B*N*S*N4

RAF deliver police station to Iraqi village (VIDEO)

A Military Operations news article

8 Dec 08

51 Squadron RAF Regiment have delivered, by lorry, a new police station to a village near Basra.

The arrival of the portakabin from the Contingency Operating Base in Basra which will be used as an outstation for the Iraqi Police Service
[Picture: Cpl Adam Fletcher RAF]

The portakabin was reallocated from the Contingency Operating Base (COB) (the main coalition base in Basra) to be used as an outstation for the Iraqi Police Service (IPS).

With new investment coming into the area and the village's close proximity to one of the large oil refineries, village elders were looking for added security from the IPS.

Mr Qais Joudah, the village school headmaster and councillor, said:

"This will help strengthen the Iraqi-led security in the area for when the foreign troops move out in a few years' time. This cabin will provide a base for the IPS to operate from; due to the refinery being nearby, new building will take place and we'll need policemen to be in the area for good relations with them.

"We currently have a really good relationship with the IPS and Iraqi Army."...

Read the rest here.

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He Who Controls The Present Controls The Past.

Cross posted by Findalis of Monkey in the Middle


Is a slogan from George Orwell's book 1984. In this book the controlling totalitarian government has total control of all aspects of a person's life. The past is rewritten by the government in order to make the government's lies appear the truth. People who are arrested (unpersons) are written out of all documents and books, when rations are lowered the corresponding articles of news are changed to make it appear that they are being raised, and what was once the truth set into the stone of history is demolished for the history of the Party.

People say that this cannot happen in our modern age. But it is happening now by the Palestinian Authority.

In a recent appearance on Palestinian Authority television, PA Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmad Subh claimed the United Nations had not permitted the establishment of an Arab state in then British Mandatory Palestine in 1947. Subh's interview was translated by Palestinian Media Watch.

"In 1977 the UN General Assembly decided to restore the Palestinian people's esteem, following the historic injustice which happened in 1947, when a 'birth certificate' was offered to one state instead of two states,” Subh claimed. “One state [Israel] was permitted to be established, while the Palestinian state was not permitted to be established.”

In 1947, with hundreds of thousands of Jews living in the British Mandate and millions more seeking homes, the UN offered a partition plan that would split the land between Arabs and Jews. Jewish leaders accepted the plan. Surrounding Arab states rejected the plan and attacked the fledgling Jewish state, causing a bloody war that ended with the Arab nations defeated and Israel established on most of the British Mandate territory.

Subh's interview is not the first time the Fatah-led PA based in Ramallah has made false claims about the history of the region, PMW said. “Since its establishment, the Palestinian Authority has been rewriting history in an attempt to create historical legitimacy for its demands for statehood, as well as justification for the terror and wars against Israel since before Israel's establishment in 1948,” the group stated.

PMW monitors PA media and schoolbooks, and researches PA culture and society. In some of its previous reports the group published its findings on Holocaust denial in PA schools, encouragement of suicide bombings in PA media and a Hamas site encouraging young children to fight to the death against those considered enemies of Islam.

Full Story

On 29 November 1947 the United Nation General Assembly adopted Resolution 181. This resolution calls for the establishment of 2 nations side-by-side. One Jewish and one Arab.

B. STEPS PREPARATORY TO INDEPENDENCE

A Commission shall be set up consisting of one representative of each of five Member States. The Members represented on the Commission shall be elected by the General Assembly on as broad a basis, geographically and otherwise, as possible.

The administration of Palestine shall, as the mandatory Power withdraws its armed forces, be progressively turned over to the Commission, which shall act in conformity with the recommendations of the General Assembly, under the guidance of the Security Council. The mandatory Power shall to the fullest possible extent coordinate its plans for withdrawal with the plans of the Commission to take over and administer areas which have been evacuated.

In the discharge of this administrative responsibility the Commission shall have authority to issue necessary regulations and take other measures as required.

The mandatory Power shall not take any action to prevent, obstruct or delay the implementation by the Commission of the measures recommended by the General Assembly.

