Myth vs Fact-Part 205

Myth	Fact
Islam: Religion of peace.	Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Number 276: Narrated Al-Bara bin Azib: The Prophet appointed 'Abdullah bin Jubair as the commander of the infantry men (archers) who were fifty on the day (of the battle) of Uhud. He instructed them, "Stick to your place, and don't leave it even if you see birds snatching us, till I send for you; and if you see that we have defeated the infidels and made them flee, even then you should not leave your place till I send for you." Then the infidels were defeated. By Allah, I saw the women fleeing lifting up their clothes revealing their leg-bangles and their legs. So, the companions of 'Abdullah bin Jubair said, "The booty! O people, the booty ! Your companions have become victorious, what are you waiting for now?" 'Abdullah bin Jubair said, "Have you forgotten what Allah's Apostle said to you?" They replied, "By Allah! We will go to the people (i.e. the enemy) and collect our share from the war booty." But when they went to them, they were forced to turn back defeated. At that time Allah's Apostle in their rear was calling them back. Only twelve men remained with the Prophet and the infidels martyred seventy men from us. On the day (of the battle) of Badr, the Prophet and his companions had caused the 'Pagans to lose 140 men, seventy of whom were captured and seventy were killed. Then Abu Sufyan asked thrice, "Is Muhammad present amongst these people?" The Prophet ordered his companions not to answer him. Then he asked thrice, "Is the son of Abu Quhafa present amongst these people?" He asked again thrice, "Is the son of Al-Khattab present amongst these people?" He then returned to his companions and said, "As for these (men), they have been killed." 'Umar could not control himself and said (to Abu Sufyan), "You told a lie, by Allah! O enemy of Allah! All those you have mentioned are alive, and the thing which will make you unhappy is still there." Abu Sufyan said, "Our victory today is a counterbalance to yours in the battle of Badr, and in war (the victory) is always undecided and is shared in turns by the belligerents, and you will find some of your (killed) men mutilated, but I did not urge my men to do so, yet I do not feel sorry for their deed" After that he started reciting cheerfully, "O Hubal, be high! (1) On that the Prophet said (to his companions), "Why don't you answer him back?" They said, "O Allah's Apostle What shall we say?" He said, "Say, Allah is Higher and more Sublime." (Then) Abu Sufyan said, "We have the (idol) Al Uzza, and you have no Uzza." The Prophet said (to his companions), "Why don't you answer him back?" They asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What shall we say?" He said, "Says Allah is our Helper and you have no helper."
Tafsir

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Unsung Heroes: Doing What Most Won't

~Snooper~

There are three key operations in the ITO, three of many, but these most recent, which have brought about the beginning of the end of Al Qaeda in Iraq. Don't get me wrong here...the war is far from "over" but Victory is at hand.

Operation Phantom Phoenix, Operation Marne Thunderbolt, Operation Iron Harvest

These operations have exacted justice on the remaining hard-core pockets of AQI and mopping up exercises, albeit dangerous, is under way. The video of the latest Shock and Awe air strikes can be seen here or here. You can check out the excellent work of our troops at The Long War Journal.

As our own jackals in DC whine, piss and moan about how the Iraqi Political "benchmarks" go undone; as their own benchmarks and earmarks drain the citizenry dry; we find that unbeknownst to them and, rightfully so...God forbid the NYT finds out about it...the Iraqis have been working feverishly behind the scenes, more than likely under the tutelage of those "nasty and mean military people", to undermine the terrorist groups inside Iraq and they have succeeded. (Don't forget to send cards of condolences to the anti-Americanist groups within CONUS up to and including half of our CONgress.)

HEADLINE:

Iraq: We've Penetrated AQI -- But Apparently Not The American Media

Reid: STOP THE WORLD! I WANNA GET OFF! I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!! Well, no. He hasn't said that openly but I bet he sure does think it and maybe even whines to his wife...if she can still stand him...and most assuredly to his partner in defeat Nanny Pelosi.

At the same time that the Iraqi National Assembly passed its long-awaited de-Ba'athification reform, the security services have apparently cracked al-Qaeda's organization in the country. Muslim World News, a Muslim news agency in India, reports that the Iraqi Interior Ministry formed a unit recently dedicated to attacking AQI and will shortly take out the entire structure (via AJ Strata):

OH MY!! It was a good thing that the NY Slimes and the Washington Compost didn't know about this ahead of time, eh? They would have tipped off their buddies in AQ!! Instead, Iraqis did the work themselves showing the dumb American idiots in CONgress that can't even do their own damn jobs how to succeed. Well done!

