Concerned

This is preposterous. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on the case of the Mohammed teddy described the English school-teacher's actions as "an innocent mistake".

What he should actually have said was that she nothing wrong whatsoever and Sudan needs to release her immediately without charge and without a single hair on her head being harmed in any way.

That never happened and the Sudanese court is to imprison her for 15 days. The headmaster of her school described that sentence as "very fair"!

Miliband's response to this ridiculous trial and sentence? He's "extremely disappointed" and has "expressed in the strongest terms" his concern. I'm sure that the Sudanese authorities are quaking in their boots over that.

Is there any British politician around with the guts to stand up to this nonsense and publicly declare that this woman has done nothing wrong whatsoever?

I wonder if the jihadists realise that they don't have to defeat us on the battlefield- they just need to play on the Western World's sense of political correctness. We'll defeat ourselves for them.

Flight of Fantasy

The past few days have been marked by a power shut-down for "essential maintenance" and my phone and internet stopping working as BT carry out a so-called line improvement. I'm back on-line now but my phone still isn't quite right. Work up to their usual standard I see.

Anyway, here's Red Sonja by Adam Hughes. Oddly enough, though this Sonja appears in the world of Conan, the original Red Sonya (thought up by Conan creator Robert E. Howard) was "a gun-slinging warrior woman of Russian origin with a grudge against the Ottoman sultan, the eponymous red hair and a fiery temper to match." She had no link to Conan's world at all.

I Forgot

Seems that it's now legal for American citizens to carry loaded firearms into airports- so long as police can't prove you did it on purpose.

Charges will not be filed against a district court judge who was accused of taking a loaded gun to a Detroit Metropolitan Airport checkpoint this summer.

Washtenaw County prosecutors decided not to charge Sylvia James, chief judge of Inkster's 22nd District Court, because investigators couldn't prove she intentionally took the handgun July 28.

"There is insufficient proof to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Ms. James knowingly possessed the handgun," Konrad Siller, first assistant prosecutor in Washtenaw County, wrote in his Nov. 13 memo to the Wayne County Airport Police. He declined Monday to discuss the issue further.

Of course you plebs will get exactly the same treatment, won't you? You can just say, "I forgot I had it on me," and the police will have to prove- beyond a reasonable doubt no less- that you didn't. No court cases necessary- charges will simply be dropped without any lengthy and expensive legal battles. Yep, I'm sure that plain old ordinary Joe will get that kind of treatment.

The decision not only removes the threat of jail and fines, but also lessens the likelihood of discipline from the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission. Carrying a gun in an airport is a misdemeanor that carries a penalty of a $1,000 fine and a year in a jail. Carrying one on a plane is a felony punishable by a $10,000 fine and 10 years in prison.

James also faced the prospect of $7,500 in fines from the Traffic Safety Administration.

I'm sure that her being a judge had nothing to do with it and I'm shocked- shocked I tell you- at the implication that her job somehow puts her on a different level than the average citizen. I mean, really, it's not like she's part of some privileged class that receives preferential treatment at the hands of the law solely because of what she does for a living. The American people wouldn't stand for that. Right?

Pub Police

Fighting crime in Britain...or something.

Undercover police officers are being used in a nationwide sting operation on drinkers in the run-up to Christmas.

The unprecedented initiative - part of the Government's clampdown on binge drinking - starts on Friday and will run for four weekends up to 22 December.

The plainclothes officers will be told to monitor whether bar staff are illegally serving alcohol to obviously drunk customers.

They will be in pubs on Friday and Saturday nights over the next four weeks.

Apparently all the serious crime in Britain has been solved- either that or it's much more fun for police to spend their weekends down the pub picking on people out to enjoying their Christmas.

Mark Hastings, director of communications at the British Beer and Pub Association, said: "I think most people will be gobsmacked that the police think it is a priority for them to spend the evening in the pub playing 'spot the drunkard' in the runup to Christmas given all the other policing issues around at the moment."

A spokesman for the Wine and Spirit Trade Association said: "People might well ask what police are doing sitting around in pubs on a Friday and Saturday night."

Beats being out on the streets where they might encounter an actual criminal I guess.

Airport Security

Britain's "elite" armed police in action.

A woman firearms officer who endured a year-long campaign of sexual taunts and innuendo from male colleagues has won her sex discrimination case.

PC Barbara Lynford, the only woman in an 18-strong team at Gatwick Airport, was seen as a "threat" and so was singled out and humiliated by her fellow officers.

But that's not all by far-

Armed officers on patrol allegedly used their radios to report sightings of pretty women to each other, using the code MILF for "mothers I'd like to ****".

The term GILF was said to have been used to describe attractive grandmothers, and the area where female cabin crew were dropped off was dubbed the "s***** patch".

Male police slept on the job, faked patrol reports, watched an X-rated TV channel and ran a forfeit system where they had to buy each other doughnuts as a penalty for leaving guns lying around, an employment tribunal heard.

