Additional note: A second guest added to the mix for Friday's show.

From her press release ...

Laina Farhat-Holzman: militant religion specialist, terrorism task force member, professor of world history and Islamic civilization, and cross-cultural expert for U.S. defense firms, U.S. intelligence agencies, and the Iranian Air Force.

Dr. Farhat-Holzman offers plain-English explanations about why terrorism is on the increase worldwide. She has been writing and speaking to the distinct possibility of further terrorist attacks on US/European soil this summer...obviously, she was right. She is an experienced and articulate media guest and lecturer.

Laina Farhat-Holzman has studied world religions for 28 years, been a firsthand observer of the Islamic revolution in Iran, and charts the growth of fanatical radicalized Islam around the world. Her books (STRANGE BIRDS FROM ZOROASTER'S NEST and GOD'S LAW OR MAN'S LAW) provide insight on how modern-day countries are embracing the darkest aspects of traditional religion, resulting in religious and political conflict.

author bio

-- Edited by Scott Leffler at 22:48, 2005-07-07

Mike are you trying to set a record of how many threads you can say this on? Hey Nit Wit:

You who are on the road
Must have a code that you can live by
And so become yourself
Because the past is just a good bye.
Teach your children well,
Their father's hell did slowly go by,
And feed them on your dreams
The one they picks, the one you'll know by.
Don't you ever ask them why, if they told you, you will cry,
So just look at them and sigh and know they love you.
And you, of tender years,
Can't know the fears that your elders grew by,
And so please help them with your youth,
They seek the truth before they can die.
Teach your parents well,
Their children's hell will slowly go by,
And feed them on your dreams
The one they picks, the one you'll know by.
Don't you ever ask them why, if they told you, you will cry,
So just look at them and sigh and know they love you.

 

I'm all for peace too.

Britain and across the world expressed outrage at the terrorist attacks in London, with the dominant viewpoint summed up by one person who wrote on a Web site, "Enough ... enough."

The loud condemnation of the attacks that targeted civilians reverberated on the street, over the Internet, in newsrooms, and in Arab and Muslim seats of power.

Minority voices praised the attacks with anti-Western invective, but they were largely drowned out. On one popular Web site, one person wrote: "How can you gloat and thank God for terrorist acts that were committed in the name of God???? Shaaaaaaaaaaaame on you Muslims.

"Don't you know that Islam is growing in Europe??? What the heck are you doing mingling things up??? What you're doing has no logic and certainly doesn't fall under the good wisdom God has asked us to follow."

Still, some stated anger at what they say are brutal U.S. and British policies targeting Arabs and Muslims. And many expressed fears that a stretch of bad times is in store for Arabs and Muslims.

The London terror strikes, targeting three subway stations and a double-decker bus, killed more than 50 people wounded hundreds. Authorities are looking into the possibility of al Qaeda's involvement. London Police Commissioner Ian Blair said the attacks showed the "hallmarks of al Qaeda."

The September 11, 2001 al Qaeda attacks in the United States sparked some anger at Arabs and Muslims, which U.S. leaders and others worked to quickly counteract.

Officials from countries like Iraq and Iran issued condemnations of the strikes.

Some prominent Arab writers said the attacks were a reminder that efforts to fight terrorism were necessary.

Jihad al-Khazen, an op-ed columnist for the London-based pan-Arab Al-Hayat newspaper, wrote: "Such criminal terror acts prove that no measure is enough to fight terrorism.

"Actions that governments take to fight terrorism are totally justified because protecting life is a lot more important than protecting civil liberties."

He said he was saddened "that there are people in our Arab world that continue to sympathize with terrorism."

"This is our sick reality and it doesn't help anyone to pretend this mentality doesn't exist. One can't ignore the fact that Arab governments didn't act early on to crush the extreme movements growing in our midst."

He criticized the United States and Britain, saying he hoped they would change policies that fostered "hatred around the world and make it easy for groups like al Qaeda to recruit and execute terror attacks."

