Symposium Report: Part One

(All emphases by Always On Watch)

The information below was the first item on the schedule at today's America's Truth Forum. Excerpt from World Net Daily's article "'American Hiroshima' Linked with Iran Attack: Pakistani journalist who met bin Laden confirms al-Qaida nukes, says they may already be in U.S.":

"Al-Qaida has already obtained nuclear suitcase weapons from the Russian black market, weapons tested in Afghanistan in 2000, and they may have already been forward-deployed inside the U.S., according to the only journalist to interview Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri in the wake of Sept. 11.

"Last week, Hamid Mir's credibility skyrocketed when he accurately predicted in Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin and later in WND the imminent release of a new recorded communiqué from bin Laden through al-Jazeera, the Arabic TV network. Two days later, bin Laden's tape was the focus of international news coverage.

"'If you think that my information and analysis about bin Laden's location is correct,' said Hamid Mir, 'then please don't underestimate my analysis about his nuclear threat also.'...

"Mir also maintains that numerous sleeper agents are in place in major cities throughout the United States to prepare for the nuclear holocaust...."

Read the rest here. Mir has already proved himself as a reliable source.

Ahmadinejad of Iran continues his brazen defiance, of which various news reports inform us on a daily basis. And according to this article in the Washington Post,

"PARIS, April 26 -- Escalating the threats between Washington and Tehran, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei [who was exiled as a readical a by Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini, leader of Iran's revolution in the 1970's!] , warned Wednesday that his country would strike U.S. targets around the world in the event it is attacked over its refusals to curb its nuclear program.

"'If the U.S. ventured into any aggression on Iran, Iran will retaliate by damaging U.S. interests worldwide twice as much as the U.S. may inflict on Iran,' Khamenei said in a speech to a workers' assembly, according to the official news agency IRNA.

"His statement adds to a campaign of defiance by senior Iranian officials in advance of a report expected Friday by the U.N. atomic watchdog agency, which analysts predict will cite Iran for defying U.N. Security Council demands to halt its uranium enrichment program...."

Also mentioned at the symposium were two specific individuals who might have a connection to the above information from World Net Daily. Go here and here to see FBI posters of two men who might be sleeper agents to carry out attacks in the United States; the first man, Adnan el-Shukrijumah, has been termed by the FBI as "the next Mohammed Atta"; the second man, Amer el-Maati, may be one of his cohorts. Whether or not el-Shukrijumah and el-Maati are part of the plot to which World Net Daily alludes, these are dangerous men and need to be taken into custody as soon as possible. Contact America's Most Wanted by emailing to amwcontact@amw.com or by phoning 1-800-CRIMETV, and urge John Walsh to put the pictures of these two men on television so that all of us can watch for them.

The Kennedy Center's planned festival of Arab culture

Always on Watch is more courageous than I - AOW is attending America's Truth Forum, which is being held today in the DC metro area, while I'm too chicken, on account of wanting to hold on to my Federal government job.

I was at Starbuck's this morning (never Caribou Coffee, which is expanding its presence here, including an outlet at Fair Oaks Mall), where I happened to come across a copy of the WaPo's Style section. There was a review of Flight 93 as the major story on the front page of the Style section, and I couldn't help notice the juxtaposition of that with an article on the Kennedy Center's plan to host a festival of Arab Culture in 2009, with assistance from the Arab League, with the vaunted goal of promoting "understanding." Kennedy Center President Michael J. Kaiser said that "the idea starts from my rather naive belief that arts create peace."

Oh brother. Give me a break. On 9/11, nineteen Arab men killed nearly 3,000 people as they went about their business to provide for their families, with the intent of killing thousands more. The passengers of Flight 93 went to their certain deaths, but might have saved many others, by disrupting the plans of Ziad Jarrah and his companions.

Moreover, there is at least ambivalence about the performing arts in the Muslim world (to say nothing about the visual arts), which is why I find the concept of a festival of Arab culture strange. I happen to like "world music" (but not at the expense of dead white man's culture) and have gone to concerts of music from India and Iran. I had gone to a performance on Strings Across Asia at the Smithsonian, featuring music ians from China and Mongolia and Ali Jihad Racy, an Arab musicologist based at UCLA - at one point, he even demonstrated how the Bedouins turned a device used to smash coffee beans (it looked like a butter churn) into a rhythm instrument! One thing that didn't escape my notice is that while the Chinese community was well represented in the audience, there were few Arabs there.