On its arrival in Palestine the Commission shall proceed to carry out measures for the establishment of the frontiers of the Arab and Jewish States and the City of Jerusalem in accordance with the general lines of the recommendations of the General Assembly on the partition of Palestine. Nevertheless, the boundaries as described in Part II of this Plan are to be modified in such a way that village areas as a rule will not be divided by state boundaries unless pressing reasons make that necessary.

The Commission, after consultation with the democratic parties and other public organizations of the Arab and Jewish States, shall select and establish in each State as rapidly as possible a Provisional Council of Government. The activities of both the Arab and Jewish Provisional Councils of Government shall be carried out under the general direction of the Commission.

If by 1 April 1948 a Provisional Council of Government cannot be selected for either of the States, or, if selected, cannot carry out its functions, the Commission shall communicate that fact to the Security Council for such action with respect to that State as the Security Council may deem proper, and to the Secretary-General for communication to the Members of the United Nations.

Subject to the provisions of these recommendations, during the transitional period the Provisional Councils of Government, acting under the Commission, shall have full authority in the areas under their control including authority over matters of immigration and land regulation.

The Provisional Council of Government of each State, acting under the Commission, shall progressively receive from the Commission full responsibility for the administration of that State in the period between the termination of the Mandate and the establishment of the State's independence.

The Commission shall instruct the Provisional Councils of Government of both the Arab and Jewish States, after their formation, to proceed to the establishment of administrative organs of government, central and local.

The Provisional Council of Government of each State shall, within the shortest time possible, recruit an armed militia from the residents of that State, sufficient in number to maintain internal order and to prevent frontier clashes.

This armed militia in each State shall, for operational purposes, be under the command of Jewish or Arab officers resident in that State, but general political and military control, including the choice of the militia's High Command, shall be exercised by the Commission.

The Provisional Council of Government of each State shall, not later than two months after the withdrawal of the armed forces of the mandatory Power, hold elections to the Constituent Assembly which shall be conducted on democratic lines.

The election regulations in each State shall be drawn up by the Provisional Council of Government and approved by the Commission. Qualified voters for each State for this election shall be persons over eighteen years of age who are (a) Palestinian citizens residing in that State; and (b) Arabs and Jews residing in the State, although not Palestinian citizens, who, before voting, have signed a notice of intention to become citizens of such State.

Arabs and Jews residing in the City of Jerusalem who have signed a notice of intention to become citizens, the Arabs of the Arab State and the Jews of the Jewish State, shall be entitled to vote in the Arab and Jewish States respectively.

Women may vote and be elected to the Constituent Assemblies.

During the transitional period no Jew shall be permitted to establish residence in the area of the proposed Arab State, and no Arab shall be permitted to establish residence in the area of the proposed Jewish State, except by special leave of the Commission.

The Constituent Assembly of each State shall draft a democratic constitution for its State and choose a provisional government to succeed the Provisional Council of Government appointed by the Commission. The Constitutions of the States shall embody Chapters 1 and 2 of the Declaration provided for in section C below and include, inter alia, provisions for:

Establishing in each State a legislative body elected by universal suffrage and by secret ballot on the basis of proportional representation, and an executive body responsible to the legislature;

Settling all international disputes in which the State may be involved by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered;

Accepting the obligation of the State to refrain in its international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purpose of the United Nations;

Guaranteeing to all persons equal and non-discriminatory rights in civil, political, economic and religious matters and the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of religion, language, speech and publication, education, assembly and association;

Preserving freedom of transit and visit for all residents and citizens of the other State in Palestine and the City of Jerusalem, subject to considerations of national security, provided that each State shall control residence within its borders.

The Commission shall appoint a preparatory economic commission of three members to make whatever arrangements are possible for economic co-operation, with a view to establishing, as soon as practicable, the Economic Union and the Joint Economic Board, as provided in section D below.

During the period between the adoption of the recommendations on the question of Palestine by the General Assembly and the termination of the Mandate, the mandatory Power in Palestine shall maintain full responsibility for administration in areas from which it has not withdrawn its armed forces. The Commission shall assist the mandatory Power in the carrying out of these functions. Similarly the mandatory Power shall co-operate with the Commission in the execution of its functions.