This story can be found here and here.

Iraqi official says Al-Qaeda in Iraq is penetrated, has become an open book Iraq Announces The Defeat Of al-Qaeda Is At Hand, Time To Celebrate

Now we know The Why and the How Did They Know in regards to the recent air strikes. I wonder if that idiot over at StupidMuttDrip feels like the idiot we all know it to be now?

I have often wondered when an AQ Tet Offensive was to come seeing that was their only chance since the Surge has routed them out from just about everywhere. Apparently, their regrouping into these areas may have been the beginnings of that and the Iraqi penetration stemmed that tide and nipped it in the bud. We shall see.

If ops like this keep happening day after day, I think Wizbang may be correct: Iraq may be moot point in campaign after Bush deal... read the story here as well...

Sorry, Barack, You've lost Iraq.

For the complete idiot and dumbest President we have ever had...so say the various anti-Americanist groups around the globe...GWB sure does outfox them at EVERY turn, doesn't he? I wonder if the idiots that get trounced by GWB on a regular basis still feel superior...

The Bush Administration expects to sign a new deal with the Iraqi government this summer which will replace the UN Security Council Resolutions in governing our relationship, and could also take Iraq off the table for the fall elections - as well as for the next Administration. Michael Hirsh reports for Newsweek: [...]

[...] Even on his way out the door, Bush wins again.

OUCH!! That will leave a mark...

As Ed at CQ states:

[...] If the Iraqi government has penetrated AQI, doesn't that mean something for their ability to fight terror and to stand on their own two feet? Isn't a free and stable Iraq the victory we have awaited, and doesn't this suggest that we're coming close to achieving it? Doesn't the joint military operations conducted in Iraq this week tend to confirm this Interior Ministry statement?

The silence is becoming deafening.

There's those damn crickets again...

Catch the buzz here...LOL!!

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Saturday Morning Indoctrination 101

Like most people my age (46), we grew up in an era when there was no cable TV and cartoons were the staple of Saturday mornings. These were the cartoons of a bygone age, Looney Tunes, Hannah-Barbera, Bugs Bunny, Scooby Doo, the Jetsons, etc.

Commercials were for the latest sugar laden cereal (when do you think Count Chocula, BooBerry and FrankenBerry, not to mention Cap'n Crunch, etc. got their start?) or the coolest new toy, often an upgrade for Barbie and Friends or the latest "Talking" doll for girls or the Hot Wheels racetracks with "loop the loop action" for boys.

Fast forward to today.

One channel (ABC) is an extension of Disney's latest political correctness crap, with the usual nonsense of kids outsmarting adults all the time (indicating Disney's real feelings toward adults)--shows such as "The Suite Life of Zach and Cody", "Hannah Montana", etc. Keep in mind Disney is also ultimately responsible for foisting such train wrecks as Brittney and Jamie Spears upon us, in direct contrast to the formerly wholesome kids Disney used to launch.

Several channels run 1/2 hour long "ads" for the EPA and "Green" Party, disguised as "cartoons" (one even had an episode today about humans saving dinosaurs from being hunted to extinction).

No more escapism fun.

But--it gets even better. The Global Warming hysteria has reached new lows with an ad that debuted in March, 2006 and which gained prominence in conjunction with CBS' propaganda realism show, "Kid Nation".

This is from the AdCouncil and is called "Tick".

From the AdCouncil's website here:

Global Warming

Sponsor Organization: Environmental Defense
Campaign Website: www.fightglobalwarming.com
Volunteer Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, New York

---

Global Warming. It may seem like an impossible problem: The Arctic ice is melting, storms are becoming fiercer, the resulting climate change is upsetting invaluable ecosystems, and the pollution is damaging our health.

But there is still time. Reversing the trend of global warming trend is possible and depends not only on the efforts of environmental scientists and researchers, governments of all nations, and leaders of business and industry, but just as importantly, it depends on the daily habits of regular people.

It is these regular people that this campaign hopes to inspire. The PSAs take a powerful, emotional approach to reach Americans with the message that global warming is an urgent problem that requires their immediate action.

The PSAs drive audiences to the website www.fightglobalwarming.com. The site provides information on the the causes, science, and consequences of global warming. A large part of the site focuses on what every person can do to reduce their energy consumption and therefore do their part to help slow and reverse global warming.

The campaign launched in March 2006.

