Worst Case Scenario

Just discovered the website for this upcoming movie- a European zombie flick. The film-makers are currently trying to raise money, awareness, etc and have a mailing list. Signing on to it also offers the possibility of being selected to play a zombie extra- they say they're looking for a cast of thousands.

The promo is incredibly impressive, you have to see it. Based just on this I'll be keeping a close eye on the development of Worst Case Scenario.

BTW, the equally impressive first promo is here. Watch them both.

28 Weeks Later

I was quite looking forward to seeing the sequel to 28 Days Later (despite that film's preposterous concept of the military), 28 Weeks Later. Then came the news that Danny Boyle wasn't going to direct and that Rowan Joffe was going to write- a man with absolutely zero horror genre experience. Now, horror site Bloody Disgusting is reporting that 28 Weeks Later is to be made by Fox's new teen division Atomic.

Expectations for this film need to be lowered even further.

Tattoos in the Army

I can't find myself agreeing with this policy- the US Army is to relax its rules on tattoos and permit new recruits to have them on their hands and the backs of their necks.

Perhaps if it was combined with a policy of having the tattoos removed during service I might change my mind.

And I speak as someone with a tattoo- one that was covered up when I was in uniform.

Offensive To Islam

As Charles at LGF says, perhaps it would be easier if a list of things not found offensive was published.

Albanian "liberal" Muslims are offended by the suggestion of a statue to Mother Theresa.

Muslims are offended by the word "Muslim". No really, I'm not making this one up!

Muslims are offended by the Koran being placed anywhere but the topshelf of a book store.

More Clarity

A surprisingly un-PC editorial from the Investor's Business Daily-

What better time for CAIR and other Muslim leaders to step up, cut through the politically correct fog and provide factual answers to the questions that give so many non-Muslims pause?

Generally speaking, those questions focus on whether the Quran does indeed promote violence against non-Muslims, and how many of the terrorists' ideas — about the violent jihad, the self-immolation, the kidnappings, even the beheadings — come right out of the text? But even more specifically:

Is Islam the only religion with a doctrine, theology and legal system that mandates warfare against unbelievers?

And then there's this-

Does Islam advocate expansion by force? And is the final command of jihad, as revealed to Muhammad in the Quran, to conquer the world in the name of Islam (9:29)?

Is Islam the only religion that does not teach the Golden Rule (48:29)? Does the Quran instead teach violence and hatred against non-Muslims, specifically Jews and Christians (5:50)?

There are other questions, but these should do for a start. If the answers are "yes," then at least Americans will know there's no such thing as moderate Islam, even as they trust that there are moderate Muslims who do not act out on its violent commands.

Time and the Jihadis

Seems like the CIA or SIS don't need to worry about infiltrating terrorist cells anymore, they need need to line up some people to join the press.

Michael Ware, bureau chief of Time magazine-

HH: So Michael Ware, what do you think...and you've spent time with insurgents, too. That's very controversial reporting that I've read. Explain to the audience how you connected up with them, and how much time you spent with them in Iraq.

MW: Well, in the course of the past three years, I've had ongoing contact with different elements of the insurgency. It all began immediately after the fall of Saddam's regime in the early months of the occupation. I was doing a story which was looking at the invasion. I was trying to find out from the Iraqi commanders themselves what had happened on their side, what was the chaos like, what was it like as a dictatorship deteriorated, and dissolved before their eyes in the midst of this American attack. Now at that time, I met these men. They were Republican Guard commanders, members of the secret police, the intelligence service, the secret service, all manner of agencies, asking them what had happened to them during the war. Then as time went by, these men started to feel more and more disenchanted, more and more dishonored. And one by one, they started picking up arms, and in a very ad hoc fashion, started attacking passing American vehicles and so on. Then over time, they started to evolve. And I got to watch that with my own eyes, as they did take shape as the insurgency we've ultimately come to see today.

HH: Have you spent time with the jihadis?

MW: I have. I have. It's certainly not something that's simple to do at any time, particularly now. However, in the past, though, I have actually been with Zarqawi's organization on different occasions. I once was taken to a Zarqawi training camp, although I was not told that that's where I was going, or for quite a while, that that's where I was. I've been to some of their safe houses. I've received some of their propaganda materials.

Michael Ware then goes on to say this-

HH: But I do think that that distinction between Islamists and insurgents has been well understood, and for a very long time. And I'd look for you to tell me when were you misled about that. But more importantly, going to the Islamists, about whom...you'll agree with me, they're evil. Won't you, Michael?

MW: Well, I certainly...I mean, one has to be careful that as the Islamic army of Iraq reminded just last week on Al Jazeera, the insurgent groups study very closely everything that we hear, say and write. And given that we're within their grasp, one always must be diplomatic. Suffice to say, it's very hard to relate to the goals or tactics that the hard-line Islamists employ.