With a view to ensuring that there shall be continuity in the functioning of administrative services and that, on the withdrawal of the armed forces of the mandatory Power, the whole administration shall be in the charge of the Provisional Councils and the Joint Economic Board, respectively, acting under the Commission, there shall be a progressive transfer, from the mandatory Power to the Commission, of responsibility for all the functions of government, including that of maintaining law and order in the areas from which the forces of the mandatory Power have been withdrawn.

The Commission shall be guided in its activities by the recommendations of the General Assembly and by such instructions as the Security Council may consider necessary to issue.

The measures taken by the Commission, within the recommendations of the General Assembly, shall become immediately effective unless the Commission has previously received contrary instructions from the Security Council.

The Commission shall render periodic monthly progress reports, or more frequently if desirable, to the Security Council.

The Commission shall make its final report to the next regular session of the General Assembly and to the Security Council simultaneously.

Full Text

All through the text is the idea of a 2-state solution in it with the full understanding that there would have been 2 nations, one being Jewish and one being Arab.

What the borders of the 2 nations 181 would have created.

The Jewish population wasn't happy with this solution either, but they did accept it. And fought to achieve their goal: The State of Israel.

The PalArabs rejected this plan from the outset. They rejected a similar idea in the 1930's, and ever since. They want it all. For them it is all or nothing.

For the last 30 years Israel has tried to make peace with the PalArabs, but their outlook is not towards peace but towards genocide of all the Jews in the world. They have openly stated this aim and are working world wide to achieve it.

It is time that the idea of a 2-state solution be eliminated once and for all. For over 70 years the PalArabs have been offered their own nation and they have rejected it. Now is the time to reject them totally.

The 18, a new organization is calling on all to reject any 2-state solution. Finally a group has the courage to stand up and say NO!





View at YouTube

Their Manifesto

A MATTER OF SOME URGENCY

Barack Obama has won the American presidency. In a landslide.

His party gained considerable seats in both the Senate and the House. Led by Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, the Democratic party commands large majorities in Congress. Democrats also added to their already substantial majority in governorships and state legislatures.

More importantly, they have a mandate from the American people. A mandate for sweeping change. President Obama and his party have complete control of all the levers of power in America. A rare occurrence in American political history. And need I mention the excited backing of a fawning worldwide media.

Elections have consequences and for the state of Israel the consequences of the Obama sweep are singular.

They make no secret of their intentions. The Obama administration’s Middle East policy will be driven by “linkage.” “Linkage” is predicated on the notion that Palestinean grievances are what fuel terrorism. The idea that if we resolve the Israeli/Palestinean dispute (and that’s how they see it, as a “dispute”) it will suck all the oxygen out of Islamic terrorism.

Imposing a two-state solution will be at the heart of their efforts.

The atmosphere is alight with warnings. And the warnings are worldwide. Nobel Peace Prize winner and former President of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari, the day after Obama's election, called on the new U.S. president to immediately press the need for a Palestinian state.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke with President-elect Obama and called for the creation of a Palestinian state as the world's first priority.

Jesse Jackson just prior to the election was quoted as saying, "Zionists who control America are on the way out." "America," Jackson says, "must apologize to those we have offended by putting Israel's interest first." Jackson has set out the mindset and priorities for all to see. He has let the cat out of the bag.

Several top foreign policy advisors in the Obama camp have regularly called for imposing a two-state solution on Israel. The key word is "imposing." Look at the Obama line-up starting with Jimmy Carter’s foreign policy guru Zbigniew Brzezinski. Leftie ideologues like Robert (Sure, I advise Obama, and sure I talk with Hamas, so what) Malley and perennial two-state advocates Dennis Ross and Tony McPeak, and let’s not forget Israel’s “friend,” Samantha Power. Scary.

Tellingly, within days of the American election, President-elect Obama sent Robert Malley scurrying to Damascus and Cairo.

It gets worse. Within Obama’s foreign policy camp, “Islam” is not an issue of concern. On the contrary, they are more in sync with the notion that “Islamophobia” presents the real danger. In their view, the bad guys are those who instead of addressing legitimate Arab grievances, go off half-cocked frightening the world about Islam.