This is one cultural festival we don't need. There have been news reports that terrorists have investigated the use of visas granted for cultural exchange for infiltration. Rather than all these efforts at "understanding", let's stop the jeziya called foreign aid to Arab countries, limit Arab investment in the U.S., limit Arab and Muslim migration to the U.S., and wean ourselves off dependence on Arab oil. The type of outreach that I'd like to see is forceful and effective articulation of our values to the Arab world.

The Moussaoui Trial

Excerpt from Peter Porcupine's blog-article "NOW Do You Believe It?" :

"...The religious zeal of Moussaoui is real, sincere and deadly. If we fail to execute him, it will be percieved [sic] as a signal of our inherent weakness in the Muslim [world], and will ultimately cause the death and destruction of millions...."

Read the full article here.

CAIR And Litigation

(All emphases by Always On Watch)

One of my previous articles reported on the mutually agreeable dismissal of CAIR’s lawsuit against Andrew Whitehead of Anti-Cair. In the April 21, 2006 edition of Front Page Magazine, Daniel Pipes gives additional details as to the sequence leading to the dismissal of CAIR’s case. Excerpt:

"In anticipation of a court hearing regarding discovery, Rubinstein [attorney for Andrew Whitehead of Anti-CAIR] filed papers in the Virginia Circuit Court in October 2005 and December 2005 alleging extensive links between CAIR’s organizers and control group with Hamas and other foreign and domestic Islamists. Among other things, these papers alleged:

• CAIR’s lineage goes back to a key Hamas leader (Musa Abu Marzook), and that CAIR has long been connected with, and 'exploited' the 9/11 attacks to raise money for the Holy Land Foundation, a Hamas front group.

• CAIR is heavily supported, financially and otherwise, by suspect Saudi and UAE-based individuals and groups.

• CAIR states that the U.S. judicial system has been 'kidnapped by Israeli interests,' and claims that anti-terror law enforcement action against the Holy Land Foundation was 'an anti-Muslim witch hunt' promoted by 'the pro-Israel lobby in America.'

"CAIR refused to respond to Anti-CAIR’s discovery requests in its November 2005 response to Rubinstein. For example, it did not admit that Hamas murders innocent civilians, it refused to disclose the identities of its Saudi donors, it declined to answer whether it aims to convert American Christians to Islam, and it avoided questions about the anti-Semitic and anti-American activities of its founder and executive director, Nihad Awad, including his communications with Hamas terrorists, speeches supporting suicide bombings, and advocacy of violence against Jews.

"In March 2006, shortly before a scheduled court hearing to decide on several of Whitehead’s requests (compelling CAIR to disclose its financial data, to answer questions about its relationship with Hamas and other Islamists, and to provide information regarding its leaders’ activities and intentions), the case was settled and then dismissed with prejudice by stipulation (meaning, the plaintiff has agreed to forever drop all of the claims that were in, or could have been in, the complaint).

Here is a list of other litigations initiated by CAIR. The following cases were also dismissed recently — not in the favor of CAIR:

(1) "CAIR vs. Cass Ballenger. Ballenger, a North Carolina Republican congressman, called CAIR 'the fund-raising arm for Hezbollah' and raised the possibility that it would try to blow up the Capitol Building. CAIR responded with a $2 million defamation suit.

"[On April 11, 2006, a] three-judge federal appeals court panel in Washington (made up of David Sentelle, Judith Rogers, and Thomas Griffith) ruled unanimously to uphold Leon's March 2005 decision to dismiss CAIR's case.

(2) "CAIR-Canada vs. CFRA and David Harris. Harris, a former Canadian Security and Intelligence Service agent, mentioned on April 1, 2004, on radio station CFRA's morning show, Madeley in the Morning, that 'there are a number of officials and former officials of CAIR-USA who are now in custody and who are serving sentences on terrorist-related offences, to which. I might add, they have pleased guilty.' Harris called on the Globe and Mail, where Sheema Khan of CAIR's Canadian office writes regular column, 'to at least clarify where exactly CAIR-Canada fits in this larger picture.' On June 24, 2004 CAIR in Canada sued Harris and CFRA for libel.

"[On April 12, 2006 this] case was dismissed…by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice without costs. Harris commented to me that 'CAIR-CAN got no apology, no 'clarification,' and, most certainly, no money.