It's worth reading the entire interview.

Training Log

I had an awful workout on Monday- felt totally listless, struggled to reach reps that I'd normally achieve with little effort, just not pleasant at all. I'm putting it down to a few poor nights sleep in a row. I hadn't realised it had taken quite so much out of me.

Today I decided to ease back a little and so I stuck to doing the basic and essential kettlebell swing. Not wanting to overwork myself I just did a 100 repetitions, taking as little time between sets to rest, and only ending a set when I felt that my form was beginning to slip. It didn't take long but it broke out a sweat and left me breathless. An hour later I felt like I hadn' t trained at all- my muscles got it easy but my heart and lungs had to put in the effort.

Tomorrow I'll go back to doing swings, snatches, clean and jerks and a set or two of squats. I'm not able to do long reps with the 2-pood (32kg) KB yet but that's easily overcome; with lots and lots of short sets.

My initial aim when I began training was to strengthen my injured back and also to lose some of the weight that I've put on since that injury worsened a few years back.

Kettlebells are renowned for their ability to fix "glass backs"- mine isn't fixed exactly (and probably never will be because of the arthritis) but it is more stable than it was. One of the advatages of the girya is that your back is supposed to be straight virtually all the time- I don't have to bend it or twist it. My joints still tend to stick, there are lumps of knotted muscle here and there and I get quite nasty spasms now and then (over the weekend I couldn't turn my head to the right) but my back does feel a little more sturdy than it was. The slightest thing can set me off (getting up from a chair, staying too long in one position, etc) but I feel like my back is better able to absorb some of the shocks it's exposed to. And I am certainly fitter than I have been in a long time; if nothing else, that's a big relief. My main worry now is that I'll lose some of the gains I've made recently next time my back decides it wants to go through a bad patch and they can last anywhere from a week to a couple of months.

As for my weight loss- it isn't happening. My wife tells me I'm definitely getting slimmer (and I feel thinner) but my weight is remaining pretty much constant, within a few pounds of 14 stone- I'm hoping that means more muscle and less fat and not just that she's telling me what I want to hear!

Getting The Message Out

Frau Budgie of the superb Red Hot Cuppa Politics has another post up on the effort by bloggers to trnaslate documents seized from Saddam Hussein's administration- documents that show that there were in fact links between Al Qaeda and Iraq before the war.

You'd think that with elections on the way Republican politicians would be shouting this from the rooftops, adding yet more justification to the war in Iraq. Hard for Democrats to hold their position that the war in Iraq was a distraction from the fight against terrorism in light of this new evidence.

You'd almost think they didn't want to get re-elected again and keep their majority. Instead it's the bloggers, yet again, who are doing the work, seeking out the truth.

Thank heavens for the internet.

NY Gun Carry

An anti-gun campaigner in New York has a concealed carry permit.

Anyone surprised by the double standard and hypocrisy?

Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro are also licenced to carry. A quick search for news on De Niro shows one result of interest-

De Niro In Gun Shocker
14 December 2000 (WENN)
Hollywood star Robert De Niro is determined not to bow to public pressure - he intends to hang onto his handgun. The actor who famously brandished a gun in Taxi Driver (1976), will not be joining the league of celebrities like Yoko Ono who support restrictive gun control measures in the U.S., but rather seems to be more in line with Charlton Heston, president of the National Rifle Association. Police records show the De Niro recently renewed his handgun license - though his spokesman refuses to explain why the star could possibly need a firearm.

Fantastic unbiased reporting isn't it?

Straight Talking

A rather startling piece of clarity in the Daily Telegraph-

What this means is that there can be no equality, or even safety, for other religions, let alone for atheists, in a sharia-based Muslim society. The best that can be hoped for is the second-class, protected status for Christians and Jews, rather like the rights of black tribes under apartheid in South Africa, which is called "dhimmi". Dhimmis have inferior rights, and have to pay a special tax. What is out of the question is conversion.

Worth reading it all.