The only ones professional enough to be armed....

During the tribunal, her male colleagues were likened to the overweight, doughnut-eating policeman Chief Wiggum in The Simpsons.

Officers who committed the most serious breaches had to buy the whole team a cake, the tribunal heard. One was said to have been forfeited in such a way after leaving his sub-machine gun in the canteen.

There appears to have been no trace of a responsible adult among the armed cops.

Former PC Toby Gough also told the tribunal that he had seen colleagues watching the X-rated channel in the gym and TV room at the station.

He claimed that officers not only left guns unattended but also faked patrol reports and slept while on duty.

And he said the time some officers spent on breaks was "scandalous", saying some officers spent more time in the canteen than on patrol.

Sounds like the police the UK is familiar with then.

Inspired

Talk about easy money-

Scotland has replaced its airport signs proclaiming the country to be "the best small country in the world" with a new slogan: "Welcome to Scotland."

Here's the kicker-

The new slogan, which was revealed Tuesday after six months of development and $250,000 spent on the project, is also printed on the posters in Gaelic as "Failte gu Alba," The Times of London reported Wednesday.

All that time and money and the best they can do is "Welcome to Scotland"? I see now why people are attracted to the advertising business.

Arming The Enemy

Yet more concessions made towards that well-known moderate Mahmoud Abbas and his merry band of thugs.

Israel has approved the transfer of 25 armoured vehicles to Palestinian security forces in the West Bank.

And the armoured cats aren't the only part of this sweetener-

Israel also allowed provision of 1,000 guns and 2m bullets.

Of course this is yet another attempt to "bolster" Abbas against Hamas. Isn't anyone in the Israeli government paying attention?

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has met Hamas officials for the first time since the militant group's takeover of the Gaza Strip in June.

All this "bolstering" going on and meanwhile Fatah and Hamas are trying to make up. How long before those bullets are being used against Israeli targets?

When do the PA and their murderous ilk start making concessions towards Israel? That's the one question that isn't being asked apparently.

Anti-Semitism At The Beeb

Mearsheimer and Walt's anti-Jewish propaganda, a modern take on the Protocols of the Elders of Zion if you will, gets a positive spin at the BBC. Doing their utmost to minimise criticism of the book they describe it as "scholarly" and "dispassionate". They even follow up the fact that the book has had negative reviews with a comment from one of the authors that this is proof of AIPAC's control of the US media. Yep, the Beeb puts that in there as if it's a reasonable and valid argument.

Why am I not surprised?

Slacking

Been a bad week for blogging, I know- in fact, I haven't even been keeping up with how the world is inexorably swirling down the toilet. You know, there's an odd lightness of spirit that comes with not keeping abreast of current affairs. Ignorance really is bliss. Wouldn't you think the Earth was a not-too-bad place to hang out on if you weren't aware of the fact that a bunch of sick b*stards think it's "justice" to whip a gang-rape victim 200 times? Or that there are people so depraved that they will strap a bomb to their own one-year old child in order to commit mass murder?

Thank goodness that there are also people like Tam in the world. I'm hereby nominating this for quote of the year (although it'll be tough to choose between this and her "word processor in the mouth" quip)-

They say that it's okay to eat fish because they don't have feelings, but with the way that smoked salmon tastes, I wouldn't care if it screamed all the way to the table and struggled going down. If people tasted liked smoked salmon, I'd be Hannibal frickin' Lecter.

The forces of darkness are gathering and the majority of the Western world is happily pretending that the weather getting a bit warmer is all the calamity they have to worry about. A bit of humour is certainly required right now.

Cloverfield

Something is coming soon.

Living In Fear

An artist known for his "shocking" work admits that he is too scared to tackle the subject of Islam- so he'll carry on insulting Christians instead. Controversy purely for the sake of it then because he knows no Christians are going to come an try to murder him for painting a pot.

Grayson Perry, the cross-dressing potter, Turner Prize winner and former Times columnist, said that he had consciously avoided commenting on radical Islam in his otherwise highly provocative body of work because of the threat of reprisals.

“I’ve censored myself,” Perry said at a discussion on art and politics organised by the Art Fund. “The reason I haven’t gone all out attacking Islamism in my art is because I feel real fear that someone will slit my throat.”

And of course the Times has to compare the very real threat of murder from Islamic radicals against those they perceive to have insulted their religion with protests from Christians.

Across Europe there is growing evidence that freedom of expression has been curtailed by fear of religious fundamentalism. Robert Redeker, a French philosophy teacher, is in hiding after calling the Koran a “book of extraordinary violence” in Le Figaro in 2006; Spanish villages near Valencia have abandoned a centuries-old tradition of burning effigies of Muhammad to mark the reconquest of Spain, against the Moors; and an opera house in Berlin banned a production of Mozart’s Idomeneo because it depicted the beheading of Muhammad (as well as Jesus and other spiritual leaders).