In their world view, Islamic terror is an understandable response to appalling conditions -- and Israeli aggression. The Obama forces will attack those they view as “Islamophobic” with a multicultural sword. Political correctness will rule. In that vein, witness former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s comment about Islamophobia in his statement endorsing Senator Obama.

And there is American Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who is lobbying to keep his job in an Obama administration, advising DOD to drop "Islamist" from any characterization of terrorism. Oy gevalt!

Add to the mix the sure knowledge that when it comes to shoving a two-state solution down Israeli throats, President Obama and his foreign policy team will have willing allies in the Israeli political establishment, the Israeli media, Israeli opinion makers, and the vocal support of a large swath of the Israeli and Jewish American populace. Do you doubt it?

And there’s the insiders… establishment leaders in the Jewish American community who will effortlessly be pulled into the push for a two-state solution. Why? Because for these Jewish institutional leaders protecting their “insider” status trumps all other issues.

It is instructive to remember that when the Republican Party vice presidential nominee wished to speak out in protest of a homicidal maniac who calls for the extinction of Israel, her voice was stilled by mainstream Jewish leaders. These Jewish “insiders” feared to give offense to candidate Obama’s soon to be in charge inner circle. Yipes!

Indeed the fear Jewish insiders suffer from most is the fear of becoming outsiders.

Elected officials to the rescue? Don’t hold your breath. Jewish American office holders and members of Congress will throw elbows like hockey thugs in order to secure a first-class seat on the two-state train before it leaves the station. Carl Levin anyone? Chuck Schumer?

What about AIPAC? Sustained attacks on AIPAC as “too influential” have taken a toll and they are currently tied in knots over a lingering federal prosecution for espionage. Forget it. AIPAC will be very cautious.

Still more. In this political climate, a new outfit – J Street – will loom large as a challenge to AIPAC. J Street claims to speak for mainstream American Jews and bills itself as “the political arm of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement.”

J Street is on the ascendancy and will have both influence and access in the new halls of power. Here’s just the most relevant of their statement of principles:

The creation of a viable Palestinian state as part of a negotiated two-state solution, based on the 1967 borders with agreed reciprocal land swaps. The future Palestinian state will require unprecedented levels of international economic and political support to succeed, including a resolution of the refugee issue within the new Palestinian state and in current host countries.

There is no good news. The worldwide coalition gathering to impose a two-state solution on Israel is like nothing previously seen.

Where does this leave us?

We have to face up to reality. There’s no way to sugarcoat this. The two-state solution is rapidly nearing its tipping point. Tipping point… you know, that moment when slow and gradual change – drip, drip, drip – suddenly becomes a deluge. Tipping point is the crashing sound made when ideas that have just been floating around suddenly become irreversible consensus. Irreversible. Locked in concrete.

If two-state is frighteningly near its tipping point, what does this mean for those of us who reject a two-state solution? What are the consequences for those of us who carry a Zionist vision of a Jewish homeland from the river to the sea? How does this affect those who advocate a return from exile, the unification of Jerusalem, restoration of the Temple, and await Moshiach?

Well, it means turn out the lights, the party’s over. Thanks for coming, folks. Drive carefully on the way home.

Once two-state is tipped over into irreversibility the deluge will leave Judea and Samaria bulldozed flat as surely as disengagement flattened Gush Katif; a divided Jerusalem a fait accompli; an internationalized Jerusalem a possibility; the Temple Mount in the possession of the Waqf in perpetuity; and the image of a bifurcated, ethnically neutral Israel looming on the horizon. Peace Now will be driving the bus.

And we must always factor in Arab propaganda. Holocaust denial has been joined by "Temple denial" as part of the ongoing as part of the ongoing Arab strategy to delegitimize Jewish claims to holy sites and to Jerusalem itself. to holy sites and to Jerusalem itself.

Naomi Ragen wrote recently that she feels, “helpless to stop this juggernaut towards disaster.” Yes, ma'am. I know how you feel

Is there anything we can do? Maybe.

To give ourselves a chance, a long shot maybe, but a chance, we must first recognize that the front line for the Israeli Right is two-state.