Condi and Hamid

Not often that there's a post which makes you laugh on Jihad Watch, but this is one them, a great take-off of Dr. Strangelove-

"Now then, Hamid, you know how we've always talked about the possibility of something going wrong with that Sharia of yours... The Sharia, Hamid...... The Islamic Sharia... Well now, what happened is... ah... well, you know, our people, Hamid, they're just a little funny on the subject..just a little funny in the head, and they don't always understand...just a little funny in the head... you know... just a little... funny. And, ah.. they've gone and done a silly thing... Well, I'll tell you what they've done, Hamid. They want us to stop supporting your government....Yes, Hamid, your government. They don't like you....No, Hamid, I don't think it is fair. I know you're trying....You don't like them, either, Hamid? I understand. I completely understand.... "Well, it's like this, Hamid. Some of think that if that convert is killed...they don't see why we should keep support you. Ah...yes, I know it's none of their business. Yes...but they think it is, Hamid.... They think that everyone should have the freedom to....Well, let me finish, Hamid... Let me finish, Hamid... Well listen, how do you think I feel about it?... Can you imagine how I feel about it, Hamid?... Why do you think I'm calling you? Just to say hello?... Of course I like to speak to you!... Of course I like to say hello!... Not now, but anytime, Hamid. I'm just calling up to tell you something terrible is happening... It's a friendly call. Of course it's a friendly call... Listen, if it wasn't friendly... you probably wouldn't have even got it..."

Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats

This is a simply fantastic song. You can buy his album, Veneer, here.

Classic FM

I've added Classic FM to my links. There's an option to listen to the station with Windows Media Player.

Jane Jones' Lunchtime Requests is a particular favourite of mine. There's a good selection of music offered.

Rahman Free?

The case against Christian convert Abdul Rahman has been dropped- not because of any tolerance for converts from Islam, but because of "lack of evidence".

It's not quite over yet though- the case has apparently been turned back over to the prosecution for further investigation.

Word is that Rahman may be released tomorrow- though it's not clear if he will stay in Afghanistan.

Seems to me that this will give Karzai an "out"- the case is temporarily dismissed for lack of evidence (despite Rahman's own assertion that he is a Christian) and he then leaves the country while the case goes back to the prosecution.

So as it stands, a convert from Islam in Afghanistan still faces the death penalty- unless international pressure is large enough to force the government to intervene.

March For Free Expression

The March for Free Expression took place in London this weekend. Infidel Bloggers Alliance has a good round up. The march emerged as a reaction to the Mohammed cartoons. Many of those wishing to take part were therefore upset when the organiser stated that he didn't want the cartoons to be on display-

It became plain to me from talking with a couple of British Muslim journalists over the past few days that even the most secular, cosmopolitan British Muslim seems incapable, at the moment, of accepting that a display of the cartoons might not be a racist attack on them. That being the case, it had become clear that Muslims who agree with this campaign would have felt unable to attend the rally. That's why I have asked people not to display the cartoons and it is the only reason why.

To those who are annoyed, I ask what part of this did you not understand: This will be a march in favour of free expression, not a march against Muslims

What race are Muslims again?

This all sounds very reasonable but it kind of defeats the point of the march- Muslims were, afterall, arguing that free speech was all well and good but not when it "defamed" Islam or Mohammed. By stating that Muslims agree with the rally in theory but were unable to support the cartoons in practice they join against free speech. The cartoons, as he is well aware, were not an attack on Muslims but a statement about censorship in the face of fear from Islamic retaliation.

It seems utterly bizarre that a march could be organised for free expression, and then the organiser would then come out against free expression for fear of upsetting some Muslims.

Isn't that how all this got started in the first place?

It's also worth noting that one man had a placard of the cartoons and the police swooped in on him (he was not arrested). Strange how the cops were so eager to move against him but they did absolutely nothing about the placards calling for murder at a Muslim rally outside the Danish Embassy.

Blair's Alternative Reality

Tony Blair was lauded by some for his "This is not a clash between civilisations. It is a clash about civilisation" speech. He did have some very good points to make, but then he went on to say this-

The roots of global terrorism and extremism are indeed deep. They reach right down through decades of alienation, victimhood and political oppression in the Arab and Muslim world. Yet this is not and never has been inevitable.

Nothing to do with the expansionist, dominating doctrine of jihad then? Or the fact that all of that political oppression comes right from the Arab world itself?

The most remarkable thing about reading the Koran - in so far as it can be truly translated from the original Arabic - is to understand how progressive it is. I speak with great diffidence and humility as a member of another faith. I am not qualified to make any judgements.

The Koran is progressive? What version is Tony reading? What exactly is progressive about it? It's calls for the subjugation of the infidel? And look how he claims that he's incapable of judging the Koran- why not? Can he not think rationally? Is the Koran somehow separate from all other books in that it cannot be analysed and criticised by non-believers?

But as an outsider, the Koran strikes me as a reforming book, trying to return Judaism and Christianity to their origins, rather as reformers attempted with the Christian Church centuries later. It is inclusive. It extols science and knowledge and abhors superstition. It is practical and way ahead of its time in attitudes to marriage, women and governance.