In Britain the most high-profile examples have also been seen in the theatre, with the campaign by Christian fundamentalists against Jerry Springer: the Opera and the protests in Birmingham that forced the closure of Bezhti, a play about rape and murder in a Sikh temple.

Mmm, peaceful protests and trying to kill artists- not quite the same thing, is it?

Flight of Fantasy

Adam Hughes plus Wonder Woman. What else needs to be said?

Russian Response

Russia seems to be a little confused abut what decade, or even century, it is.

A senior general warned Wednesday that Russia could deploy short-range missiles to Belarus as part of efforts to counter the planned deployment of U.S. missile defense sites in Europe, Russian news reports said.

Col. Gen. Vladimir Zaritsky, the chief of artillery and rocket forces for the Russian Ground Troops, said that "any action meets a counteraction, and this is the case with elements of the U.S. missile defense in Poland and the Czech Republic," the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.

Maybe this guy thinks the Cold War is still in progress?

Russia strongly opposes the idea, saying Iran is decades away from developing missile technology that could threaten Europe or North America, and it says the U.S. bases will undermine Russia's own missile deterrent force.

Which is, quite frankly, a lie- Iran already possesses missile technology capable of just that-

On 18 March 2005 "Financial Times" newspaper of Britain reported that Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Svyatoslav Piskun had stated that Ukraine exported 12 cruise missiles to Iran and six to China in 2001.

These have a range of 3,000km which would definitely put them within range of Europe and well into Russia.

Religion Trumps Medicine

Want to bet that if this guy has just been some drunken yahoo interrupting a hospital operation that security and maybe even the police would have been called to restrain and remove him?

A Belgian anesthetist has filed a complaint against a Muslim who blocked him from entering the operating theatre where his wife was to undergo emergency surgery.

In Belgium, it seems, religion transcends a Muslim woman's right to the same quality medical care as everyone else- since when did European hospitals allow men to tell doctors who could and couldn't treat their wives?

Doctor Philippe Becx from Bree, Belgium, was called to the hospital in the middle of the night because a woman had to undergo an emergency caesarean section.

However, her husband blocked the door and demanded a female anesthetist. The latter was unavailable.

After a two-hour discussion proved fruitless, an imam was summoned. The imam permitted the doctor to apply an epidural injection, but only if the woman was fully covered with only a small area of skin showing.

Ah, I see, they consulted with noted medical expert, the local imam- I wonder if they permit hospital chaplains to advise them on how to perform medical procedures too?

During the surgery itself, performed by a female gynecologist, the anesthetist was to remain in the hallway. Through a door that was slightly ajar, he shouted instructions to a nurse who was monitoring the anesthesia.

According the hospital’s directors, the doctor acted with ‘admirable understanding.’ He would have been in his right to have the man removed by police.

And he damn well should have- I'm no medical expert but do hospitals usually allow nurses to take the place of anaesthetists? I was under the impression that that was something of a medical specialisation requiring certain training and qualifications. But in a case where they allowed a man to block the operating room, asked an imam's permission to administer pain relief and then obeyed an injunction to stay out of the operating theatre itself, it's hardly surprising. Interesting that the woman's wishes during this difficult time were apparently not taken into account.

Conflicting Advice

Here's the headline "Binge-drinking 'may not hurt the unborn'." Seems pretty clear, doesn't it? Problem is the article actually says this, "Less clear is the effect of occasional binge drinking, which amounted to about five drinks in one session in the studies Mr Gray and his team reviewed."

The important qualifier here is "less clear" because while this review of other research concludes that there is "little substantive evidence" that binge drinking caused problems (such as miscarriage, stillbirth, abnormal birth weight, or birth defects such as fetal alcohol syndrome) they did find this-

one study suggested binge-drinking could damage brain development resulting in reduced verbal IQ, learning problems and poorer academic performance.

Seems like a good reason not to binge drink but the researchers qualify it with-

"However, this study only counted women as bingers if they binged throughout pregnancy, not just on a single occasion," the researchers wrote.

The problem, of course, is that the effects of alcohol are not clearly understood and the recommendations not to drink much are based on that uncertainty- we're talking about a human being here so surely it's better to err on the side of caution? And have they clearly proven that a single binge session is fine? If so, at which stage of the pregnancy is it safe to binge drink? Is only one binge drinking session permitted throughout the pregnancy or are a few safe? The simple fact of the matter is that this study has conducted no original research on the problem, merely studied other research and, as seems clear, they have not actually provided any clear evidence on exactly how much one person can drink and at which stages of the pregnancy and still not cause any harm to their unborn child. In the absence of that evidence it seems equally clear that pregnant women should severely restrict their alcohol intake.

Then we come then a nice little bit of double-talk-

Animal studies had shown harmful effects from binge-drinking, which meant pregnant women should still take care no matter how much they consumed, Mr Gray said.

