Question One: Which of the following views on the fundamental nature of Islam presented by a president of the United States of America fits more closely with actual events and your own personal knowledge?
A) The View of President George W. Bush:
The Islam that we know is a faith devoted to the worship of one God, as revealed through The Holy Qur'an. It teaches the value and the importance of charity, mercy, and peace.
B) The View of President John Adams:
The precept of the Koran is, perpetual war against all who deny, that Mahomet is the prophet of God. The vanquished may purchase their lives, by the payment of tribute; the victorious may be appeased by a false and delusive promise of peace; and the faithful follower of the prophet, may submit to the imperious necessities of defeat: but the command to propagate the Moslem creed by the sword is always obligatory, when it can be made effective. The commands of the prophet may be performed alike, by fraud, or by force.
Question Two: Which of the following views on the advisability of negotiating in good faith with Muslims strikes you are more closing aligning with objective historic experience of such negotiations?
A) The View of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice:
Last week in Annapolis, the parties, Israelis and Palestinians, agreed to launch negotiations to establish a Palestinian state and to achieve a peace treaty by the end of the year -- by the end of 2008.
* * *
Most Palestinians now believe that Israel will always be its neighbor and that no Palestinian state will be born through violence. And for most Arab states, the question now is not whether Israel is going to exist, but on what terms to make peace with Israel.
B) The View of President John Adams:
Of Mahometan good faith, we have had memorable examples ourselves. When our gallant [Stephen] Decatur had chastised the pirate of Algiers, till he was ready to renounce his claim of tribute from the United States, he signed a treaty to that effect: but the treaty was drawn up in the Arabic language, as well as in our own; and our negotiators, unacquainted with the language of the Koran, signed the copies of the treaty, in both languages, not imagining that there was any difference between them. Within a year the Dey demands, under penalty of the renewal of the war, an indemnity in money for the frigate taken by Decatur; our Consul demands the foundation of this pretension; and the Arabic copy of the treaty, signed by himself is produced, with an article stipulating the indemnity, foisted into it, in direct opposition to the treaty as it had been concluded.
Question Three: Why is it that what passed as quite obvious common sense historically is now viewed as outlandish today, even when such "outlandish" views comport quite readily with observable reality?
A) Because previous generations possessed an oppressive and racist view of non-White, non-Christians, which distorted their views.
B) Because Liberalism is a lie and ideology that has blinded our leaders as sure as Marxist dogma blinded the men who used to stand on Lenin's Tomb.
Results:
If you answered "B" to all the above, congratulations. You may not know this, but you are a radical opponent of the institutions around you.
If you answered "A" to all the above, please do go back to sleep. Then again, maybe not. Perhaps you see rainbows and unicorns both while sleeping and while awake.
Hezbollah were among the organisations represented at the World Against War rally in Friends Meeting House, London on 25 February, with the Stop the War Coalition seeing fit to give a platform to the clerical fascist Lebanese militia.
Reflecting the StWCs eclecticism, this utter reactionary was speaking alongside Tony Benn, who gave his usual upper-class liberal speech about why the United Nations should be stronger and why we should learn from the Bibles lessons of contrition.
Introduced by Communist Party of Britain member Andrew Murray to rapturous applause from the 250-strong audience, Ibrahim Mousawi shied away from the misogynistic, homophobic, anti-semitic rhetoric which his organisation peddles in the shanty towns of Beirut. Instead, he told us that Hezbollah are oh-so reasonable why do the Americans ignore the real terrorists at the expense of us, the bridge-builders?. Hezbollah are not led by a bunch of gangsters, but engineers, lecturers and people from all walks of life.
Indeed, Hezbollah are fully willing to arrange a lash-up with the rest of the Lebanese ruling class, for example the pro-Western parties behind Prime Minister Siniora, to resolve the political crisis which has seen the country without a president for three months. He said that all Hezbollah want is to be able to veto anything the government tries to do - isnt that reasonable? Along with this, Hezbollah are strong proponents of Lebanons sectarian political order, whereby seats in parliament are distributed according to religious group and politics is staged at the level of horse-trading between the leaders of competing faith and ethnic communities.
Crashing full frontal into Bond villain-esque self-parody with his long leather coat and black shirt, the speaker editor of a Hezbollah newspaper and former manager of a TV station which put out soap operas about the Jewish World Conspiracy claimed that the problem in his country was the lack of a strong government, and argued that since the Lebanese government cannot be relied on to keep order and stand up to the Israelis, Hezbollah have every right to arm themselves and patrol the streets. At pains to deny that he hated the Jews (the western Trots dont really like that kind of thing, but its fine for Lebanese TV), he appealed to a mans right to protect his family from Zionism.
The other speeches were rather less spicy. Lindsey German, the Socialist Workers Party candidate for the London mayoral election, gave a dull talk about the hypocrisy of the British establishment and echoed much of Benns liberal sentiment. For example, she talked at length about the dodgy dossier used by Tony Blair to make the case for war, and why he should be taken to a war crimes trial in the Hague.
