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Thursday, 30 September 2004 New startEurabian Times has moved! Update your bookmarks and blogrolls, and feast your eyes on this... (Page redirects to www.eurabiantimes.com in 10 seconds.) posted by colt_lgf, September 30, 2004 15:08 | link | comments Monday, 27 September 2004 That Gift That Never Stops TakingTaxes suck. posted by colt_lgf, September 27, 2004 12:05 | link | comments (2) Sunday, 26 September 2004 Does anybody think we should appease that?Johann Hari has written a piece on the misdirection of the 'war on terror'. Frankly, I don't know quite where to start. Well, let's start with the good points. First, he agrees that the 'war on terror' is a misnomer. It is, in fact, a war on jihadism. He also recognises that, when jihadists seize power, the results are horrific. Jihadism isn't simply different - it is terrible. And that's where it falls apart. It is not inherent to the Islamic faith. I've followed some of the arguments (here and here) about this. The debate will rage on, but the arguments of Spencer, Bostom and McCarthy are convincing: that there is a basis for offensive, barbaric jihad in Islam. There are few jihadists in stable, prosperous Muslim countries like Turkey, or among the Muslim populations of Europe and America. Pew found that support for jihad in Iraq and Israel was 31% in Turkey . This is hardly an insignificant figure. As for Europe and America, that is optimistic to say the least. No; jihadism is a virus that spreads in conditions of poverty, humiliation and butchery. Jihadists are often from families with higher income than their neighbours. The Arabs who fought in Afghanistan, and those who made it possible, were usually from well-off families. So are the suicide bombers who murder innocents in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. So were the hijackers of 9/11. Humiliation by whose standards? Any reminder of the wealth of the Western world and the dilapidation of the Islamic world is a humiliation for many Muslims. If what Hari means is submitting to security measures like roadblocks and checkpoints, Israelis do it every day. Being searched every time you go in to a cafe or having heavily armed police officers guard your child's playground probably brings a humiliation all of its own - never mind being under a four-year barrage like the residents of Gush Katif. Butchery? By whom? In Chechnya, Hari has a point - Russian tactics are obscenely brutal. But Chechnya has never been the lynch-pin of jihadism. If Hari means the tactics of the IDF, I don't think he knows what butchery means. If this combination of poverty, humiliation and butchery creates jihadists, why isn't the Iraqi population a Islamofascists? Why is the population of Jordan, who live under what is regionally a somewhat moderate government, so much more radical? If we look to examples outside the Islamic world, shouldn't the Soviet Union faced more opposition from the people they subjugated? Under Stalin, Russians were poorer, more humiliated and more frequently butchered than any comparable situation in the Islamic world. Shouldn't there have been a proportionally larger number of dissidents and terrorists? The proposed relation between wealth and morality is especially irritating. Are poor people are so much more susceptible to extremism than the comparatively wealthy? Does it make more sense to saw off the head of an engineer, or gun down chlidren or strap on bricks of C4 if your house is in disrepair? Perhaps security staff at airports should search passengers based on their income. There needs to be an independent Chechnya, a free Kashmir, a Palestinian state and an end to the revolting House of Saud. Of course granting all of these will not send every last jihadist back to his cave; but it will whittle down their support and make it harder for them to recruit a new generation of supporters. Far from it. Jihadist states in Chechnya, Kashmir, palestine and Arabia would be the birth places of the next generation. Indoctrination and propaganda work, and work very well. The answer to jihadism is not to create more sanctuaries for jihadis; and that is almost certainly what those new states would be. Besides that, to surrender to those demands would be to give al-Qaeda far greater support than they already have. The dream of an Islamic revival is, understandably, widespread. Muslims who might have rejected al-Qaeda on the grounds that they are too weak would be convinced of their strength - and the West's weakness. Withdrawal from Russia sparked off jihad against America. Withdrawal from Somalia encouraged it. Withdrawal from Lebanon inspired the current terrorist campaign against Israel. We are still paying for the weakness of our responses to the bombs in Beirut, the Iran hostage crisis and so many other acts of war. Hari's proposal would swell the ranks and coffers of the jihad like nothing Bin Laden could ever do. Most jihadists will carry on fighting long after we have mopped up concerns Western liberals can share. Hari even admits that jihadis will keep fighting. Amazing. Many of their grievances simply could not be accommodated without surrendering our own values. Look at the jihadists earlier this month who took French civilians hostage in Iraq. They were trying to force the elected French government to lift its ban on Muslim veils in state schools. Their grievance is against both secularism and democracy. Does anybody think we should appease that? In practice, one does not appease a grievance, but a person or group. You would appease them. Hari's red-lines apparently follow the borders of Western countries (excluding Israel...). Jihadis can control Saudi oil, prepare for another push against Israel, have sancturies in four new countries... But don't you dare interfere with our laws. If that sounds weak to you, imagine what it will sound like to someone from an honour-shame culture. Speaking of the divergent concerns of jihadis and liberals... Hari would de facto allow the creation of jihadi states - including one controlling a huge proportion of the world's oil. Even if it were a defensible position, like returning territory to Nazi Germany, is it the smart thing to do? posted by colt_lgf, September 26, 2004 13:04 | link | comments (3) Israel strikes in DamascusIzz El-Deen Al-Sheikh Khalil, senior member of Hamas, got blown up in Damascus. Also from Ha'aretz:
