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Grand jury indicts two Minneapolis Muslims on terrorism charges

Yesterday, two were indicted in Minnesota on Somali terror charges following a lengthy investigation in Minneapolis , which I suspect, is still on-going.  At least twenty local Muslims may have left the state to train and fight with an Al Qaeda-linked jihadist group in Somalia, who seek to take the region over.  The Star Tribne reported four locals have died over there.

A federal grand jury in Minneapolis indicted two men on Monday on charges of conspiracy and aiding terrorism overseas, according to court papers.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune said on Monday that one of the men, Salah Osman Ahmed, 26, is of Somali descent and lived in a Minneapolis suburb.

According to the indictment, Ahmed and Abdifatah Yusuf Isse were charged with two counts of providing material support to terrorists "and resources, namely personnel including themselves," and conspiring "to kill, kidnap, and maim and injure persons outside of the United States" between September 2007 and December 2008.

...After the hearing, federal officials would not comment on whether Ahmed's case was connected to the investigation into the disappearance of up to 20 local men of Somali descent, the newspaper said.

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Also see:

7/10/09:  American jihadist in Somalia post audio to President Obama 

6/30/09:  Al Qaeda North Africa seething over burqa remark

6/26/09:  U.S. sending aid to fight Al-Qaeda affiliate, al Shabab, in Somalia

Senate webcast and Supreme Court live blogging Sonya Sotomayor hearing

There is a live webcast here, provided by the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Click on the blinking webcast button.  It's appears to be in real-time while my cable is a sentence or two delayed.

Also, the Supreme Court is live-blogging this event here.  There are a number of links that you may find useful that are being added as they live blog it, such as the prepared statements of the senators who are speaking now at the opening.  They are also making intersting statements such as at 10:40 Tom Goldstein wrote :  Proportion of reporters in the room doing something other than listening to the statements:   66%.

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References:

Transcripts of past Senate Judiciary hearings on Supreme Court nomination hearings through 1971 are available through the GPO web site:  

Two Houston billboards takes aim at Hamas

 

Photo by JHV: AVA MILLER

More at Bridge Houston-StandWithUs partnership puts up billboards

U.S. House strongly rebukes President Obama's signing statement

Wow!  With a bi-partisan vote Congress Rebukes Obama on Dictatorial Claim:

The U.S. House of Representatives on July 9 voted almost unanimously to rebuke President Barack Obama over his June 26 signing statement openly declaring that he could ignore provisions of the law he was signing.

The bipartisan 429-2 vote was a direct result of Obama's assertion that he could ignore restricitons on how the $106 billion loan guarantee to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could be used. In his signing statement, Obama claimed that “provisions of this bill within sections 1110 to 1112 of title XI, and sections 1403 and 1404 of title XIV, would interfere with my constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations by directing the Executive to take certain positions in negotiations or discussions with international organizations and foreign governments, or by requiring consultation with the Congress prior to such negotiations or discussions. I will not treat these provisions as limiting my ability to engage in foreign diplomacy or negotiations.”

The House vote rebuking Obama was on an amendment offered by Representative Kay Granger (R-Texas) that would add the following language to the Fiscal 2010 State-Foreign Operations appropriations bill (H.R. 3081): “None of the funds made available in this Act may be used by the Secretary of the Treasury to negotiate an agreement in contravention of [law].”

That Obama’s signing statement was a clear assertion of dictatorial powers was recognized by Republican and Democrat alike in Congress. Representative Barney Frank (D-Mass.) stressed that “we do this not on behalf of this institution, but literally on behalf of democracy, on behalf of the process by which people get elected and deliberate and do this. And there is a kind of a unilateralism, in an undemocratic, unreachable way, to these signing statements that is the opposite of what we do here.”

When even his fellow liberal Democrats are rebuking him with such strong language, stating that his actions are a threat to free government itself, then you know Obama has really gone off the dictatorially deep end!