But who does she think polices international law? Last time I checked, the United Nations was a cartel run by the imperialist powers victorious in World War Two. Making no reference to socialism or workers in the Middle East, she did however attempt a radical pitch Those who support the right of Hezbollah and Hamas to fight back are characterised as extremists. If opposing the government is extremist, then were all extremists.
The only person on the platform whose views were worthy of respect was Hassan Jumaa, leader of the militant Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions which has waged several strikes against privatisation and looting of Iraqs major resource, demonstrating the potential of the working-class movement despite nightmarish circumstances. Although the union is non-sectarian and organises all oil workers, Jumaa seems to be influenced by the soft-Islamist Shiite Fadila group, and so said little about the workers movements opposition to clerical reaction in Iraq.
Instead, he focused on the question of the invasion and occupation of Iraq and the destruction the US and UK have unleashed. He commented that the Iraqi workers will win victory for the oppressed Iraqi people given that the American missions success is reliant on stable control of Iraqi resources, strikes represent a significant challenge for the occupiers. Indeed, Jumaas attitude to the troops was stark, you should not be taken in by those who say that the withdrawal of troops will bring death and destruction. The longer they, the source of death, stay, the worse it will get, and said that at the last two May Days the union had raised a call for the troops to leave Iraq. Without doubt, this was an optimistic characterisation of events, but Jumaas understanding of the situation is certainly worthy of our attention.
Unfortunately, the audience was not allowed to ask any questions or make any comments, so we could not find out more about Jumaas support for political Islam or how workers organise against the home-grown bourgeoisie. After all, in the eyes of the Stop the War Coalition and its SWP and Stalinist leadership, letting activists talk to the leading trade unionist in Iraq is not as exciting as giving a platform for a fascist to rant in defence of Hezbollah. It seems that for these socialists, the workers movement is just one part of the cross-class spectrum of The Movement, and so giving a token ten minutes to someone like Hassan Jumaa is sufficient to cover their left flank.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/08/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
" Hezbollah have every right to arm themselves and patrol the streets" > IOW, since by most accouts/sources IRAN controls-suppor the Hezzies, IS THE SAME AS SAYING IRAN CONTROLS LEBANESE URBAN + NATIONAL SECURITY = IRAN CONTROLS LEBANON???
#2
The only person on the platform whose views were worthy of respect was Hassan Jumaa, leader of the militant Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions which has waged several strikes against privatisation and looting of Iraqs major resource, demonstrating the potential of the working-class movement despite nightmarish circumstances.
Rofl! What a tool.
Instead, he focused on the question of the invasion and occupation of Iraq and the destruction the US and UK have unleashed. He commented that the Iraqi workers will win victory for the oppressed Iraqi people
Because we all know that before we deposed Saddam the Iraqis all lived unoppressed with full access to their country's oil wealth.
Unfortunately, the audience was not allowed to ask any questions or make any comments, so we could not find out more about Jumaas support for political Islam or how workers organise against the home-grown bourgeoisie
Sadly, I get the impression this guy is serious and doesn't quite grasp WHY they didn't allow any questions whose answers might cause distress to this well-meaning loon's little fantasy that war is simply bad for children and other living things.
Maybe at some point these silly fools will open their eyes and see the rivers of blood that their foolish dreams of utopia have created.
#5
When I look at all these mullahs and imams I see pederasts and pedophiles.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
03/08/2008 8:43 Comments ||
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#6
with the Stop the War Coalition seeing fit to give a platform to the clerical fascist Lebanese militia.
On September, 1 of 2008, the Republican National Convention will be held inside the Xcell Energy Center in St Paul. Mn. As to be expected at these events, the auditorium will be filled with throngs of overly excited people in funny hats waving placards chanting Go McCain Go. At the same time, outside on the streets there will be a completely different group. These folks also will be quite animated complete with protest signs, flaming GW Bush effigies, and maybe giant puppet or two. The principle organizer of this, what is expected to be massive, protest is none other then the Stop the War Coalition. The media will remind us, ad nausea, that they are Anti-War protesters exercising their constitutional right to free speech. Talking heads uhem I mean journalists such as Keith Olberman will probably not mention that they are in reality a subspecies of a larger Anti- Capitalist organization grounded in a new-wave Marxist ideology. For many it will seem quite counterintuitive to watch people that claim to be anti-war sporting their black and white kaffiyehs similar to the ones Yassir Arafat used to don. For others it wont be surprising at all considering this group holds one of the worlds most virulent terrorist organizations (Iranian/Lebanese Hezbolla) in such high esteem.
Hillary Clinton had no direct role in bringing peace to Northern Ireland and is a "wee bit silly" for exaggerating the part she played, according to Lord Trimble of Lisnagarvey, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and former First Minister of the province.
