of coups against the people, against the nation, against national independence, against the dignity of the republic"
4B: “Here, we will not tolerate any news media that is in the service of those who make coups against the people, against the nation, against national independence and against the dignity of the republic”
ANSWERS:
1A Castro in 1959 1B Chavez in 2006
2A Chavez in 2006 2B Castro in 1960
3A Chavez in 2006 3B Castro in 1960
4A Castro in 1960 referring to Diario de la Marina and other newspapers in Cuba that were criticizing his regime
4B Chavez in 2007 referring to Radio Caracas Television a network that he now wants to close because it criticizes his regime.

Same dog, different collar.

Update: However the left thinks he's better than Bush. And while Chavez cracks down Castro (Raul) opens up, at least a little.

Hugo Problemo

Those that think anyone should live in ignorance of all the wonders that mankind has discovered in order to preserve their culture should be required to join the tribe and experience that wonderful culture until they wake up. Yekwanaman explains.

Armageddon

Sorry I haven't blogged for a while, I'm taking some courses and haven't resigned from the prison yet. One of my courses is Web Design. This is part of my first assignment: Armageddon

Innocent

Nazanin, the Iranian girl who was to be executed for defending herself and her niece from being raped was acquitted, sort of. She must pay the rapist’s family “dieh”, or blood money but then she can go free. She will appeal the blood money demand but if she can raise the $40,000 bail she can be released immediately. If not, she will continue to rot in her Iranian jail. You can help by donating here. Her mother had this to say to everyone who helped in the campaign to get her freed.

I know how hard each of you have worked to bring Nazanin home and I am grateful to all of you. Nazanin's father and siblings are very happy too. You brought us the only one wish that we had: freedom of our daughter. May God give all of you, our brothers and sisters health and happiness for all that you have done.

Sadr Surge

Everyone is talking about the 21,500 additional troops going to Iraq as if that was the sum total of Bush's new strategery. Edwards, Hillary, Gore and Obama are all against it. Ted Kennedy says he will introduce a bill to stop funding for the increase, although no one can explain what that means. Are the new troops going to have their paychecks held up? Will congress allow funding for fuel, ammo, food, etc. to those already in Iraq but stop feeding and supplying the surge troops? Swimmer aside, others oppose the surge also, asking what good will an extra 21,500 troops do, too little too late. Fortunately the surge is not the focal point of Bush’s new strategy, a new get tough attitude is. Bush said:

These two regimes are allowing terrorists and insurgents to use their territory to move in and out of Iraq. Iran is providing material support for attacks on American troops. We will disrupt the attacks on our forces. We will interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria. And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq.

Bush says he will no longer tolerate interference with Iraq from Iran and Syria. Bush will not allow his troops to be hampered by the Iraqi government, especially Maliki who had a tendency to order Sadr’s butchers and Iranian agents released whenever we managed to nab a few. We will no longer pull back when we have Sadr’s militia surrounded. We will no longer clear and then leave an area to the Iraqis only to have disloyal militia in the Iraq Army surrender the area back to the insurgents and militias. We will imbed with the Iraqi Army to make sure they are loyal to Iraq and not Sadr. That is what the new direction of our efforts will entail and the enemy does not like it any better than the Democrats. Some are already running away from Bagdad into other provinces before the surge is even in Iraq. That alone is enough to garner my support. But the new emphasis on Iran is what offers the best hope that we can still win in Iraq, if Bush is sincere. He may be:

I recently ordered the deployment of an additional carrier strike group to the region. We will deploy ... Patriot air defense systems to reassure our friends and allies.

Sadr’s bunch has no missiles and we don’t really need more fighters in Iraq. “The networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq” that “we will seek out and destroy” are in Tehran not Bagdad. This is aimed at Iran. Bush may finally be coming to the conclusion that we are at war with Iran, that we have been since they invaded US soil in 1979 by storming our embassy. We seem to have returned the favor in Iraq by grabbing five Iranians from their consulate in Irbil. This comes on the heels of attacks on Sadr forces with more soon to follow. One can only hope that the Iraqi’s won’t scuttle this last effort to stabilize their country. Maliki needs to understand that regardless of Bush's intentions Iraq faces a sure deadline to get their act together; November 2008. As to Iran, should they continue to attack US forces, directly or indirectly, Bush may finally respond with something other than diplomacy.