The Koran is inclusive? Is that why it speaks at length about making war on the infidel? That's why it says not to take Jews and Christians as friends, that infidels are unclean? It abhors superstition- that's why it's considered the exact word of god as delivered by an angel? Remember that- because the Koran also says that there are eleven planets in the Solar System and that the sun (14.4), that the sun rises and sets in a muddy spring (18.86) and that the Earth does not move (27.61). It's ahead of it's time towards women- in considering them as worth half of a man and in considering them to be unclean? In not trusting their word against that of a man? In writing that a man can have sex with his wife whenever he pleases? And how exactly is complete submission to the will of Allah returning Judaism and Christianity, which speak volumes about God's love and forgiveness, to their origins? Islam is patently nothing like either religion in any way. And as for governance- it's ahead of its time in stating that the only way to govern is in accordance with God's word? That's ahead of its time is it Tony? Sharia is a practical system of governance? Does Blair even realise what he's saying here? Shouldn't he be praising the Taliban in this case, admiring what they did in Afghanistan?

Under its guidance, the spread of Islam and its dominance over previously Christian or pagan lands was breathtaking. Over centuries it founded an Empire, leading the world in discovery, art and culture. The standard bearers of tolerance in the early Middle Ages were far more likely to be found in Muslim lands than in Christian.

I've already tackled the myth of Islamic invention- and is the Islamic invasion of Christian lands, and subsequent relegation of Christians and Jews to second-class citizens, really something that he should be praising? Really, Tony, Muslims were more tolerant during the Middle Ages than Christians? Are you sure about that?

All this really does is cement Blair's position as a dhimmi, despite everything else he has to say. And his pandering to Muslims trumps all else he said in that speech.

Girevik

Hulk by Tim Sale.

I've been doing a lot of kettlebell training recently and while I might not look remotely like the Hulk, I certainly feel it. That odd stance pretty much sums how how I am at the end of a workout- the muscles of my shoulders and upper back feel incredibly pumped. In my last session I added only a few more repetitions to my sets of swings- and it literally left my panting on my knees. It's hard work.

Since the start of the year I have been very gradually working up the amount I can lift with my 32kg kettlebell, or girya. I started off with the easiest exercise- the two-handed swing. When I'd adapted to that I was soon able to add a snatch. At the start doing a single snatch was all that I could manage. After only a few weeks though I'm up to doing several sets of five.

I also began doing cleans (lifting the girya to shoulder level with one hand). I found these quite hard to begin with (and superb for developing my biceps) but soon got the hang of it- in the past week I've been able to clean and jerk for the first time. Progress here has been quick- from doing a single jerk at the start of the week, I'm now doing sets of five.

My next target is to shoulder press the girya. I think this will be the hardest of the lot as it's not a ballistic movement, but it's something I feel comfortable enough to attempt at my next workout.

When I'm able to do that I'll feel a whole lot better about calling myself a girevik, a kettlebell man.

Execution?

Abdul Rahman is possibly facing the death sentence in Afghanistan, his only "crime" converting from Islam to Christianity. While the government seems likely to release him under pressure from the worldwide community, the people and clerics of Afghanistan are less forgiving. As they have repeated time and again the alleged prophet Mohammed stated that "when somebody changes religion, he must be killed".

This is of course a stipulation of Sharia law and the problem facing the West now is that this position- that a convert from Islam must be killed- is not a rare belief; it is part of mainstream thought in Afghanistan and beyond.

Now that there's a possibility that Rahman may be freed there is already talk of a jihad.

Following on so close after the Mohammed cartoons, the world has now had a good long look at the intolerance of Islam- freedom of speech and freedom of religion are two cornerstones of Western society. Both are denied in the Islamic world.

Unlike cartoon rage however, it seems impossible for the media to spin this story in such a way that the anti-freedom Muslims are shown in a good light. All of the newspapers and TV reports on the cartoons I saw in Britain tried their level best to portray them as some sort of right-wing, "racist" attack on Islam- a deliberate attempt to inflame Muslims around the world.

How are they going to spin the tale of a convert to Christianity facing execution?

Broadband in Space

Broadband only came to my village recently- now it seems that Mars might be getting a fast connection soon too.

US researchers have nearly trebled the efficiency of a miniscule detector capable of capturing single photons of light – the technology could one day be used to receive information through a laser stream of data sent from Mars to Earth. The finding could lead to speedier, reliable relays of huge amounts of data across interplanetary distances, setting up a form of broadband communication in space.

God of Might

Paleontologists have discovered a new species of sauropod which they have named Erketu ellisoni (Erketu being a "god of might"). The unusual thing about this titanosaur, found in Mongolia, is that its neck is incredibly long in proportion to its body- some 24 feet long.

To adjust for this increased length the vertebrae (one of which measured nearly two feet in length) were honeycombed with air-sacs, enabling it to hold its neck parallel to the ground.

Erketu lived around 100 million years ago.