"He also pointed out that 'CAIR-CAN's rather exaggerated claims of what I said make a nice juxtaposition with its cold dropping of the case. It quite obviously didn't fancy a messy court episode. I asked an important question of public interest, and got a law suit in response. Now, it's time for some answers.'"

These cases — the law suits targeting Andrew Whitehead, Cass Ballenger, and David Harris — seem to indicate that CAIR cannot stand up to scrutiny of its financial ties. Isn’t it time to more fully investigate ties which CAIR appears to desire to avoid discussion of?

Additional information--CAIR's ties to our government--is available here.

Journalistic Standards At Arab Newspapers

(All emphases by Always On Watch)

Recently Fawaz Turki, formerly the senior op-ed columnist for Arab News, an English-language newspaper in Saudi Arabia, was fired from his job because he had criticized various Islamic rulers. His commentary, "How to Lose Your Job at a Saudi Newspaper," appeared in the April 15, 2006 edition of the Washington Post. Fawaz Turki explains why he lost his job:

“…I had committed one of the three cardinal sins an Arab journalist must avoid when working for the Arab press: I criticized the government.

“The other two? Bringing up Islam as an issue and criticizing, by name, political leaders in the Arab or Islamic world for their brazen excesses, dismal failures and blatant abuses.”

As one might expect, much of Fawaz Turki’s commentary chronicles the sequence of stories which led to his dismissal But he also goes a bit deeper to share the underlying causes and the implications of his dismissal:

“...[T]his is not just the story of an Arab journalist losing his job. It is a story with implications for the current American administration's efforts to ‘introduce’ the Arab countries to democracy, of which independent, free media are a major building block….

“Democracy may be a political system, but it is also a social ethos. How responsive can a country be to such an ethos when its people have, for generations, existed with an ethic of fear—fear of originality, fear of innovation, fear of spontaneity, fear of life itself—and have had instilled in them the need to accept orthodoxy, dependence and submission?"

Fawaz Turki’s article concludes with the following two paragraphs:

“In this atmosphere, it is regarded as an example of reportorial acumen to write on the op-ed pages of prominent Arab journals about how the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were the work of Israeli agents, how the death of Princess Diana was the result of some diabolical plot by British intelligence to end her life rather than see her married to an Arab Muslim, how Monica Lewinsky was an agent-in-place, put in the White House by the 'Jewish lobby'—and so on with other infantile whimsies.

“For Arabs, there is still a great divide between word and world. You can embrace conspiracy theories with impressive ease, and be accorded by your editors the right to pontificate about any foolish thing you want, but don't dare write about the malfeasance of political leaders in Egypt and Palestine, or the atrocities of a fellow-Muslim government in East Timor.”

The Arab concept of journalism is far removed from what we Westerners take for granted—logical conclusions based on facts. Under the conditions which Fawaz Turki describes, the proposed propaganda war with the aim of convincing Muslim nations of joining the Twenty-first Century might be a foregone failure—at least in the short term. Even modern Arab newspapers such as Arab News operate on a different journalistic level.

CAIR, Immigration Policy, And Humanitarian Aid

(All emphases by Always On Watch)

The following is from CAIR's web site:

"Action: Support Comprehensive Immigration Reform

"(WASHINGTON, DC, 4/4/2006) - CAIR today called on American Muslims and other people of conscience to urge their elected officials to support humane and comprehensive immigration reform.

"Last year, the U.S. House passed legislation addressing security concerns only. The Senate will be voting on its own version of immigration legislation this week.

"Effective reform will address security concerns while simultaneously reforming our nation's broken immigration system.

"The following reforms should be included in any comprehensive immigration reform legislation:

* A path to citizenship for immigrants earned through working, paying taxes and learning English
* Measures that regulate wages and working conditions to protect workers from being exploited
* A way to keep families intact.
* Security measures that detect and exclude terrorists while respecting basic legal protections such as judicial review and uniform enforcement of laws

"Any measures punishing religious leaders for humanitarian acts toward undocumented workers, such as providing food and water, should be excluded.

"'Anti-immigrant bigotry and xenophobia should not be allowed to dominate this debate,' said CAIR Government Affairs Director Corey Saylor. 'America's laws should reflect our nation's humanitarian ideals and immigrant origins.'"

Contrast the above-bolded text with the following:

"...This approach [relating to Christian missionary work in Muslim nations], even if led by Latinos, still draws skepticism from some Muslims who have seen a variety of methods by Christians seeking the same objective of conversion, said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy group in Washington.