Seems clear enough but the researcher then follows that piece of advice with this-

At the same time, until researchers had more evidence, women who binge-drink on occasion should not fret unnecessarily about potential harm they were causing to their fetuses, he said.

So, which is it? Be careful of your alcohol intake or have the occasional binge session and not worry unduly about the effects on your unborn child? Can't have it both ways, can you? The article ends with this advice-

“Because researchers are not sure how much alcohol might cause harm most say it’s safest not to drink any alcohol during this time.”

In the UK, this article is from an Australian paper, the advice goes like this-

Nobody knows how much - or how little - alcohol can harm a developing baby, so some health experts (including the Royal College of Physicians, and more recently, the Department of Health) recommend that pregnant women play it safe by steering clear of alcohol. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) recommends a limit of one or two units of alcohol, once or twice per week.

Worth bearing this in mind too-

Fetal alcohol exposure is the leading known cause of mental retardation in the Western world.

To clarify, here's an image of the brains of two six-week old babies. The one on the left was not exposed to alcohol, the one on the right belongs to a child suffering from Foetal Alcohol Syndrome.













At the end of the day it comes down to this- are a couple of drinks really worth the risk to your child?

Lying To The World

It's long been apparent that Mohammed ElBaradei has been more concerned with protecting Iran from the world than in actually doing his job. So much so, that he has even concealed important evidence about their nuclear programme. The time has come for him to be removed from his position.

Iran has met a key demand of the U.N. nuclear agency, handing over long-sought blueprints showing how to mold uranium metal into the shape of warheads, diplomats said Tuesday.

Iran’s decision to release the documents, which were seen by U.N. inspectors two years ago, was seen as a concession designed to head off the threat of new U.N. sanctions.

The agency has been seeking possession of the blueprints since 2005, when it stumbled upon them among a batch of other documents during its examination of suspect Iranian nuclear activities. While agency inspectors had been allowed to examine them in the country, Tehran had up to now refused to let the IAEA have a copy for closer perusal.

Two years of IAEA silence about Iranian plans for nuclear warheads? Incredible.

Torture and Death

Iran's stance on homosexuality- and a stark explanation of why Ahmadinejad was able to state that there are no gays in Iran.

Homosexuals deserve to be executed or tortured and possibly both, an Iranian leader told British MPs during a private meeting at a peace conference, The Times has learnt.

And the outrage from liberals and gay and human rights groups is....not quite deafening.

Minutes taken by an official describe a meeting between British and Iranian MPs at the Inter-Parliamentary Union, a peace body, in May. When the Britons raised the hangings of Asqari and Marhouni, the leader of the Iranian delegation, Mr Yahyavi, a member of his parliament’s energy committee, was unflinching. He “explained that according to Islam gays and lesbianism were not permitted”, the record states. “He said that if homosexual activity is in private there is no problem, but those in overt activity should be executed [he initially said tortured but changed it to executed]. He argued that homosexuality is against human nature and that humans are here to reproduce. Homosexuals do not reproduce.”

What is he, some sort of Islamophobe?

Time Saving

I'm not familiar with DUI Blog at all but here's the story they have-

Police have found a time saving solution to complicated reports; they've created a template which just needs to be modified with names and dates. Essentially, a one size fits all DUI report. As DUI Blog mentions, these reports are then used in courts of law as evidence to convict people- sometimes long after the incident and apparently the fact that the template doesn't match the actual events of the DUI arrest doesn't seem to enter into it.

Basically, the report tells the officer what he should have seen — not what he actually saw. And as any honest cop will tell you, drunk driving cases rarely follow such a neat, pre-described script. But it is convenient. And avoids messy complications – like the actual facts.

Serving Society

More and more it seems that British police just want a quiet life; especially one that doesn't involve actually fighting crime in any significant way.

Four out of ten crimes are written off as unsolvable just a few hours after they are reported.

The two million offences are simply "screened out" - and their victims have little or no chance of seeing the culprit brought to justice.

Crackerjack response times are no doubt responsible for such speedy decisions you might think, but you'd be wrong-

No officer visits the scene of the crime, and no attempt is made to find a suspect.

I guess it's easier to harass children or enforce thought crime edicts than chasing after adult criminals.

As many as two-thirds of burglaries are not investigated in some areas, according to the police figures.

Even robberies and violent crimes can be screened out - along with fraud, theft and vandalism.

Britain in the 21st century- a haven for criminals.

Among the 12 English and Scottish forces which released figures under Freedom of Information laws, 788,000 crimes were screened out last year.

From a total of 2,029,000 recorded offences, this means 39 per cent are written off in this way.

The findings suggest that out of 6million offences reported to forces in the UK last year, around 2.3million were not investigated.

And this in a society where law-abiding citizens are prohibited from defending themselves or their property.