All other issues are a diversion. No matter how drawn we are to other battlegrounds we must steel ourselves to the reality that all else must be secondary to fighting two-state.

If we lose the two-state battle – and we are badly overmatched, out-gunned and out-manned – we lose the whole game. The fight must be joined on the issue of two-state. Period. We cannot let our attention wander or our resources be diverted to other fronts.

There is very little time. The window for us to act is shrinking. The fat lady is not yet singing, but if you listen carefully you can hear her warming up backstage.

How to begin?

A framework for action is available on request.

But first, we must do what all rebels do. Throw up roadblocks, slow down the momentum toward two-state inevitability. Keep the damn thing from tipping over.

Those are my thoughts. They are just words on a piece of paper. My friend Yishai Fleisher has a great line when talking about Eretz Israel. He says, “How do we fill this vessel with meaning?”. Indeed. Those who would make the rebellion are those anointed to breathe life into the vessel and give it meaning.

Can we win?

I don’t know and I wonder if at this juncture that’s the right question to ask. Will we fight seems to me more to the point. And, if we do fight, will we fight intelligently, strategically, relentlessly.

I argue that Israel is closer than we think to becoming a modern ghetto… growing smaller and weaker as the noose tightens. Will we be passive Jews? Will we acquiesce or will we resist?

The deck is stacked against those who would fight. In the coming struggle Jews who stand up against the two-state consensus will be marginalized, scorned as fanatics, extremists, obstructionists, war mongers, and deranged religious nuts. And those are the lucky ones. Some will have their heads cracked open.

I look to the hero of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising for inspiration. Mordechai Anielewicz did not stop the Holocaust, he did not stop the murder of Jews, he did not stop the trains running to Treblinka… but he did leave us a legacy.

In April 1943, this young Jew named Mordechai showed us that a fearless handful of the committed can make a rebellion and he forever laid to rest the myth of the passive Jew.

The stakes seem to me nothing less than the fulfillment of the Zionist enterprise… and for those who work to end the exile, unite Jerusalem, rebuild the Temple, and bring forth the Moshiach, the stakes are even higher.

Time is not our ally. Seconds turn to minutes, minutes to hours, hours to days…

This is a matter of some urgency.

Michael Fenenbock

This is a call to action, to resistance to the UN and Dhimmis of the world who want to finish the job that Hitler started.

It is time that we forget about the UN, Obama, Dhimmi Carter and other Moonbats on the left and impose the real solution. Tell the PalArabs they accept Israeli citizenship or they have to leave all Jewish land immediately. The Arabs committed ethnic cleansing when they removed through force all Jews from their lands between the years 1948 and 1955. They left millions with no where to go but Israel. The Palestinian Problem is not an Israeli one but an Arab problem and they should deal with it the way the Israelis dealt with the problem of forced Jewish migration from Arab lands.

Now is the time to take a stand!

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Open Letter to the Electoral College

Open Letter to the Electoral College

Ladies and gentlemen, as electors, you are charged with the duty of selecting a President to preside over the executive affairs of this nation for the ensuing four years.

The peculiar institution whose powers you will exercise on December 15 was intended to avoid both the intrigues & cabals involved in election by the legislature and the impulsive passions & ignorance to which popular election would be subject. Your office results from one of the most important compromises made by the Constitutional Convention.

The present circumstances bring an enhancement to the gravity of the responsibility of your office. Inadequate vetting & journalistic scrutiny of one charismatic candidate have joined with a popular fervor for his candidacy resulting in a majority popular vote for one:

• whose policy positions are ambiguous
• who encouraged the voters to make unfounded assumptions that he would grant them impossible benefits
• whose alliances with racists, domestic terrorists & supporters of international terrorism bring his judgment into question
• whose alliance with a convicted felon and indicted Governor bring his morality under a dark shadow of suspicion
• whose apparent acceptance of illegal foreign campaign contributions brings the legitimacy of his campaign under question
• whose agents met with officers of a terrorist group at war with our ally in apparent violation of the Logan Act
• and whose refusal to produce authentic documentation of his having been born in this country brings his eligibility under question.