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Also see:

Statement on Signing the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2009 (by Barack Obama)

President gets spanking for ignoring Congress NJ.com

Bush Challenges Hundreds of Laws (by Charlie Savage, Boston Globe)

Both Parties in House Slam Obama Signing Statement

Islamic panel at American Library Association conference cancelled

Today there was to have been a panel discussion on "The Perspective on Islam" at the American Library Association's (ALA) annual conference in Chicago. It appears, from what I can gather, that a couple Muslim panelists got up in arms because Robert Spencer, an anti-Islamist (not anti-Islam), was also scheduled to speak.

The Council of American Islamic Relations, an outgrowth of the Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas infrastructure in America, got involved and demanded Spencer be removed (i.e., sharia law means no criticism of Islam or Islamism allowed and we demand this from non-Muslim critics in America).  CAIR, as most of you know, was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation Hamas terror-funding trial.

Three panelists dropped out and the session was canceled by ALA President Jim Rettig who issued a statement which was posted on Library Journal on July 11th:

...“This year, more than 100 member driven committees that represent a variety of backgrounds and viewpoints coordinated and planned 250 programs that focused on various issues including this program on Islam," Rettig said. "The withdrawal of three panelists resulted in the cancelation of a panel discussion entitled Perspectives on Islam: Beyond the Stereotyping, sponsored by the ALA’s Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT)."

An additional post on July 11th at Library Journal titled Organization Behind Islam Panel Issues Statement:

"...Myra Appel, chair of the Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Roundtable (EMIERT), has released a public statement (below) regarding the recent cancellation of the ALA panel "Perspectives on Islam."

Neither Appel’s statement nor the earlier response from ALA President Jim Rettig address the Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ (CAIR-Chicago) claim that none of the panelists were informed of Spencer’s participation. But on his Jihad Watch web site, the man at the heart of this controversy, Robert Spencer, contests CAIR’s claim, publishing as evidence a month-old email from Appel informing the panelists of his involvement...

Before the session was cancelled, Robert Spencer wrote Hamas-linked CAIR defames me again, tries to block my ALA appearance, takes material from libelblogger Charles Johnson of LGF where he listed several examples of what he claims was Johnson's tarnishment of his credibility.  Johnson has not responded. 

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Also see

Robert Spencer's latest statement issued 7/11:  ALA & Panelists Cave Into Pressure From Terror-Linked Group

American jihadist in Somalia post audio to President Obama

I have previously written how YouTube provides our enemies a forum for jihadists recruitment and communications.  On the UmmahMedia Channel, created in April 2007,  there are three new audio videos posted yesterday from the Al Qaeda-linked "Youth Mujahideen Movement Harakat Al-Shabaab Al-Mujahideen Media"   Usually, a small part of the audio may be discussed on the main-stream media and reported as being found on jihadist websites but I have yet to hear any of them tell you these are also readily available on YouTube!

Part one of the new audio/video is narrated by what is believed to be an American jihadist, Abu Mansoor al Amriki, title "The Beginning of the End" is below.  You will be stunned at the sophistication of the video.  This audio is a message President Obama and Muslims:

Part Two, Part Three

 

Offensive jihad can only be waged by pure Muslims!

On June 17th,  an article titled Clarifications About the Concept of Jihad in Islam by Islamic scholar Maulvi Yahya Nomani was posted on the The American Muslim(TAM) website. It slammed the critics of Islam who say jihad is a license for cold-blooded murder. It's the evil Western imperialists that control the media who spin the news against Islam, the author explains.  Although Nomani acknowledged a small number of Muslims have engaged in terrorism he insisted the West has a very bloody history and has carried out terrorist acts that were then blamed on Muslims.  What?

Islamophobia is rising, too, Nomani claimed based on a Western driven  "false projection of Islamic jihad".  Yet, it's never the fault of articles, like his, as you will find out, or the religious rulings of Islamic leaders that state fighting for the sake of Allah in order to advance or protect Islam is OK, now is it? 

