Armies of Liberation

Go thank Hook.

Thank the American Soldier

How is it poor Afghans are today richer than many of their neighbors? How is it that today Afghanistan is suddenly one of the most progressive Middle Eastern countries? They voted for president-and they don’t even have cell phones. Farmers, Taliban and shop owners voted for the first time in 5000 years. Women voted, with a whole right, equal to men. American soldiers offered democracy and it was grasped from their hands with hunger. The Afghan baby born today has democracy as a birthright.

Ten million will grant the legitimacy to rule to the leader of their choice. A whole generation previously disempowered has grasped the reins of national power and will steer their future. Women previously locked in their homes by the Taliban regime stood in line for hours in bourqas, some stood in snow, to exercise their power. Hamid Karzai’s opponents may dispute the quality of the ink, but no one can dispute the millions who have claimed their right of self determination.

At a news conference, Karzai said: ”Both myself and all these 15 candidates should respect our people – because in the dust and snow and rain, they waited for hours and hours to vote.” In reality, they have been waiting for decades and deserve the whole world’s respect. (Read on …)

its Goo*** :

“Google has decided that in order to create the best possible search experience for our mainland China users we will not include sites whose content is not accessible,” company spokeswoman Debbie Frost said Friday.

Former UK Minister Clair Short declares to the Gulf News.

Answering questions focused around Prime minister Tony Blair, Iraq and the future of the Middle East, Short’s responses were often long and in-depth. They included this remark, which has not been published before: “I have just been reading this book by this senior American intelligence analyst, called Imperial Hubris. Everyone should read it because it’s the most sympathetic account of what Osama Bin Laden is doing that I have ever read.

“(The author) says that Osama Bin Laden considers it a war, a defensive jihad, because the people in the Middle East are being crushed and destroyed and their resources their oil misused and that they have got to defend their civilisation and their religion. So I think the killing of civilians is always wrong, all the Prophet Mohammad’s (PBUH) teachings said it was wrong, but I think the cause is just.”

This comment was later followed by another which clearly backs up our initial report that accurately quotes Short comparing militants to the French Resistance movement that fought Nazi occupation during the Second World War.

From the Oct 9th edition.

hahahahaha

Update: from my eight year old’s debate notes: Kerry should not be president because he has NO care for are country. He wants to rase taxis. He believed about wepins of mass dostroshin but now he doubts. He is a mud slinger. Bush only cares about being good and not being cool. Kerry will do aneything to get what he wants. Vote for Bush not Kerry.

Momma’s girl alright.
The talented little miss got a trackback from the very talented LaShawn. She thinks that’s COOOOOL!

UPdate: Is the country divided? AOL Poll
Who won the debate?
George Bush 50%
John Kerry 50%
Total Votes: 948,398

To all those troops who fought so valiantly and continue the work in Afghanistan, the course of human history has shifted, and we thank you.

A generation previously disempowered has grasped the reins of national power and voted for the first time. Women previously locked in their homes in ignorance and fear stood in line for hours in the snow to wield their power. Hamid Kharzai’s opposition may dispute the quality of the ink, but no one can dispute the millions who have claimed their right of self determination.

In a region where there is no transition of executive power, the powerful example of the Afghanis is a new paradigm of citizenry. The monarchies, the theocracies, those presidents who run “unopposed” and those who last won an election decades ago have all been weakened by millions of poverty stricken, illiterate people who lined up in defiance of the death threats by the Taliban to vote with ballots that were delivered by mule.

This, President Bush says, is how terrorism will be undermined: with hope, with power, with freedom. America is safer today.

(Crossposted at Deans World.)

UPdate: The idiotic UN didn’t provide enough ink.

UPdate: Revenge

Thought and prayers with the Bigley family.

for details and updates see The Jawa Report.

A disk was found in Baghdad with information on US schools.
ABC News is reporting the source of the disk is an Iraqi insuregent:

A man described as an Iraqi insurgent involved in anti-coalition activities had downloaded school floor plans and safety and security information about elementary and high schools in the six states, according to officials.