Our Friends the Egyptians

We are still trying to get Egyptian blogger Kareem freed from Egyptian prison. There will be a rally in Washington, DC, Thursday January 11th at the Egyptian Embassy, 1303 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, at 11:00 AM till Noon. While at Al Azhar University Kareem wrote what many considered anti-Islamic posts on his blog. The country that we support to the tune of 2 Billion dollars a year frowns on any criticism, and criticizing a Sharia run country is tantamount to criticizing Islam. BTW this is what our friend Mubarak allows in it’s state run media: How Many Times Must Bush Be Executed?

Sharia

Iranian Nazanin Mahabad Fatehi will find out today if she is to die. Her crime? During an attempted rape she stabbed one of the three men assaulting her and her 16 year old sister. Since he died she was tried and convicted for murder. She managed to get a retrial due to the international condemnation of her first trial, results will be disclosed soon. What she should have done of course was stab herself and her sister, then there would be no shame for her family or the poor rapists. Another choice would be to let the men rape her and her sister, however they would then be subject to 100 lashes under Iranian Sharia Law which they might not have survived. The girls, not the guys, would get the lashes, just in case you don't understand Sharia. If either one was married then they would be guilty of adultery and stoned to death for being raped. Anyway their male relatives would have to kill them regardless because of the shame they would bring their families for being raped. Isn’t Sharia wonderful? Probably too late but there is a petition to stop this insanity but, hey, sign it anyway it’s all we got short of regime change which Bush still doesn’t seem too keen on.

Hugo Problemo

Jungle Mom has asked what I know of the Chavez Iranian connection. I know Iranian President Ahmadinejad recently awarded Chavez Iran’s highest award, the Islamic Republic Medal. The award was for Chavez’s steadfast support in Iran’s efforts to get nukes as well as his voluminous Anti-American rhetoric. When Chavez, the “New Castro” of Latin America, first came into power he staked out his claim as the leader of a new “Bolivarian Revolution”. Along with that of course came the need to jump on the Anti-American bandwagon. He did so with a vengeance and has continued unabated. Iran recognized a kindred spirit and as far back as 2004 then Iranian President Khatami went to Venezuela to cozy up to Chavez. Since then the relationship has resulted in billions in bilateral trade, Iranian investment in tractor production and housing projects, and the signing of memorandums of understanding in various fields.

At NRO Mario Loyola explains how Chavez is following in Castro’s footsteps in his efforts to set up his own dictatorship, albeit at a slower pace. He has effectively taken over the judicial and legislative branches of the government and is now storming the last bastions of Democracy, a free press and opposition parties. Soon he will amass the same power Supreme Leader Khamenei enjoys. Soon Venezuelans will wake up to the same corrupt, bankrupt, militaristic tyrrany that Iranians enjoy, but at least without the religious police. Or maybe with the religious police as I will discuss in a moment.

Aside from setting themselves up as enemies of the United States, Venezuela and Iran have a few other things in common. Both have huge oil industries and yet both are starving those cash cows by not investing in new projects or even maintaining the existing infrastructure. Just as Iran must provide billions to support Hamas, Hezbollah, Sadr, and other terrorists Chavez must bribe the campisinos with freebies that do nothing to alleviate the prevalent problems of the region. That doesn’t leave much for investment. The result is two economies in decline, oil production is down 16% since 2001 in Venezuela and Iranian oil may completely dry up in five years at the current rate of decline.

Both see themselves as revolutionary countries and strive to spread those revolutions. However state planning, corruption, skittish foreign investors, and failing infrastructures mean that the money to fund exporting the revolution may be harder and harder to find. An alliance between the two countries does nothing to alleviate those problems so what do they have to gain? Chavez may well think he will get some nukes of his own. Khamenei has stated he will share nuclear technology with other countries, enemies of America can expect to be first in line. Iran gets an ally in the UN and the satisfaction of sticking its nose in our hemisphere.