Men growing beards. Women wearing head coverings. Bibles placed on wooden stands like Korans. Churches built to resemble mosques.

"'It's a new twist on an old approach,' Hooper said. 'They want to appear as Muslim as possible to kind of blur the lines.'

"Hooper said he doesn't believe humanitarian help from evangelical mission groups is unconditional.

"'If the Bible is handed out with a sack of rice, they're going to take the sack of rice and the Bible if their kids are starving,' he said. 'We have no problem with someone coming to a Muslim and saying, "I think Christianity is better." But we object to going into a vulnerable population with a disproportionate power relationship.'"...

Can Christians in an Islamic country openly go up to Muslims and say that Christianity is better? Might want to check with Saudi Arabia on that last one—just for starters. Abdul Rahman also discovered just how free Afghanistan is under shari'ah law; just having a Bible almost cost him his life. See "Shari'ah Law As Civil Law" for a few details on the Rahman case, which had a good outcome only because of pressure from Western nations.

Fox Guarding The Henhouse?

(All emphases by Always On Watch)

The following information comes from the April 6, 2006 edition of the Washingon Times:

"An Iraqi-born U.S. citizen suspected of being a foreign intelligence agent was employed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to rule on asylum applications, including those from unfriendly Middle Eastern nations, according to documents obtained from Congress by The Washington Times.

"Michael J. Maxwell, the former head of the Office of Security and Investigations at USCIS, is expected to testify about the Iraqi case and other breakdowns at the agency to a House subcommittee today.

" Mr. Maxwell will tell legislators that the immigration system is being used by enemy governments to place agents in the United States.

"The suspected agent, whose name has not been released, judged 180 asylum applications while at USCIS, the agency that also rules on green cards, citizenship and employment authorization. ...

"'The immigration system as a whole is so broken that our adversaries can game it,' Mr. Maxwell told The Times when asked about the documents this week. 'I can assure you they're using it against us; they can with impunity.'

"His testimony comes as the Senate debates whether to enact a guest-worker program that would allow current illegal aliens and future foreign workers a new path to citizenship....

"The man has since left USCIS and the United States so Mr. Maxwell closed his investigation. But Mr. Maxwell said that despite his findings, USCIS doesn't even have the ability to go back and see whether any of the 180 cases the former employee approved should be revoked.

"'With no internal audit function at CIS, we don't know who he let into this country,' Mr. Maxwell said.

Doesn't the above make you feel secure?

Allah Snackbar!

As many commentators have noted, the recent Cartoon Rage has pointed out Islam's main weakness: the total inability of Muslims to tolerate any ridicule of their prophet. That's why I like this cartoon so much: it uses the image of Muhammad with the bomb in his turban from the Danish cartoon and it mocks a cartoon of Ariel Sharon eating babies that was printed in the The Independent (UK), the notorious leftist UK newspaper for which Robert ("Hit Me Again! I Deserve It!") Fisk writes.

I dedicate this cartoon to Rocky Omary, Zaki Al Barzinji, Uzma Unus, Imam Sheikh Rashid Lamptey, Robert Marro, Imam Mohamed Magid, Majdi Omouri, and the Muslims in the DC metro area who were hurt and offended by the Danish cartoons.

BTW The original inspiration was Goya's painting Saturn Devouring His Son:

The Islamist Challenge to the U.S. Constitution - Self-governing enclaves

Courtesy of Jihad Watch, this article The Islamist Challenge to the U.S. Constitution from the spring 2006 issue of Middle East Quarterly focuses on the issue of self-governing Islamic enclaves in the U.S. While I quickly got lost in the discussion of law applying to this issue, I noted this detail in the second paragraph:

The Gwynnoaks Muslim Residential Development group, for example, has established an informal enclave in Baltimore because, according to John Yahya Cason, director of the Islamic Education and Community Development Initiative, a Baltimore-based Muslim advocacy group, "there was no community in the U.S. that showed the totality of the essential components of Muslim social, economic, and political structure."

Are there similar efforts in the Washington, DC metro area?

Update: Borders Books & Music caves into Muslims

Update to Northern Virginiastan: Borders Books & Music caves into Muslims:

LGF notes that its readers have received identical replies from "Dan" or "Chris" or "Scott." I couldn't resist replying with some of the details I mentioned in my previous post.