At a time when our nation is at war on two foreign battlefronts, challenged by a resurgent Russia and threatened by Iran's approaching ascension to nuclear armament, we need a President whose judgment and integrity are unquestioned.

At a time when our economy and that of the world are turning downward, through recession toward depression, we need a President who is free from the taint of scandal, able to act decisively and lead; not subject to the water torture of drips & dribbles of facts from the investigation & trial of his political ally.

This is the occasion for which your office was created; a time when popular passion & ignorance resulted in the selection of an unqualified person neither worthy nor well prepared for the duties of high office when our nation is at peril on multiple fronts.

As a citizen, I therefore challenge you to be true and faithful to the oath of office you have sworn and give ample consideration to the security, welfare, prosperity & happiness of this nation by rejecting the error of popular impulse and electing the McCain / Palin slate in its stead.

---

To our international visitors: please leave a comment advising us of the reason for your interest in this esoteric subject matter.

To our American activist readership: dbsolo alerted me by email to the existence of a chatroom which has posted contact information for the Electors. This link is to the Michigan page: http://www.democratic-disaster.com/index.php?topic=479.0.

Democratic Disaster has more interesting information for your education & enjoyment, it is well worth a visit.

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Instruments of Love and Harmony #3

From Zenit.org comes Final Statement of Catholic-Muslim Forum "Called to Be Instruments of Love and Harmony"
For background information about the meetings, see this Reuters article of 11/06/08.

The statement includes an enumerated list of fifteen points which present a target rich environment In this installment, I'll take on the third point of agreement.[Links & emphasis added.]

Human dignity is derived from the fact that every human person is created by a loving God out of love, and has been endowed with the gifts of reason and free will, and therefore enabled to love God and others. On the firm basis of these principles, the person requires the respect of his or her original dignity and his or her human vocation.

Therefore, he or she is entitled to full recognition of his or her identity and freedom by individuals, communities and governments, supported by civil legislation that assures equal rights and full citizenship.

Lets commence with an examination of what Moe had to say about free will. This will be familiar from the first installment.

The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, created Adam. Then He stroked his back with His right hand, and progeny issued from it. He said, "I created these for the Garden and they will act with the behaviour of the people of the Garden." Then He stroked his back again and brought forth progeny from him. He said, "I created these for the Fire and they will act with the behaviour of the people of the Fire." 'A man said, 'Messenger of Allah! Then of what value are deeds?' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, answered, 'When Allah creates a slave for the Garden, he makes him use the behaviour of the people of the Garden, so that he dies on one of the actions of the people of the Garden and by it He brings him into the Garden. When He creates a slave for the Fire, He makes him use the behaviour of the people of the Fire, so that he dies on one of the actions of the people of the Fire, and by it, He brings him into the Fire.' "[Malik's Muwatta Book 46, Number 46.1.2]

In Moe's creation myth, Allah makes two statements about this matter.

• "I created these for the Garden and they will act with the behaviour of the people of the Garden."
• "I created these for the Fire and they will act with the behaviour of the people of the Fire."

So much for free will in Islam, it is obviated. He made some for the fire, they will not be guided, they will be confirmed in their sins unto eternal damnation.

• And Allah does not guide the disbelieving people. 2:264
• Allah will not guide them and theirs will be a painful torment. 16:104

Concerning dignity, is there any without free will or without the sanctity of life? Remember what Moe said about the sanctity of our lives?

• "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.' And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally and their reckoning will be with Allah." Bukhari 1.8.387

We don't have free will, we are either saint's or sinners by arbitrary assignment and our lives are not sacred to Muslims unless we are Muslims. Universal human dignity is a null entity as far as Islam is concerned.

Does Islam agree that we are all entitled to full freedom; equal rights & citizenship ensured by civil legislation? This is impossible because Islam does not recognize civil legislation. Only Allah has the right to rule, delegated to his Messenger, whose word is final. Of course, you doubt me and require proof.

• 33:36. It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error.