School officials in Fort Myers, Fla.; Salem, Ore.; Gray, Ga.; Birch Run, Mich.; two towns in New Jersey; and two towns in California have been told to increase security in light of the discovery.

Law enforcement officials say information on both elementary schools and high schools was included on the insurgent’s disc, and that some of the schools involved were under construction this summer.

The NYTimes is reporting today that computer disks were found in Iraq with the layout of numerous US schools, diagrams, and emergency evacuation information. “It had photos of schools in about a half-dozen states, including New Jersey, Florida and California.”

Tim has a link to CNN which says that the disk was found with a civil planner working on building schools in Iraq.

I think the most important link is this one also from Tim (check number 5): When asked about whether safety precautions should call for moving polls out of schools, Christine Cole of the Office of Public Safety said Public Safety Secretary Edward A. Flynn is working with the National Guard and Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office to protect the polls… Ellen Elleman is the founder of the volunteer VISION Committee which moved the voting out of the schools last year in Gahanna, Ohio. “We can’t go to Disney World or a Braves game without having your backpack or your purse checked, but for some reason people want to hang on to (the idea that) schools should be open for everybody.” she said.

Update: Why am I not surprised? It seems that everybody mentioned the origin of the disks but Dan Rather: “CBS’s Dan Rather picked up the same story about a warning issued to schools, but held it to a brief item in which he managed to not mention how floor plans were found with the enemy in Iraq.”

Update: No terror ties according to Yahoo. My head is spinning.

The Nobel Peace Prize this year has been awarded to Kenyan Deputy Environment Minister Wangari Muta Maathai. “She was cited for her work as leader of the Green Belt Movement that has planted more than 30 million trees across Africa.” Trees are very peaceful things.
They also stablize the soil and prevent erosion.

Ms. Maathai also campaigned for broader women’s rights but the award, normally awarded to those working to end armed conflict, reflects that
“Peace on earth depends on our ability to secure our living environment,” said Ole Danbolt Mjoes, the head of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. Now the 14 million orphans in Africa can sit under the 30 million trees and dream of their parents.

Cross posted at Dean’s World

is the title of my column at the Garden State’s own JerseyGOP.com.

Update: Well, that’s awfully nice: my article Joy to the World, Kofi has Spoken was published by the Yemen Times.

“Does that mean allies are going to trade their young for our young in body bags? I know they are not. I know that,” he said.

How dare he describe our military as “our young in body bags”? It would have been possible to say “our people on the line,” or “our fine fighting men and women.” This is the strongest, most VALIANT military in the world.

How dare Kerry minimize their victories and inflate Zaqawi and his devious tactics?

Trying very hard not to break my own cursing rule, I can only say: John Kerry, you opportunist, ignorant jerk. You are unworthy to command a boy scout troop or stand within fifty feet of a flag, you self-centered, duplicitious moron.

I have the honor of adding to the blogroll:

Yankee Pride

Six Meat Buffet

Right Journal

Beautiful Atrocities

Freelance Radical

Life Trek

Milblog

Check them out, you won’t be dissappointed.

Oh sure, lets turn US foreign policy over to these guys. Even Canada, a country contemplating recognizing Sharia law, has problems with this.

The head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) admitted on Sunday that among the agency’s personnel are members of Hamas.

“I am sure that there are Hamas members on the UNRWA payroll and I don’t see that as a crime. Hamas as a political organization does not mean that every member is a militant and we do not do political vetting and exclude people from one persuasion as against another”, Peter Hansen told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation CBC.

According to Hansen, “We demand of our staff, whatever their political persuasion is, that they behave in accordance with UN standards and norms for neutrality”.