"I dont know there was much she did apart from accompanying Bill [Clinton] going around," he said. Her recent statements about being deeply involved were merely "the sort of thing people put in their canvassing leaflets" during elections. "She visited when things were happening, saw what was going on, she can certainly say it was part of her experience. I dont want to rain on the thing for her but being a cheerleader for something is slightly different from being a principal player."
Mrs Clinton has made Northern Ireland key to her claims of having extensive foreign policy experience, which helped her defeat Barack Obama in Ohio and Texas on Tuesday after she presented herself as being ready to tackle foreign policy crises at 3am.
"I helped to bring peace to Northern Ireland," she told CNN on Wednesday. But negotiators from the parties that helped broker the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 told The Daily Telegraph that her role was peripheral and that she played no part in the gruelling political talks over the years.
Lord Trimble shared the Nobel Peace Prize with John Hume, leader of the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party, in 1998. Conall McDevitt, an SDLP negotiator and aide to Mr Hume during the talks, said: "There would have been no contact with her either in person or on the phone. I was with Hume regularly during calls in the months leading up to the Good Friday Agreement when he was taking calls from the White House and they were invariably coming from the president."
and this
"So in a classic woman politicky sort of way I think she was active...She was certainly investing some time, no doubt about it. Whether she was involved on the issue side I think probably not." Some of the people Mrs Clinton met went on to help found the Womens Coalition, which took part in the Good Friday talks. Lord Trimble said: "The Womens Coalition will think they were important. Other people beg to differ."
Steven King, a negotiator with Lord Trimbles Ulster Unionist Party, argued that Mrs Clinton might even have helped delay the chances of peace. "She was invited along to some pre-arranged meetings but I dont think she exactly brought anybody together that hadnt been brought together already," he said. Mrs Clinton was "a cheerleader for the Irish republican side of the argument", he added.
"She really lost all credibility when on Bill Clintons last visit to Northern Ireland [in December 2000] when she hugged and kissed [Sinn Fein leaders] Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness."
#4
O'Bama wins the Wyoming caucuses (he does well in causes, generally) - next up? Mississippi, where Mizz Hillary has already stepped in it:
Democratic presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton tried to backpedal Friday from comments she made in October suggesting Mississippi was a backward place for women's progress.
Speaking to radio station WJZD-FM in Gulfport, Miss., the former first lady said the comments she made about the state in the run up to the Iowa caucuses "were not exactly what I said," even though they came directly from an interview she gave to the Des Moines Register in October.
Clinton was on a campaign swing through Mississippi before Tuesday's Democratic presidential primary.
The newspaper quoted the New York senator discussing Iowa and Mississippi being the only states that have never elected a woman governor or sent a woman to Congress.
"How can Iowa be ranked with Mississippi? That's not what I see. That's not the quality. That's not the communitarianism; that's not the openness I see in Iowa," Hillary Clinton told the newspaper then - a remark that prompted immediate criticism from Mississippi Republicans.
Rival Barack Obama has been running radio ads in Mississippi calling Clinton's comments insulting to the state.
Man, that elitist attitude (bet she HATED Arkansas) will show when the mask slips, huh?
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/08/2008 18:31 Comments ||
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Read slowly, then read again -- to really savor some fine wordmanship from The Master
Well, we will have Hillary Clinton to kick around some more, at least for another few weeks. The Mummy (as my radio pal Hugh Hewitt calls her) kicked open the sarcophagus door and, despite the rotting bandages dating back to Iowa, began staggering around, terrorizing folks all over again.
"She is a monster," Barack Obama adviser Samantha Power told a reporter from The Scotsman and not a monster in a cute Loch Ness blurry, long-distance kind of way. "You just look at her and think, 'Ergh,'" continued Ms. Power, who subsequently resigned from the campaign. And savor this:
"The Democratic primary season seems to have dwindled down into a psycho remake of "Driving Miss Daisy." The fading matriarch Mizz Hill'ry (Jessica Tandy) doesn't want to give up the keys to the Democratic Party vehicle but the dignified black chauffeur Hokey (Morgan Freeman) insists it'll be a much smoother ride with him in the driver's seat. Yet, just as he thinks the old biddy's resigned to a nomination as Best Supporting Actress, the backseat driver plunges her hat pin into his spine, wrests the wheel away and lurches across the median."
#3
Maureen Dowd wrote: "People will have to choose which of America's sins are greater, and which stain will have to be removed first. Is misogyny worse than racism, or is racism worse than misogyny?"
#1
ION, POWERLINE/OTHER > NORTH KOREA has admitted sending technicians + MATERIALS into Syria while engaged in Six-Party Talks. NK TECHNICIANS > since the Year 2000???
#3
They forgot the Portland Seven. I don't think they finalized plans to attack Jewish centers in the area because they got all focused on Afghanistan, but they sure talked about it. They were even talking about killing as many children as they could at the Jewish schools.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Hezbollah were among the organisations represented at the World Against War rally in Friends Meeting House, London on 25 February, with the Stop the War Coalition seeing fit to give a platform to the clerical fascist Lebanese militia. 