Double Talk

From War on Guns comes this piece on an EU push to enforce even more gun laws. Here's the part that caught my eye-

While the EU cannot intervene in a sovereign countries' own gun laws, Ms McCarthy's committee on the internal market is hoping to push through a new directive - replacing Directive 477 which was passed in 1991 - which would set a series of basic standards which all EU member states would have to abide by.

In other words, they can't interfere in individual country's gun laws but they're going to go ahead and interfere in sovereign nation's internal laws anyway. How's that for government double-talk?

The directive would include background checks would have to be carried out before people can purchase guns, new measures would be brought in to ensure guns are registered and can be traced back to their owners; new controls on convertible weapons and control of internet trade in firearms.

Background checks on law-abiding citizens purchasing guns in gun stores, registration of legally purchased firearms, banning imitation guns and stricter controls over trade- all measures which will have absolutely zero effect on illegally smuggled firearms sold on the black market.

Genius, eh?

Future Foe?

The Chinese military build-up and modernisation programme has been reasonably well documented- and they appear to be building a military force designed to oppose the USA- so this should really not be too much of a surprise.

American military chiefs have been left dumbstruck by an undetected Chinese submarine popping up at the heart of a recent Pacific exercise and close to the vast U.S.S. Kitty Hawk - a 1,000ft supercarrier with 4,500 personnel on board.

By the time it surfaced the 160ft Song Class diesel-electric attack submarine is understood to have sailed within viable range for launching torpedoes or missiles at the carrier.

Mad Ogre has written more than once about the threat that China could one day pose to America- make sure to head on over and search the site for more. Despite this, some people still seem to think that military planners in the States should be shaping the Army there to be most effective against terrorists. For example, the infantry is dealing with lightly armed and un-armoured "insurgent fighters" so the thinking goes that the Army needs a rifle with less penetration capability. If nothing else the Chinese sub incident should highlight the grave mistake that adapting an Army based on the current or last enemy fought- rather than a field of potential future enemies. It is never a good idea.

Filler

Cash Advance Loans

Flight of Fantasy

Paul Renaud's take on Meriem, the Cavewoman.

The List of Things That Offend Muslims

I'm now a contributor to the list for pointing out the anger over Republican students stamping on Hamas and Hezbollah flags.

In a profound display of disrespect for free speech, San Francisco State University (SFSU) is investigating its College Republicans for hosting an anti-terrorism rally on campus in which participants stepped on makeshift Hezbollah and Hamas flags. After students filed a complaint claiming they were offended because the flags bore the word “Allah,” SFSU initiated an investigation into accusations of incitement, creation of a hostile environment, and incivility.

Protesting terrorists is incivility?

Check the list out.

Act of Bravery

A courageous OAP saved a young girl from muggers.

A pensioner fought off robbers with her walking stick after seeing them attack a 12-year-old girl.

Police are trying to trace the woman, believed to be in her 70s, who came to the girl's aid in a subway in Stretford, Greater Manchester.

The girl was robbed by three youths who stole money from her blazer pocket.

The pensioner comforted the girl and even replaced her stolen money. Police say the girl's family want to thank the "brave" pensioner in person.

Why the scare quotes around brave? There's little wonder that the woman, who most certainly is brave (the thugs were said to be about 17 years old), might want to remain anonymous- any doubts that the teen thugs would press charges of assault against her if they knew who she was?

I'm fairly certain that many people in Britain today, if confronted by the same situation, might have to pause and think before helping out a 12 year old girl being attacked by three 17 year old yobs- am I going to be arrested of I help?

Scum

Islamist murderers strike again- and once more their target was children.

Dozens of schoolchildren and five teachers were among those killed in a suicide attack in northern Afghanistan earlier this week — the country’s deadliest since the fall of the Taliban — the government said Friday.

The 59 schoolchildren had lined up to greet a group of lawmakers visiting a sugar factory in the northern province of Baghlan on Tuesday when a suicide bomber detonated explosives.

The children ranged in age from 8 to 18.

In all, the explosion claimed the lives at least 75 people, including several parliamentarians, and wounded 96. It was the deadliest attack in the country since the toppling of Taliban regime from power in the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.

Michelle Malkin's is the first site I've been to that has mentioned this atrocity- when it deserves to be front page news all over the world.

I guess that might remind some people of the disgusting animals that we're fighting this war against though.

Bring a Gun

While it would certainly seem that having a stun gun is better than not being "armed" at all, there really is no substitute to having a gun to defend oneself with.

A man tried to use a stun gun to fend off a carjacker and ended up being shot five times.

Luckily the goblin didn't fatally wound him and he's expected to recover from the gunshot wounds.

The man was driving a minivan in southeast Atlanta when he was confronted by a carjacker at an intersection. The carjacker jumped in, told the man to drive and demanded money, police said.

While trying to reach for his money, the man also pulled out his stun gun and shocked the carjacker.