Time to pass out the candy. posted by colt_lgf, September 26, 2004 11:13 | link | comments (1) Friday, 24 September 2004 HeroesThere aren't a huge number of non-jihadi palestinians, but when they turn up, they're heroes: "If saving lives means I'm a traitor, so be it" Oweidah, who has two wives and 46 grandchildren, has also been the target of several attempts on his life. Since the establishment of the PA in 1994, he has refrained from entering the West Bank. "I only move around in safe areas and never leave the borders of Jerusalem," he said. "I'm wanted by the Palestinian Authority and I know that they won't waste an opportunity to kill me." Owaidah's connections with Israel were first disclosed in the early 70s, when he helped thwart rocket attacks on the King David Hotel and the Western Wall. He is not prepared to talk about the role he played then, but says that his actions saved the lives of both Israelis and Palestinians. ... Since the beginning of the intifada, masked gunmen have repeatedly threatened to kill Owaidah. In one incident, several shots were fired at his home from a distance, but no one was hurt. His eldest son, Sadek, was kidnapped twice to Jericho and Ramallah, but was released following heavy pressure from Israel. "He was brutally tortured by the Palestinian security services," the father pointed out. "But they were not after him. They are trying to get to me, and this is what they told my son. They even asked him to draw a sketch of the interior of the house and where I sleep." ... Owaidah explained that he decided to work with Israel "because of the injustice we saw when we were under Jordanian rule before the 1967 war." "When the Jews came to Jerusalem, I saw how they were treating the people in a humane way," he said. "By comparison, we had been oppressed by the Jordanians when they were here. Look how the Jews have built a modern and democratic state, and look where the Arabs still are." Read it all. posted by colt_lgf, September 24, 2004 11:02 | link | comments (2) Wednesday, 22 September 2004 I just saw a Muslim Council of Britain spokesman on ITV say there is reason to believe that U.S. foreign policy is shaped in Israel. This is what passes for moderation these days. posted by colt_lgf, September 22, 2004 11:17 | link | comments (3) Monday, 20 September 2004 Sharon's MistakeAriel Sharon has portrayed his disengagement plan as an alternative to the disastrous ‘roadmap’ plan. This long interview is the best example. He says explicitly: “It [disengagement] is not part of the road map.” This might be how he sees it, but the Europeans disagree. When asked by some French politicians why he opposed the disengagement plan, Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin answered: "I said, "Well, the truth is that I should ask you. He has been trying to convince me that the moment we disengage, Europe will give us at least 15 years of quiet and won't put pressure on us [to make further concessions], and during this time we will be able to stabilize our control over areas on which we cannot compromise, such as the Jordan Valley and Jerusalem. So tell me: Will you in fact give us 15 years of quiet?' The better way of looking at it is: will It looks like Arafat has stared down the challenge from Dahlan – for now. On the other hand, the Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade have all but declared their opposition to Arafat, and Hamas and Islamic Jihad aren’t going to stand in his defence. Hezbollah are said to be playing an ever increasing role in the ‘political’ games in the territories, rather than just the ‘military’ (the lines are inevitably blurred, as a terrorist is effectively a politician in the In the end, though, it doesn’t make a lot of difference who wins the power struggle. A full-on civil war seems very unlikely, but more people are bound to get killed. Whichever scum floats to the top will probably be a far slicker version of Yasser Arafat. He’ll be more willing to halt attacks on The Arab League has become a far more effective taqiya machine in the war with After disengagement is complete, a terrorist more attuned to the nuances of European society will emerge as the leader of the spearhead of the Arab war against posted by colt_lgf, September 20, 2004 14:51 | link | comments Saturday, 18 September 2004 FSB up to old tricks?With the recent terrorist attacks in Russia, the role of the FSB has been frequently called in to question. Personally, I see no reason why al-Qaeda wouldn't or couldn't attack Russia. The Chechen cause has taken increasingly Islamist tones this past decade. I don't trust Putin at all. His moves to crush democracy on the pretext of terrorism are not at all surprising. At the end of the day, though, I believe al-Qaeda are attacking Russia. There are incidents, however, that make me wonder... A duty officer at the Federal Security Service [the FSB - ed] said the man was stopped by Moscow police around 1 a.m. Police questioned him and found two land mines in the car, along with 200 grams (7 ounces) of TNT under the driver's seat. The mines were connected with wires and had an antenna attached to them. The man, who appeared to be intoxicated, told police he had been paid US$1,000 to park two cars with explosives in them along a Moscow street frequently used by top government officials, said the duty officer, who refused to give his name. The ITAR-Tass news agency identified the man as 38-year-old Alexander Pumane. ... The duty officer confirmed that the man later suffered a heart attack and died while in police custody, but the officer refused to elaborate. Sure, it might have happened that way. On the other hand... posted by colt_lgf, September 18, 2004 15:07 | link | comments (3) Friday, 17 September 2004 Misc.1. First, the lack of posts is beyond my control. Apologies. 