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs in Canada said, “Should Mr. Hanson’s comment not be taken out of context and should it reflect UNRWA’s position, we are deeply concerned, and will immediately seek clarification from Mr. Hansen directly and from UN authorities.” (Read on …)

The Daily Star: “Assailants killed Dipankar Chakrabarty, a senior journalist and vice-president of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ), at Sanyalpara in Sherpur in the early hours yesterday. Executive editor of local daily Durjoy Bangla, Dipankar, 59,was on his way home after work when the attackers swooped on him near his house and cut off his head with an axe at about 12:30am.”

Does that have anything to do with this? I’m hoping Rezwan is going to explain it.

UPDATE: Rezwan kindly provided a little clarification for us:

The southwestern Bangladesh has witnessed the brutal killings of at least 13 prominent journalists in the last 10 years. As per my information, in this region there are activities of some extremist organizations like Purba Bangla Communist Party -PBCP-Marxist-Leninist (Janajuddha) and Sarbahara group and the notorious Bangla Bhai. The police investigations could not solve the mystery of all the atrocities against journalists but a faction of the Janajudhdha has been indicted for a number of killings including Journalist Manik Saha & Journalist Humayun Kabir Balu.

Thank you Rezwan.

If you know as little about Bagladesh as I did, check in regularly with Rezwan at The 3rd World View for good education and understanding of the complexities of the problems facing Bangladesh and the unyeilding strength of her people.

(If you want to understand Saudi Arabia , see John.)

IFEX UPdate: Police said the assailants were most likely “professionals.” RSF says Chakrabarty had earlier told the press freedom group that he had been threatened for writing about local politicians who were reportedly protecting criminal organisations. ..According to CPJ and RSF, he is the fourth journalist killed this year. In a country where corruption is rife and political parties are highly polarised, reporters are often targeted for covering political violence, graft, and organised crime. However, in the majority of cases where journalists are attacked, it is because of their reports on corruption, says CPJ. In 2003, Transparency International rated Bangladesh the most corrupt country in the world for the third consecutive year.

Once elections take place in Iraq, the US military may remain for many years, but its likely al-Qaeda won’t.

Al-Qaeda’s goal in Iraq is to formant a civil war, empower Sunni extremists and create a Taliban style utopia. The false identity of “resistance” falls apart in the face of a legitimately elected government, even to those rooting for their success like al-Jazeera and France.

Zarqawi has stated that once the Iraqi government “extends its control over the country, we will have to pack our bags and break camp for another land.”

Facing increasingly democratic regimes in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and mounting pressure in Pakistan, al-Qaeda may attempt to regroup in Yemen, one of the least developed countries in the world. (Read on …)

In Yemen, Abdulkareem Al-Khaiwani, the editor-in-chief of Al-Shura Weekly, was recently sentence to a year at hard labor for a series of opinion articles critical of the Yemeni government. Just a few days ago, Jamal Amir, was interrogated for causing harm to Yemeni-Saudi relations by publishing certain news reports. Just yesterday, Yemen qualified for consideration in the new threshold millineum challenge account:

Millennium Challenge Corporation believes that a sound policy framework creates an environment where development assistance can be most effective, and so has designed the Threshold Program to help countries that are committed to making policy reforms improve their performance in areas of ruling justly, encouraging economic freedom, and investing in people.

Not throwing editors in jail is part of ruling justly, yes? Freedom of speech is among one of the most fundamental freedoms necessary in a democracy, yes? How many hundreds of millions is available from the account?

The 2003 State Department Report on Human Rights in Yemen is here. It says “Prison conditions remained poor.” and “There continued to be limits on freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government continued to harass and intimidate journalists despite a decline in detention of journalists from last year. Journalists practiced self-censorship.”

UPdate: The most interesting thing I learned today was this from Freedom House: Unwilling to endanger tribal and Islamist support for his regime, Saleh resisted American pressure to rein in these groups following the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Aden harbor, but relented in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, when U.S. officials warned that Yemen was a potential target of military action. After 18 Yemeni soldiers died in a botched raid in December 2001, the United States began a crash program to train and equip the security forces.

I’m a little less hopeful. If it took a threat of military force to convince HE President to crack down on al-Qaeda, will a promise of millions help establish a habit of press freedom?