On the Arabic-language TV network Al Jazeera, Mohammed Amara -- identified as an Islamist thinker in Cairo -- said "those who want to perform jihad (Muslim holy war) should go and fight the occupiers in the battlefield and not kill unexpecting innocent people.

"We (Muslims) do not kill clerics, we do not kill women, we do not kill children, we do not kill trees. This is what the prophet taught us. The U.S. and Britain are committing atrocities against our people everywhere but we shouldn't respond to a crime with a crime."

TV network Al-Arabiya, on its Web site, solicited readers' responses to the attacks. Several expressed happiness, with comments such as "Allahu Akbar, thanks be to God," "More power to al Qaeda leader Osama (bin Laden)," and "What did you expect? This is only a response to the what the British government has done to the group regardless of which group it is."

In response, these notes were posted: "To the heroes of Arabism and Jihad, since you are sparing no method to attack the West and you gloat as you try to kill the largest number of civilians. How would you like it if the West relieves itself of your headache by hitting you with one of its nuclear weapons. It takes only minutes and then there will be no heroes, no men and no shish kebab."

Another wrote: "Why you are so happy about something like this?" What if one of your family members in London died? Even in a war, don't kill women, children, old people ... please Muslims think before you judge any action, and think about your actions and judge yourself before you judge people."

There were similar responses to another posting, in which someone said: "What happened to them is less than what they deserve" because of all of the people killed in the Muslim world daily. "I hope they will get more and more every day," this writer said.

Writers punched back, saying there was no excuse for such attacks. Responses included:

"Those terrorists have ruined the reputation of Arabs in Europe" and have hurt the religion.

"Arabs will be facing more harassment now. That's why Arabs should stand together against these terrorist groups which has only one goal of killing innocent women, elderly and children."

"We are entering a difficult times in Europe, especially difficult for our brothers who live in dignity and prosperity in Europe while they enjoy the vastness of the continent after they escaped their governments' dictatorships."

"One of the targeted areas today is Edgware road, which is entirely accommodated by Muslims and Arabs. Do you know that no politicians, army troops, or any important governmental employees use the underground or buses, because simply they have no much more money to use a private car.

"This is not Islam. Aldgate station is a two-minute walk from the largest Muslim community in London. So please don't be happy."

One writer said "innocent people have been attacked while going about their daily routine... Londoners are the most hard working and efficient city folk I have ever seen, and they shall overcome these awful events and prevail. Blair has a lot of explanation to be done. I am an Arab, and rest assured that we are all shocked and angry.

"We love London!"

Funny who we all find different things to pull out of the same information. Here's what I see:

"We (Muslims) do not kill clerics, we do not kill women, we do not kill children, we do not kill trees. This is what the prophet taught us. The U.S. and Britain are committing atrocities against our people everywhere but we shouldn't respond to a crime with a crime."

"Those terrorists have ruined the reputation of Arabs in Europe" and have hurt the religion.

"Arabs will be facing more harassment now. That's why Arabs should stand together against these terrorist groups which has only one goal of killing innocent women, elderly and children."

You are lumping all Muslims and Arabs as terrorists. Are we Americans terrorists because Tim McVeigh was an American? Or maybe it's just the vets. Niagara county born Americans are all bad because that's what Tim was.

You can't blame entire races or religions for the acts of a select few. It's just wrong, as wrong as Hitler was to hate Jews.

nit wit wrote:

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Americans terrorists because Tim McVeigh was an American? Or maybe it's just the vets. Niagara county born Americans are all bad because that's what Tim was. I was going to say that.

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Now this is getting spooky, people as a rule don't think like me!

from the sunday ny daily news, by M.Goodwyn a  liberal news paper with the best funnies in the area.