2. Things will be changing around here. And by here, I don't necessarily mean here... 3. Here are parts four and five of Jay Nordlinger's Israel Impromptus. posted by colt_lgf, September 17, 2004 15:56 | link | comments Cowardly piece of shit
Three-year-old Sophia Parlock cries while seated on the shoulders of her father, Phil Parlock, after having their Bush-Cheney sign torn up by Kerry-Edwards supporters on Thursday, Sept. 16, 2004, at the Tri-State Airport in Huntington, W.Va. (AP Photo/Randy Snyder) posted by colt_lgf, September 17, 2004 09:27 | link | comments Wednesday, 15 September 2004 Multicultural 'Palestine'This photo was taken in
posted by colt_lgf, September 15, 2004 17:49 | link | comments Zionist Impromptus #3Part three is up. (By the way, even when he gets back from Israel, you really should read everything Jay Nordlinger writes.) posted by colt_lgf, September 15, 2004 13:53 | link | comments SwedenSweden has an Islamic population of around 4% - about 350,000 of 9 million people. If this set of links is anything to go by, it is a country in crisis - a crisis that will get far worse before it gets better. Swedes who've worked with my father say they are seriously concerned about the situation; how representative that opinion is, I don't know. But there's little reason to be optimistic. The combination of multiculturalism, socialism and Islam have led to this. Situations like Sweden are why I write about Europe as well as Islam: European weakness increases Islamic strength. And that is besides any of the problems the European project has itself. Swedes and Muslims share at least one thing: they hate Israel. There will even be a conference - state-subsidised, of course - for supporters of Hamas who want to be able to raise money for them in Europe. But that isn't enough - just ask the citizens of Malmø. posted by colt_lgf, September 15, 2004 13:35 | link | comments (1) Impromptus part twoposted by colt_lgf, September 15, 2004 00:03 | link | comments Monday, 13 September 2004 Impromptus in Israel
Jay Nordlinger is always worth reading, but I expect his pieces from
[David] Horovitz [while talking to Nordlinger] speaks of an acquaintance, a plumber, who is — pardon the expression — "a good Palestinian." What is a good Palestinian? "He doesn't want to kill me." That is a low threshold — but a critical threshold, in this part of the world. As the plumber sees it, Islam sanctions suicide bombing. But he himself is opposed to it. Does that make him a bad Muslim? He worries about that. Now, this is only one individual, but the case is interesting, in my opinion. Is the Palestinian-Israeli situation complicated? (I am jumping around here quite a bit, I realize — but get used to it. Thank you.) We're told, constantly, that it is complicated. This is a fundamental preachment. I have heard it all my life. But how complicated is it, really, despite blizzards of facts, events, and interpretations? After all is said and done — after the yak-yak ceases — it seems to me to come down to a single, awful question: Are the Palestinians — and Arabs generally — willing to coexist? Willing to let When they are, there will be peace. Instantly. Until then . . . posted by colt_lgf, September 13, 2004 22:23 | link | comments (2) Being a victimHave a look at this. Then look at this. It looks like, for these people, the memory of the attacks stir a mixture of sadness and shock at the attacks themselves, and anger at politicians for taking advantage of the attacks. That’s a kind way of putting it. To me, it looks like they want to be perpetual victims. Mourn, commemorate, and move on. Of course, 9/11 anniversaries should be days of mourning and remembrance. But it should be a pause in our fight against those who would do it again and worse. I don’t like being on the receiving end of attacks. The Kosniks probably don’t either. The difference between them and me is that they aren’t willing to stop it happening again. I hoped to make this post as cliché-free as possible, but 9/11 did change things. War was declared against us, so now we have to fight back. Winning might look ugly from time to time, but losing is far, far uglier.
posted by colt_lgf, September 13, 2004 16:11 | link | comments (2) Saturday, 11 September 2004 Heart Attacks
From Cox and Forkum. No angry or sorrowful piece here today. The job isn't done. posted by colt_lgf, September 11, 2004 15:37 | link | comments (2) Thursday, 09 September 2004 Akyol Episode continuedAndrew Bostom gets stuck in... (via Jihad Watch). posted by colt_lgf, September 09, 2004 13:31 | link | comments (1) US Court: Jerusalem is not in IsraelThis is such bullshit. posted by colt_lgf, September 09, 2004 11:19 | link | comments (2) Wednesday, 08 September 2004 Registration UpdateComments can now be posted with anyone registered with motime. No need to email me for permission. posted by colt_lgf, September 08, 2004 10:09 | link | comments (1)  |
thanks to squidfingers for background pattern