But the carjacker reacted by shooting the man at least five times, Keyes said. The van, which was still moving, crashed into a tree and the carjacker ran away.

Seems to me that a .45 would have been more effective in stopping the carjacker in his tracks. And get this "advice" from local PD Sgt. Lisa Keyes-

"Make the situation safe for you," she said. "You know you have to get away from that person. Just try to give the car up."

Yep, the police's best advice when confronted with an armed attacker is to surrender and hope that a car is all that they want. Not a lot of help if the carjacker in question wants to commit further crimes against their victim or to kill them.

Zombie Cleaver

Two of my favourite subjects- zombies and knives- come together in a glorious work of art by Todd Begg- the Zombie Cleaver. Made from A2 steel, the blade is six and a half inches long and four and a half inches high. There are more images over at the excellent EDC Knives website (temporarily down).

Picture of the Day

The Hambrusch Saurian .700 Nitro Express.

Gosh, but this is one beautiful gun. Just the thing for a trip to Pellucidar! Make sure to check out the link too- to see the rest of the frankly awesome engraving on this brute.

Christian-phobia

Islamic intolerance-

An Indonesian court has sentenced 41 Christian leaders to five years imprisonment on charges of blasphemy because they openly prayed that Muslims "come to know Christ," local Christians and a well-informed human rights group told BosNewsLife Thursday, November 1.

Can you imagine the uproar if Muslims were prosecuted and imprisoned for trying to spread their faith in a non-Muslim country?

Pro-gun Brady Campaign?

The Brady Campaign has evidently seen the light and have become a pro-2nd Amendment organisation- not only are they encouraging and recognising firearms use for self-defence against criminals, but with weapons that not so long ago they were trying to have banned. In an article about cops packing AR-15s, the Bradys come out in support of the right to bear arms as a valid defence against armed criminals.

Across the country, at least 62 police officers have been gunned down this year -- a record pace, said Robert Tessaro, the associate director for law enforcement relations for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

As a result, the Brady organization supports police officers arming themselves with high-powered weapons "to protect themselves and their communities," he said.

"We're having more than one officer shot and killed a week. It's just outrageous that officers are being targeted," he said. "It's something I think all Americans should be outraged about."

He doesn't seem to be too outraged about law-abiding citizens being murdered in much higher numbers by criminals mind you- shouldn't Americans be outraged that they are in many instances being denied their Constitutional right to keep and bear arms and are therefore being made defenceless against criminals?

Obviously if it's okay for cops to use carbines for defence against armed criminals, the Bradys can make no objection to law-abiding citizens from taking exactly the same steps to defend their lives and those of their families. I mean, to suggest otherwise is to state that police lives are more important than those of civilians- an untenable position.

Furthermore, by recognising that firearms are essential for police to use to defend themselves against armed criminals they are, whether they like it or not, also stating that the only defence against an armed criminal is to be armed oneself. They decry the number of police officers killed- a paltry 62 compared to a much higher number of innocent civilians killed by criminals (to compare- in 2005 there were a little under 17,000 homicides overall)- and so logically they must see that their campaign to disarm the law-abiding merely removes their only effective means of defence against vicious thugs. If the Brady Campaign feels the need to speak out and support officers arming themselves after only 62 deaths, there there is no way they can logically refuse to speak out for the average citizen to arm themselves when there are nearly 17,000 murders a year.

Or does logic not even enter into their thinking?

If the Bradys are advocating that the police- who respond to the commission of crimes- need to be armed with rifles to protect themselves against criminals, they how on Earth can they not see too that civilians, the victims preyed upon by criminals in the first instance, should also be armed? Are they saying that it's okay for innocent men, women and children to be made defenceless against assault, rape or murder but it's not okay for the police responding to the crimes being committed (with their body armour, partners, radio communications, SWAT back-up, side-arms, shotguns and now carbines) to be left without sufficient means to defend themselves?

Consider too that while 62 police officers have regrettably lost their lives, civilians are also victims of other violent crimes- care to compare the stats for police officers raped to the number of civilian women for example? Do the Bradys really want to see women made defenceless against rapists but the officers called after the crime has taken place to be carrying "high powered weapons"- will those rifles or carbines serve to protect a woman assaulted like that after the fact? The answer, of course, is a resounding "no". And to suggest that only police officers have the right to carry appropriate weapons to defend themselves with, while at the same time trying to deny that facility to civilians, the targets of those criminals in the first place, is utterly and completely preposterous. I'd even go so far as to say that it's evil- because by doing so, the Brady Campaign is deliberately and with full knowledge of the consequences of their actions not only trying to subvert the US Constitution but also to deny human beings the right to protect themselves and their families from predators.

The monsters aren't just those who beat, rape and murder but those who aid them by providing a pool of defenceless victims to prey upon.

Waterboarding Themselves

If waterboarding is so terrible that the US government shouldn't even be allowed to use it on terrorists trying to murder US citizens, surely it should also be illegal for the average anti-war protester to do it to his or her buddies?