What ever the reason for the alliance with Iran this emerging new axis of evil that Chavez is spawning must be watched closely. After every war weary folk like to think that that was the last war. When the Soviet Union collapsed every politician around immediately started to plan ways to spend the “peace dividend”. Clinton pared down the military changing the Two War Doctrine to a One War and placing a far greater reliance on the Guard and Reserves. We are now paying for that dividend. Communism is not dead, not in the US and not in Latin America. Other countries besides Venezuela are falling back into Cuban style hell holes, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia and even Nicaragua, who voted Daniel Ortega back into office. Mexico was almost added to the list. If you think illegal immigration is bad now wait until Mexico becomes the latest Socialist paradise and economic basket case. The problem of a small percentage of haves living off the labor of millions of have nots is endemic of countries founded by Conquistadors who came to plunder rather than colonize. Caudillos like Chavez bring hope to these exploited masses yet never deliver.

There is probably nothing I can say about Chavez's Venezuela that Jungle Mom doesn't know, she has first hand knowledge of what living under a Socialist regime means. For ten years she and her family have ministered the Bible to the Ye’kwana Indians in the middle of the Amazon jungles of Venezuela. Ministering to an isolated indigenous tribe deep in the Amazon means much more than preaching the Gospel. This family provided schooling, medicine, medical care, dental care, and a host of other social services the government does not and can not provide. I use the past tense because Chavez has kicked them out of their village along with every other missionary in the Amazon. Why? Imperialist infiltration, destruction of their culture, starving the Indians while the missionaries live in Palatial Mansions.

This is Jungle Mom's palace which the family built out of adobe bricks with a palm roof. One wonders how fearsom this family must be in order to subjugate a whole village so.



Jungle Mom’s story and especially the plight of those villagers left behind puts a human face to the tragedies socialist regimes breed. This face:



What will happen to this child when she gets her first cavity?

Jungle Dad won't be there. What will happen if she gets sick? The medicine that came from mission donations is gone. Missionary pilots are not allowed to fly the sick to hospitals; the nearest town is a two week trip by canoe. Who will be there? Many mission bases are being occupied by the military in order to re-educate the villagers who have been ordered to return to their old ways and religion. Religious police. Say goodbye to freedom hita.



Jungle Mom and Jungle Dad, aka Yekwana Man, both have blogs. Visit to get a clearer picture of what is happening to Venezuela than I can paint. You can also go to This Was Our Home to hear this heartbreaking story from Jungle Dad himself. I found it very inspiring.

Update: So much for freedom of the press. Chavez: Will nationalize telecoms, power.

Return from the Well

When some guy at the street corner is preaching “The End is near!” it’s one thing, when a Government is preaching the same thing then it’s a whole ‘nother animal. We all know Ahmadinejad believes the 12th Imam is coming but I didn’t believe the Mullahs that run the show in Iran bought into the same apocalyptic vision as he did. However the state run media in Iran is preparing the Iranian public for the Imam Mahdi’s return. From Ynet News:

The Islamic Republic of Iran broadcasting (IRIB) website said in a program called 'The World Towards Illumination,' that the Mahdi will reappear in Mecca and form an army to defeat Islam's enemies in a series of apocalyptic battles, in which the Mahdi will overcome his archvillain in Jerusalem.

Remember that Ahmadinejad has sent around 40,000 military and security personnel mixed in with the 200,000 Iranians that will go to Mecca in this years Hajj. The Champion of the dispossessed himself may even attend.

Soon a pious person from the progeny of Imam Hasan Mojtaba (AS) meets with the Imam. He is a venerable God-fearing individual from Iran. Before the Imam's appearance he fights oppression and corruption and enters Iraq to lift the siege of Kufa and holy Najaf and to defeat the forces of Sofyani in Iraq.

What exactly are the Mullahs and Ahmadinejad preparing the Iranian public for?

Others say the date will be the 25th of the month of Zil-Qa’dah and may coincide with the Spring Equinox or Nowrooz as the Iranians call.

What else is going to happen during the Spring Equinox? Front Page magazine reports Ahmadinejad recently said:

“I'm very hopeful that we will be able to hold the big celebration of Iran's full nuclearization in the current year,” he said. (The Persian calendar year ends on March 20.)