Here's the ad:

Tick


Can we please, PLEASE have a reality check here? We have a whole generation being indoctrinated to the Global Warning agenda without any facts being given to them. And propaganda it indeed is.

Does anyone know how to do ANY research for themselves any more? Or is this entire generation further proof of the sheeple in Congress, offspring of the those infected with the disease called "Liberalism"? Are they that anxious to throw their money after lies--and the high priest of the global warming liars, the Goracle himself?

Wake UP people--this is nothing but sham snake oil, smoke and mirrors masquerading as real science. And you liberal sheeple are total idiots, throwing your money after those hypocrites profiting from it, begging them to take your money and walk all over you.

Are you so desperate you actually want a nanny-state? Like the laws being proposed in California where the GOVERNMENT controls your thermostat by remote control or what activity you can or can't engage in while in your own home (dammit, if I want to SMOKE in my house, who is the government to tell me I can't? If I want FRIED onion rings who is the government to tell me I can't have them? Who is the government to tell me what kind of condoms to use based on their "Green" rating?)?

You liberals dare, DARE to accuse conservatives of being Orwellian, but here's a newsflash for you: it's NOT conservatives proposing this idiocy and it's NOT conservatives buying into the hype. It's NOT conservatives telling you how to live your lives.

It's liberals--and, as Michael Savage says, "Liberalism is a Mental Disorder".

How true. Too bad liberals are too stupid following their fellow sheeple over the cliff and saying "control us, control us" to the government to realize their own stupidity and mental illness.

Get help, people. Really--you need it desperately.

Also posted at Real Clear Politics here and Grizzly Groundswell here.

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Out of the Closet-A Sixteen Year Old Speaks

Most parents are abnormally prejudiced towards their children (smartest, prettiest, etc.) and I am no exception. Most parents also butt heads with their children over some things (pig-sty rooms, chores, music, etc.) and again, I am no exception.

However.

My sixteen year old and I have an interesting relationship. We butt heads quite a bit over some things, but overall, he's a pretty decent kid who has a habit of pleasantly surprising me at times. He hates long hair, preferring his hair be short (the longer it gets, the more curls he gets and he hates curls), his room to be spotless (how many sixteen year olds STEAM CLEAN their carpets ON THEIR OWN, regularly?), he does his own laundry and...wait for it...actually TALKS to me about things that matter.

On the other hand, he loves to fight with his sisters, teases the dog with his dirty socks (my sympathies lie with the dog), he can be extremely sullen, I hate his "music", his grades are disgraceful (I'm often called for conferences wherein he's insulted a teacher who has refused to answer his questions), he likes to drive fast and wants to put a turbo in my minivan (one reason he still has a permit and not a license) and likes to stay hidden in his room. He also claims to "hate" his nieces and nephew (although he becomes a human jungle gym, giggling and laughing with them any time we're visiting my oldest and her family).

This past school year, he got into some serious trouble both at home and at school. I literally kicked him out (he lived with my brother) and gave the school permission to search him at any time, unannounced. He was found to be carrying pot at school and in a quantity sufficient to be charged with dealing rather than personal use. In Arizona, this is a felony--particularly since it happened during a search at school and he had the drug on school grounds.

However, his principal refused to call the police. Because of his honesty (he is disgustingly honest), he only pulled a 5 day suspension and was allowed to return to school. He is the type of kid who, if you ask him something, will tell you the truth--but you have to know how to ask.

He pulled a book out of his backpack the other day, "Marijuana: The New Prohibition" by John Kaplan (written in 1969 and published in 1970). After all the trouble he had been in, he finally decided to do some research. He also--thinking it would be a way to irritate me--decided he is "politically liberal".

Then we had a long discussion, a question and answer discussion. I asked him why he thought he was a liberal and his answer was because he thinks pot should be legalized--the standard argument of pot vs. alcohol.

Rather than dwell on that particular aspect, I decided to ask him some questions regarding other political aspects, questions about taxation, government waste, duplicate agencies, that kind of thing. Did I happen to mention this kid has been tested repeatedly and continues to test at above-genius levels, even with his disgraceful grades? He also listens to conservative talk radio in the car where I have a captive audience while driving the kids to school and around with me on errands.

Out of the mouths of babes come the most incredible answers.