Lefty whackjobs waterboard themselves

And-

The humanity of it all! Code Pink waterboards people on both coasts.

Just why does Code Pink think that waterboarding their own kind, you know, torturing them in public, is okay? Are they really so depraved that they think torture is a valid form of protest?

Or does it just go to show that it's a fairly unpleasant interrogation technique that can't possibly be considered real torture because these guys are willing to do it to themselves as a publicity stunt?

Looking The Other Way

The British government has found a solution to terrorism in Northern Ireland- capitulation and a continuing refusal to recognise its presence here.

The four-member commission confirmed the UDA was involved in clashes with a rival faction in Carrickfergus in July and said it had to bear responsibility for the wounding of a police officer in a gun attack.

UDA members, it also said, took part in serious rioting which erupted in August in the loyalist Kilcooley estate in Bangor following police raids.

The organisation was blamed for other attacks including the petrol bombing in Ballymena of premises occupied by two Polish nationals.

Despite efforts by the leadership to discourage involvement in crime, members also engaged between 1 March and 31 August in drug dealing, loan sharking and the sale of counterfeit goods.

And their ultimate conclusion based on this evidence?

The leadership of the loyalist Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is struggling to end violence and criminality in its ranks, a report by the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) said today.

And the IRA?

And while the IMC's report did not address claims that a Provisional IRA gang beat to death south Armagh man Paul Quinn last month, they insisted the organisation was still firmly committed to a peaceful path.

Beating a man to death is now classified as being committed to peace. How reassuring.

And the UVF?

The IMC said the other main loyalist group, the UVF had reached a turning point with its announcement in May that it had put its weapons beyond reach and was embarking on a strategy to civilianise itself.

In other words, they've cached their weapons for another day- and they thus retain a powerful bargaining chip with a government terrified of a return to violence.

Their report said broadly speaking that work was under way. UVF leaders had briefed grassroots members and had started to downsize the organisation, expelling some people on disciplinary grounds and allowing others to leave.

In short, terrorism continues apace here in Northern Ireland but, as per usual, the official line is to ignore it.

British Policing

I've already mentioned David Codrea's Rights Watch column here but it's now up to view online- and I get a mention! The tale told there coincides with yet another story of modern day British policing. One would almost think that they are trying to alienate the average law-abiding citizen.

A DAD grabbed a drunken teenager he thought was trying to break into his home, handed him to police – and was arrested.

Yes indeed, not only do police leave an elderly woman alone to be attacked but they will also prosecute you for defending your own family and property- not to mention doing their job for them.

The head chef, who has children aged five and 15, heard a noise at the window of his townhouse at around 10.30pm. He opened the curtains and spotted the yob teetering on the window ledge.

While his wife called police in Gravesend, Kent, Mark [Goldberg] grappled with the teenager... He managed to flee but Mark chased him and marched him back to waiting cops.

Rather than be greeting by a courteous "thank you" and a firm handshake however, Mr. Goldberg was himself arrested for assault.

He said: “The police said the guy had a fat lip. We did tussle and fall to the ground but I didn’t hit him. He’s just making up stories and they believe him, not me. They threw me in a cell for 15 hours.”

As The Sun notes, "He is the latest in a string of householders to be arrested trying to protect their homes and property." Another marker in the sad decline of once-Great Britain.

Saving Lives

Surprisingly, this doesn't seem to be getting the MSM attention it so justly deserves.

Close to 90,000 children who would have died before age 5 in Afghanistan during Taliban rule will stay alive this year because of advances in medical care in the country, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Sunday.

That medical care was provided to those children solely because of the US overthrow of the Taliban. The phrase "God bless America" springs to mind. Captain's Quarters has this to add-

Their mortality rate remains far too high. Afghan children at 5 or younger die at a rate of 191 per 1000, meaning that almost 20% of all such children will not live to see age 6. More work needs to be done, but thanks to the US military and the Bush administration, that work can be done. America can take pride in the hundreds of thousands of children who now live, thanks to our efforts to bring some measure of freedom to Afghanistan.

In a sane society, the American media would be tripping over themselves to tell the world about this incredible accomplishment- and to highlight the role that the American armed forces played in saving all of those lives. If you'd like to show your appreciation for the tremendous work that these brave men and women do- work that benefits people all over the world- then why not head on over to Project Valor and donate. It's a darned good cause.