Namani informs us jihad is a doctrine to promote peace.  It is also a FIGHT against others for Allah's acceptance to protect Islam and to guide humanity, he goes on.  The important point Namoni makes in his article is that this is OK to do only if the Muslims doing the fighting are Islamically pure.  Then their "offensive" jihad would surely be a blessing to humanity! 

Below are some excerpts:

...Rather, jihad is governed by a host of spiritual and moral principles and laws, observing which alone can qualify it to be truly called ‘struggle in God’s path’ (jihad fi sabil Allah).

...Caring nothing for worldly comforts, they led a life in service to God and in accordance with His will. So, when they were ordered to fight in defence against those who had launched a reign of terror and oppression against them, they were told by God that this was not simply to defend themselves, but, rather, to defend God’s faith on earth. This is why these wars were termed as jihad fi sabil Allah and were deemed a source of great reward.

...Rather, for a war fought by Muslims to be regarded as a jihad it must be fought, not for communal defence or the defence of Muslims’ lives and properties, but, rather to gain God’s acceptance, protect His faith, guide humanity, promote its welfare and save it from oppression and strife.

...Besides purity of the aims of fighting, proper intention, and strict obedience to Islamic rules and shariah limits in the conduct of war -- the Quran also indicates that those Muslims who take to the path of jihad must be so pure in their service of and commitment to God and so morally upright that, if as a result of their struggle they gain control of any territory, they would use their powers not to satisfy their lusts and base, worldly desires, but, instead, to spread goodness and the service of God and to rid the world of wickedness.  Undoubtedly, jihad undertaken by such a group would be a blessing for humanity, and that is why God rewards such a struggle with great merit.

Can Muslims fight non-Muslims governments  in countries that do not oppress Muslims?  " -- after the demise of the Prophet, many of his companions spread out of Arabia into other lands and fought wars for this purpose,"  the author wrote. 

Muslim must invite non-Muslims to the faith first. This position, we are told,  can be backed by Hadith reports that insist on the need for peaceful propagation of Islam before fighting can at all be envisaged.

At least the article assures us at the end that Muslims are not on the true path of Islam today and therefore are not pure enough to wage offensive jihad.  Hummm, is that really suppose to make us feel better?  Did I mention jihadist attacks are at an all time high worldwide?

Namoni explained if these Muslims were to take control of a territory with their offensive jihad it must be only for the good of Islam.  Oh, that's rich.  It's easy to see how young impressionable Muslims are persuaded/indoctrinated into believing they are acting for the sake of Allah to please him by their Islamically pure acts as this religious idealogy is burned into their hearts and minds, day after day, year after year.

On The American Muslim's own Muslim Voices Against Extremism and Terrorism  page they reference at least three Islamists who approve or have approved of martyrdom (its OK to kill yourself to kills others); Yusef Qaradawi, Jamal Badawi and Muhammad Sayyid al-Tantawi, the Grand Shaikh of al-Azhar in Egypt.  There could be more which requires more research.  Are we supposeto take this page seriously?  The disclaimer at the bottom of each page states opinions expressed on their OWN website may not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The America Muslim which is a pure cop-out.  Are their hands tied who posts on their site?  This is reliable?

According to the Islamic Society of Tulsa (IST) who actually links to the TAM anti-terrorism page this is a reliable website!  Are you kidding me?  The Islamic Society of Tulsa apparently want us to believe TAM is a credible source that will help alleviate our concerns about Islam and terrorism.  Right?  Wrong.

And Muslims wonder why they get such a bad rap.

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Also see:

TAM:  President Barack Obama to the Muslims. Just a speech?  by Tariq Ramadan (grandson of the founder of the Islamic supremacy organization, the Muslim Brotherhood).  Near the end of this article he refers to the president as just Barack before he adds a PS about being banned from the U.S.