In our question and answer discussion, I used the example of government waste as far as street repair--how DOT often tears up a street, makes improvements, repaves, etc. and then, a short time later, has to re-do it all again and how that wastes money in the form of DOT, traffic disruption, etc. because DOT hasn't coordinated with the gas company or the water company or whatever and they all work together to get the job done at one time and together instead of tearing up the streets and re-doing them over and over again. His solution was there needed to be the implementation of a central computer where all agencies and utility companies coordinated the jobs together. I told him that's a great idea, but the money that could go into that kind of coordination has already been wasted in doing the same job over and over again in the pattern already set. Again, he responded with, well, then all jobs need to be put on hold until the computer system is in place and jobs can be coordinated, rather than continuing in such a wasteful manner.

I filed that answer away and went to the next topic, duplicate agencies. He stated he was for duplicate agencies in case one safety net failed. So I brought up the point of paying two sets of people to do the exact same job when they could be combined into a more streamlined agency and cut the deadwood. I also asked him who he thought paid for the duplicate agencies. He responded, well, the government pays for them. So I asked him where the government got the money to pay for them. He didn't know. When I explained to him the only way the government can pay anyone is through taxing those who work, from "you and me", he stopped and thought a good long time. Then he said, so you mean when I get a job (oh yes, he's actively looking for a job) the government is going to take money from me to pay these people? I said YES. Well, in his mind, that's just not fair for the government to take his money he earned and give it out to people.

I said welcome to the working world. By funding duplicate agencies, agencies doing exactly the same thing, paying people to do exactly the same job, the government takes YOUR money. He decided it would be better if there were a way to combine and streamline the duplicate agencies instead of having a duplicate safety net.

On to the next topic--the difference in liberalism and conservatism in taxation and fiscal responsibility. I explained liberals like to have all kinds of government programs to "help" those who refuse to get a job of their own and in order to fund those programs we go back to taxation. Conservatives like to keep taxes low and not fund as many programs, essentially forcing people to do for themselves. His response was absolutely priceless.

He decided it would be a good idea to give a "survey" to each person as they registered to vote, actually make it a part of the voter registration process, to clarify where each person stood on basic issues. Hey, these are his words, people. Then, he said, each year when budgets come up, for those who are staunchly in favor of all the government programs (based upon their answers to the survey when they registered to vote), tax THEM more since they want to fund things so badly and tax those who want less government LESS--for those who want big government so badly, let THEM pay for it, don't make everyone pay for what THEY want.

Again, I filed his response away.

Then, he pulled out the book I mentioned above and he read me a passage. Here is that passage, from the Preface (all emphasis mine):

Marijuana to some is the symbol of yet another strain in our society--that of radicalism. Like most of the other symbolic aspects of marijuana use, the nexus is not a completely irrational one. When marijuana use was just becoming a middle-class phenomenon, around the beginning of the sixties, the first middle class users of the drug tended to be far more radical politically than their fellows, perhaps because they were so alienated from society that they could ignore one of its most severe criminal laws. And though, as marijuana use became more widespread, the ranks of the users came to include every political persuasion, it is still true that on the average, middle-class marijuana-users are considerably more likely to be liberal, just as they are more likely to have no formal religion and to come from wealthier and better-educated families.


In any event, regardless of whether it is in fact true, many people connect the willingness to use marijuana in defiance of society's dictates with a willingness to overthrow the established institutions of that society.

That would seem to explain the Hillary's and their love of communism, the leftist liberal bastions of society (such as the majority of our universities), Code Pink, and most of the democratic party not to mention all the treasonists and seditionists this country is faced with.

My son had to think long and hard after our conversation--it's not easy to believe yourself to be a so-called enlightened liberal in defiance of your conservative mom only to be shown to be just as conservative when the mirror is held up to your beliefs and you're forced to face your true feelings. Poor kid, I could almost feel sorry for him.

Take a kid out of the cocoon of public education and he comes out of the closet as a conservative. If it starts with just one, there may be hope for this country yet.

Also posted at Real Clear Politics here and Grizzly Groundswell here.

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Myth vs Fact-Part 204

Myth	Fact
Islam: Religion of peace.	Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Number 198: Narrated Ka'b bin Malik: Whenever Allah's Apostle intended to carry out a Ghazwa, he would use an equivocation to conceal his real destination till it was the Ghazwa of Tabuk which Allah's Apostle carried out in very hot weather. As he was going to face a very long journey through a wasteland and was to meet and attack a large number of enemies. So, he made the situation clear to the Muslims so that they might prepare themselves accordingly and get ready to conquer their enemy. The Prophet informed them of the destination he was heading for (Ka'b bin Malik used to say, "Scarcely did Allah's Apostle set out for a journey on a day other than Thursday.")
Tafsir

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