• Allah tells us that He is the only One Who has the power to create and make decisions, and there is no one who can dispute with Him in that or reverse His judgement. His saying: (And your Lord creates whatsoever He wills and chooses,) means, whatever He wills, for what He wills, happens; and what He does not will, does not happen. All things, good and bad alike, are in His Hands and will return to Him. Allah Alone is the One Who has the Power of Creation, Knowledge and Choice

• (It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision.) This Ayah is general in meaning and applies to all matters, i.e., if Allah and His Messenger decreed a matter, no one has the right to go against that, and no one has any choice or room for personal opinion in this case. Allah says: (But no, by your Lord, they can have no faith, until they make you judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.) (4:65) Hence the issue of going against it is addressed in such strong terms, as Allah says: (And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed into a plain error.) This is like the Ayah: (And let those who oppose the Messenger's commandment, beware, lest some Fitnah should befall them or a painful torment be inflicted on them) (24:63). The Reason for Revelation

In the matter of equality: females inherit 50% a male's portion and the testimony of two women is required to equal that of one man.

• 4:11. Allah commands you as regards your children's (inheritance); to the male, a portion equal to that of two females;...
• ...And if there are not two men (available), then a man and two women, such as you agree for witnesses, so that if one of them (two women) errs, the other can remind her.... 2:282

Conquered Jews & Christians who retain their religion under a 'treaty of protection' must make annual extortion payments and are under several limitations, not being allowed to own & carry weapons, build higher than Muslims, build churches, display crosses or pray aloud in public. See the Pact of Umar or Reliance of the Traveller, Book O11.5.

Click this link for A Common Word between Us and You, which precipitated the recent meetings. [Note the Events section, a recent addition to the page]. A Common Word's home page includes a summary, the missive, media reports, blog posts and various responses from Christian & Jewish leaders. Click this link: Islamic Extortion Letter for my original dissection of the missive or this link: Go Burn With Muhammad, a blog devoted to dissecting the missive and reactions to it.

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Postage Needed for Packages for our Troops

Cross-posted by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

Bob Williams
OurTroopsOnline

Bloggers, please feel free to cross-post

Bob Williams in Wesley Chapel, Florida sends 215 packages weekly to the military in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Qatar and Kyrgyzstan - EVERY WEEK OF THE YEAR - 215 packages stuffed with necessities and comfort items for our men an women in uniform, fighting the War on Terror.

According to Stars and Stripes, Mr. Williams served in the Navy in the 1960's. His sons now handle the family businesses, while he works for the troops, preparing the boxes destined for approximately 200 combat-zone bases.

The short story is that donations are needed to cover the postage. Mr. Williams and OurTroopsOnline.com spends approximately $8,000.00 a week in postage, from $20.00 to $45.00 per package, depending on the contents. He always has packages ready to mail, but often lacks the necessary postage.


Much of what Williams sends are donations: baseball bats and gloves, games of all kinds, grips to put on the soles of boot, unending supplies of popcorn, and items for children in hospitals and orphanages - which the troops use to help gain the trust of the locals. All the usual foods and toiletries are either donated or purchased

He receives thousands of email requests from troops and their families and friends, and much of those requests are paid for from his own pocket. Items like Q-tips, batteries, shampoo, feminine and personal hygiene items, and deodorant are constant requests. Williams will not say how much he personally spends but the website says it is significant.

Camouflage scarves are inscribed with messages to the troops by Florida school children and church groups. "The scarves are good for keeping dust and sand out of your nose and mouth," says Williams.

There are no expenses for this volunteer group. No one gets paid, there's no rent for a warehouse, no office space rent, and while I made two telephone calls to OurTroopsOnline to verify this information (a human actually answered both times - no option for a choice of language preference, and no need to leave a message), no one gets paid to answer the telephone - everyone is a volunteer.

OurTroopsOnline accepts cash or checks for postage. Make your check payable as follows:

Postmaster
P.O. Box 7560
Wesley Chapel, FL 33545

If you live in the area and want to donate items for the boxes, call 813-991-9400 for a delivery address or contact Mr. Williams by email at sift@aol.com. If you are a business and have items the troops need or will enjoy, and can contribute once or on an ongoing basis, please contact Mr. Williams.


This is a year-round operation - it doesn't end in December. Put these people on your donation list throughout the year and know you are doing your part to make life a little more comfortable for our military in these combat zones.

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