Codrea's Column

It's hard enough finding time to read other blogs at the moment let alone looking over my own page. Today I was looking for a past post and realised that another one I'd written hadn't been published. Quite possibly the result of Firefox crashing on my antiquated and temperamental PC- "restore session" doesn't always work. Anyway, here it is now-

Back in March of this year War on Guns and myself followed the story of an old woman in her home who was being threatened by a hammer attack. She called the police but they didn't show up for 24 hours- apparently they had more pressing cases to deal with at the time, cases of such importance that they didn't even rate mention in the press. The story itself was ignored by the British media by and large, with not a single journalist showing any interest in why a defenceless member of the public was left alone by the authorities in the face of what could have developed into a lethal attack. Well, David Codrea has written about the case in his latest column for Guns magazine:

So much for disarmed subjects of the crown relying on the police for protection. But what could be more important than an octogenarian under potentially lethal and immediate attack? Police departments, after all, have limited resources. Perhaps there was a critical emergency endangering more lives and a tough decision had to be made? A riot? A terrorist act? A fire?

Well, no, actually.

Go out and buy an issue now!

Reconciliation

What a surprise- "moderate" Abbas, sponsored by millions of dollars, military training and weaponry by the Bush administration, is once again buddying up to Hamas.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has met Hamas officials for the first time since the militant group's takeover of the Gaza Strip in June.

So much for all that effort made by the US to bolster Fatah so that they would be able to counteract Hamas- all that money (American tax-payers' money don't forget) has been thrown away as Abbas demonstrates that he has no intention whatsoever of doing anything other than bringing Hamas back into the fold.

The meeting, at the presidential compound in Ramallah, included former Hamas Deputy PM Nasserdine al-Shaer.

"This will contribute to strengthening our relationship, and lay the basis for national unity," said one of the participants, Hamas' Hussein Abu Quaik.

Any guesses how long it it will take for US arms and cash to make its way directly into the hands of terrorists Hamas? And will anyone be held accountable for the US funding and arming a organisation that they themselves declare terrorists?

Police Priorities

Policing in Britain has gone beyond the farcical.

THREE young children got a Halloween scare to remember after potty police tried to shut down their pumpkin stall because they did not have a TRADERS LICENCE.

Yep, a couple of kids trying to raise some cash for their Halloween costumes got a visit from "Community Support Officers" who threatened to fine them. And here's the real kick in the teeth-

Justin (the boys' father) was furious police took such a heavy handed approach especially as it took them 10 DAYS to respond when he called after his house was recently burgled.

He added: "This was a great use of police resources, instead of catching robbers they are trying to stop school children sell pumpkins."

Sure sounds like the usual set of priorities these days.

Hot Water

The Only Ones display their impeccable respect for the law yet again.

Two Staten Island cops are in hot water for trying to scare a 14-year-old boy they caught tossing eggs on Halloween by stripping off his clothes and dumping him in a desolate area, a police source and family members said.

The cops drove the teen to a swampy area of the 122nd Precinct, dropped him off wearing only boxer shorts and socks and left, the source said.

I'm sure that two cops driving a boy out to a desolate area and taking his clothes off would scare the kid- but, correct me if I'm wrong, isn't their job to enforce the law not terrorise youngsters? And they're in "hot water" for stripping a minor nearly naked and leaving him in a remote area without a thought for the kid's safety? What if some child predator had seen a nearly naked boy walking alone at night and had attacked him? Surely some sort of child endangerment laws have been broken here? The boy's father adds another detail to the story not mentioned elsewhere in the article-

"Rayshawn was taken to a secluded, remote area, stripped of his clothes, beaten by the officers and left for dead," said his father, James Hezel.

Funny that particular detail isn't mentioned by the journalist- only the stripping and dumping. Was the boy actually hit? If so, why doesn't the press mention that too? In any event, the police are facing the usual serious consequences for breaches of conduct by those who are supposed to "protect and serve".

Elliassen and Danese were put on modified duty. Their guns were taken away, and they were both working behind desks, the source said.

"The officers were placed on modified assignment based on a complaint made and the matter is under investigation," an NYPD spokesman said.

What on earth possessed two adult men to strip a teenage boy to his underwear? And think for a moment about what charges two men not working in law enforcement would be facing if they had taken a teenage boy to a secluded spot and stripped his clothes off him to teach him a lesson.

UN Inaction

The UN- is there anything they can't do?

Israel has informed the United Nations the arsenal of Hezbollah guerrillas' land-to-sea missiles in Lebanon has tripled, Haaretz reported Wednesday.

And, best of all, the UN- weren't they supposed to be keeping the peace in the area?- doesn't seem to be concerned with terrorists rearming under their very noses.

Ban's report for the Security Council said Israel had provided "a great deal" of information claiming Hezbollah militants had rehabilitated its military strength north of the Litani River, where "most of the new missiles include (Iranian-made) Zelzal and Fajr missiles that have a range of more than 150 miles and are capable of hitting areas south of Tel Aviv."

Nope, all they're worried about is Israel failing to provide it with details of munitions expended during last year's war.

However, Ban was critical of Israel for failing to provide complete information on the location of cluster bombs fired during the war and Israel's continued use of military flights into Lebanese airspace, Haaretz said.

Not a word to say about Hezbollah or the complete failure of the UN troops in the region to actually do anything.