March 20th is the Spring Equinox.

French "Youths"

Youths in France torched around 400 cars to herald in the New Year. Yes they are young, male, of African descent, and from the more impoverished areas of France. However the most important demographic to which the youths belong is their religion; Islam. In what many describe as the French Intifada Muslim youths are terrorizing neighborhoods throughout the country. Yet in what one can only describe as a sacrifice to the PC gods the fact that the rioters are Muslim is either buried or left out entirely in MSM reporting, when they bother to report at all. I did not hear of the New Years Eve torching from the MSM, I heard it from bloggers. Some MSM go so far as to embrace total denial, such as the New York Times (the violence in France has not taken on religious overtones ) and the Washington Post (Islamic ideology and leaders play no role in the disturbances, and many of those participating are not Muslim).

IRIS Blog shoots down such facile comments with hard evidence, read the whole thing but here are a few tidbits:

Hizbut Tehrir Behind French Intifada

All indicators point to the involvement of...the London-based Hizbut Tehrir (HT) in the violence by sections of angry Muslim youth....With the help of the sleeper cells, which the HT has already established in Paris and other parts of France for some months, they drew up plans for keeping the violence sustained in order to further radicalise and mobilise the youth....For this purpose, they exploited the already prevalent anger in the Muslim community of France....Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) in Pakistan has instructed its cells in France to assist the HT clandestinely as best as they can. Similarly, the Jamat-ul-Furqa (JUF)...has also asked its followers to assist the HT

Non-Muslims Beaten to Death

Cars were torched by thousands, local facilities like commercial arcades, schools, and metro stations were burned down, synagogues and churches were attacked, non-Muslims beaten to death, Molotov cocktails and firearms were used. The local powers that be, Islamist mafia-type thugs and networks, didn't want the French police back in their enclaves.

French Intelligence Estimates 40,000 Al-Qaeda Recruits Engaged in Paramilitary Training

Estimates vary as to the number of Muslims in France. The CIA's world factbook estimates it to be as high as six million. Other social scientists put the number as high as eight million. In 2004, French counter-intelligence estimated al-Qaida alone had 40,000 recruits in France that were engaged in paramilitary training.

That's half a percent of France's Muslim population, but it is apparent that many more are silent supporters -- or ad hoc co-operators, as many of the young rioters were. To call the riots spontaneous is to lie: Police discovered Molotov cocktail factories, and websites helped to co-ordinate the instigators in 300 cities and towns.

The Rioters Cite the "Disrespect" of France for Islam as Part of the Origin of their Revolt

Some on Left and Right were angered when police withdrew one evening last week from Clichy-sous-Bois, where the rioting started, in order to let Muslims keep the peace. “The supposed mediation of big brothers crying out Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest) is one sign among many of the capitulation of the legitimate authorities,” said Bruno Gollnisch, a senior figure in Jean-Marie Le Pen’s National Front party.

Rioter on bin Laden: "He Gives Pride Back to the Muslims"

But he knows who his heroes are. ''Osama bin Laden and Rodney King," he said, referring to the Al Qaeda leader and the African-American whose videotaped beating by Los Angeles police in 1991 spawned massive racial riots.
''One because he gives pride back to the Muslims," the young man asserted as he and a trio of friends stood near the charred ruins of a carpet shop. ''The other because he was just a poor man, a 'nobody man' of color, but he caused a great city to burn."

Rioters Sparing Muslim-Owned Businesses

But - and this is the crucial difference between the generations of rioters - most of those living in the French ghettoes are Muslims and have grown up during a period of Islamic radicalization.
Many of the youths hurling petrol bombs on Parisian estates look up to a slightly older group of mosque stalwarts. These men are capable of being forces for both good and mischief; there have been examples from the past fortnight of situations calmed, but also of attackers acting under their direction, so that Muslim-owned businesses, a halal butcher's shop and a kebab joint, for example, are spared, while a bank branch and symbols of another France are targeted.

IRIS has tons more links to news stories, Islamic Web sites and op-eds that underscore the Islamic nature of the riots. Again, I have to get my news from bloggers, or at least let bloggers steer me to news sources that aren’t afraid to tell the truth.