No separate peace

Mutual coexistence with this enemy is not an option

People got up and went to work in London Friday. They did the same in New York, hopping on subways and buses as always. Stock markets in both countries even climbed above where they were when Thursday's carnage struck. In short, ordinary human beings on two continents acted with great and silent courage.

Perhaps to a fault.

The counsel that we go about our lives comes from City Hall, the White House and now from heads of state in Europe. Most of us have no choice. We don the uniforms of routine and show up at the office or school or job site to get a paycheck. We try to pretend nothing happened. Or that it won't happen to us.

But something did happen and pretending could be a fatal mistake. Indeed, too much pretending could bring a sudden end to the world as we know it.

Yes, we must go on with our lives, but we must not become so stoic that we forget the nature of terrorism and what must be done about it. This evil will not go away just because we go back to work.

We face an enemy like none we have ever known. Without warning, they blow up trains and buses, they use airplanes filled with passengers as missiles, they kidnap and behead civilians. These are madmen. They are not subject to the civilities of mutual understanding. They must be wiped out, before they wipe us out.

To the terrorists, 50 or 100 or 500 victims, all that matters is bigger is better. Or have we forgotten the video where Osama Bin Laden laughed as he described the twin towers' collapse? Have we forgotten that each attack is, in his sick mind, a mere warmup to the Big One?

In 1998, he issued a statement titled "The Nuclear Bomb of Islam." In it, he said that "it is the duty of Muslims to prepare as much force as possible to terrorize the enemies of God."

Another time, he said that "to kill the Americans and their allies - civilian and military - is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible."

His call to duty defines the essence of our duty - that we must be of two minds about terrorism. We must go about our lives as though nothing has changed, while simultaneously remembering that everything could change in a instant more horrible than we can imagine.

Above all, we must not confuse or combine the two ideas. We must not let our courage in everyday life morph into the mistaken belief that terrorists are inevitable or that mutual coexistence is an option. As Secretary of State Rice said Thursday, in a slap at the appeasement lobby, "There can be no separate peace."

Sadly, there are warning signs that, as a society, we are falling into that trap. For civilians, the trap lies in thinking that exploding buses and trains are just inconveniences of modern life - and that we can pay such a price as long as the attack is not cataclysmic.

 wake up, this is war , to the death either us or them , the choice for now is still ours  -

from Michell Malkin ;     

February 11, 2004

British Muslim kids told: Be a suicide bomber

Omar Bakri of Britain's radical Al-Muhajiroun, whom I profile in Onward Muslim Soldiers (detailing there his support for violent jihad and suicide bombing), is at it again. From the British Sun tabloid, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:

A FANATICAL pal of evil cleric Abu Hamza had told British children as young as ten they must “kill and be killed” for Islam.

Muslim extremist Omar Bakri — speaking in London’s East End — said suicide bombers were assured a place in paradise.

Bakri described such bombings as “self-sacrifice operations”.

An example would be to crash a plane on to 10 Downing Street or the White House, he told a cheering audience of Muslims, including around ten young children.

In one outburst he raged: “You must fight for the way of Allah, for the sake of Allah, to kill first and to be killed.”

Bakri, 44, who has been nicknamed the Tottenham Ayatollah, preached his sick gospel of terrorism at a hall in Bethnal Green.

The full rant was captured by BBC reporter Paul Kenyon — who said: “There’s no doubt he was talking about what it takes to be a suicide bomber.”

The Syrian-born cleric read out a list where terrorist atrocities had been carried out — New York’s Twin Towers, the bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the Bali blast, and the bomb attack on the destroyer USS Cole in Yemen.

And he praised the September 11 bombers as the “Glorious 19 hijackers”.

Bakri — who runs a group dedicated to creating an Islamic state in Britain — is a pal of Hamza, who is facing deportation for preaching hate.

Last night outraged Tory MP Patrick Mercer declared: “Omar Bakri should be locked up. He’s encouraging others to commit crimes in this country and other countries.

“It’s absolutely astounding that these things are being said inside Great Britain today. He’s clearly breaking the law. I’m sure he could probably be accused of treason.

“The fact there are ten-year-olds in the audience, who are vulnerable and highly persuasive, is very worrying”.

Journalist Kenyon, 37, added: “The sense of it was that you must prepare yourselves for glorious deaths as martyrs and that they had a duty to become martyrs if called upon.

“He’s clearly giving them advice on what to do and to have their affairs tidied up before they go. It made my skin crawl.”

 

you can not negotiate with this - it must be destroyed .      Americans captured and put T Mcveigh on trial , convicted him and executed him .

what have the muslims done with Osama ? or Zarkawi ? they wring their hands and mumble BS - do you see any action ?         no. do you really think they disaprove ? without any action on their part it is clear that the Muslim community supports the actions of Osama and Al-Qaeda .   wake up ....  

                        

Don’t discount potential for terrorism at local power plants

Saturday, July 09, 2005

In the 1970s, terrorism was a world away, literally.

In the ’80s, we saw growing numbers of Americans, from soldiers to vacationers, killed by terrorists on foreign soil.

The 1990s brought among the most frightening terrorist — the homegrown version, epitomized by Pendleton native Timothy McVeigh and the first terror attack in the United States.

Then came Sept. 11, 2001.

We’ve witnessed the escalation of terrorism on our soil, and sometimes by our own people, for decades now, yet we’re always surprised.

No one could have imagined an attack on a building in Oklahoma any more than Western New Yorkers can fathom a terror attack in our back yards.

But we must remember that complacency is an invitation to terrorists, whether they be international terror groups like al-Qaida or disturbed individuals like McVeigh. The bottom line is it can happen here.

That’s why, as frustrating as it is to a newspaper, we understand why certain information can’t be released to us in the name of homeland security. Few groups have used homeland security as the explanation for not providing information to the public as frequently as the New York Power Authority.

You can imagine our surprise then to find highly-secret documents and maps detailing power-generating facilities and reservoirs throughout Niagara County free and readily available to the public.

All one has to do is ask for it by e-mail or phone, and the details about how to do that are right on the front page of the Niagara Power Project’s relicensing Web site. In addition, it’s unclear how many people already have the documents — which were handed out to various individuals and groups involved in NYPA’s relicensing process.

Do we think al-Qaida is going to bomb the Robert Moses Power Plant? No.

Do we think there are plenty of shoe-bomber, loner types that could wreak havoc on our power and water supply, and potentially cost lives, with those diagrams, easily-obtained chemicals and a mind for terrorism? Of that, we’re sure.

The most disturbing of all is NYPA’s lack of response in the matter. Power authority officials have refused to comment.

That’s unacceptable.

We demand the New York Power Authority take new measures to assure the safety of the Niagara Power Project and give a public update on the safety of the facilities in our region.

To do less is not only a disservice to our citizens, but it sets up a dangerous scenario that — if history is any example — is bound to be played out one of these days.

 

 

MOTM-Look a lilly white american boy!Look what he did!Does not mean his whole religion sholud be attacked!

It ran in the Gazette, too. - JH  

nit wit wrote:

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And they call me nit wit

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Yeah, but it is out of fondness that we do!

The power authority doesn't need to get back to the paper. The paper was able to obtain the information quite easily from the community. Remember the story on 6-19?

"Hufnagel points to several cases where dams have been closed to traffic by the federal government due to the vulnerability to an attack. "(At the Robert Moses Power Project), the traffic proceeds directly over the critical turbine room. There have never been restrictions on this critical infrastructure. What's to stop a dirty bomb or half a dozen terrorists with Uzis and military training from getting up over the wall?" said Hufnagel."

I would think that calling them back now is pointless. Could the paper be grandstanding a bit? We all know that we have the power to demand nothing that is protected by national security. The sad truth is that almost everything can be considered off limits now.