Debating the Religious, Political and Moral Legitimacy of Suicide Bombings Part 1: The Debate over Religious Legitimacy

War & fighting in Islam  (joint web-page by the Islamic Society of Tulsa and the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City)

As U.S. troops pull out of towns in Iraq bombs increase

Suicide attacks  killed dozens in Iraq today after U.S. troop pull out of citi:es:

Bombs in Baghdad and northern Iraq killed at least 41 people on Thursday, police said, underscoring doubts about local forces' ability to keep Iraqis safe after U.S. troops pulled out of city centres. The attacks in the north, where tensions between Arabs and Kurds threaten to descend into Iraq's next conflict, appeared to be part of an attempt by insurgents to reignite sectarian slaughter following the U.S. pullback.

...Nineveh and its main city Mosul have suffered a steady drumbeat of attacks targeting police, soldiers and civilians since June 30, when U.S. combat troops withdrew from urban centres. The province is an area where groups like al Qaeda have taken advantage of tensions between Sunni Arabs, ethnic Kurds and other minorities to sustain Iraq's most stubborn insurgency.

Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, a truck explosion kills at least 25, many children.

Time lapse capture of Sarychev Volcano

A few days ago, I posted a picture taken from the International Space Station on June 12, 2009 of the Srychev Volcano in Russia’s Kuril Islands, which is northeast of Japan. Now, there's a 9 second time-lapse video of this that looks 3-D!

Congressional investigators build live bomb in federal building!

A GAO report revealed disturbing security breaches at a number of federal buildings after congressional investigators were able to smuggle bomb making material in every attempt they made!   They even assembled a real bomb inside one building and exploded it outside to prove their point.

It only took 27 seconds for him to smuggle live bomb components through security detail in a federal building. Later, he assembled a bomb in the restroom, and then walked around the facility undetected.

...Investigators from the the General Accounting Office, Congress' investigative arm, were able to penetrate all 10 of the undisclosed federal buildings it tested across the United States.

"Of the 10 Level IV facilities we penetrated, 8 were government-owned, 2 were leased, and included offices of a U.S. Senator and U.S. Representative, as well as agencies such as the Departments of Homeland Security, State, and Justice," according to a preliminary report from the GAO. Level IV facilities are defined as having more than 450 employees and "a high volume of public contact."

"It's stunning. It's shocking," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., the chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs..."

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Also see:

7/8/09 GAO report: Preliminary Results Show Federal Protective Service’s Ability to Protect Federal Facilities Is Hampered By Weaknesses in Its Contract Scurity Guard Program

Summary

Rest in peace, Michael

I'm watching Michael Jackson's moving memorial service now.  The world has lost one of the best performers known to mankind.

Sharia law's growing network in Britain

A female reporter for Mail Online got a rare opportunity, over the course of several weeks, to observe how Islamic law works in Britain.  One thing is clear, Islamic law favors men and why any woman would subject herself to it in Britain is beyond me.  

Below are some excerpts from the article, which is worth reading in full: 

....For the first time, the Islamic Sharia Council has granted access to a newspaper to observe the entire sharia legal process in Britain. Over several weeks, I was allowed to witness the filing of complaints, individual testimony hearings and the monthly meeting of imams, or judges, where rulings are handed down.

Sharia has been operating here, in parallel to the British legal system, since 1982. Work includes issuing fatwas - religious rulings on matters ranging from why Islam considers homosexuality a sin to why two women are equivalent to one male witness in an Islamic court.

...However, in the course of my investigation, I discovered how sharia is being used informally within the Muslim community to tackle crime such as gang fights or stabbings, bypassing police and the British court system.

A few hardline leaders would like it to be taken even further. One told me that Britain should adopt sharia punishments such as stoning and the chopping off of hands to reduce violent crime.

There are 12 councils or courts operating in Britain under Dr Hasan's group, based in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Rotherham and Bradford. Scores more imams dispense justice through their own mosques.

...In Britain, sharia courts are permitted to rule only in civil cases, such as divorce and financial disputes.

...The Islamic Sharia Council is listed as a charity but people seeking a divorce, or talaq, must fill in a form and pay a fee. For a man it is £100; for women, it is £250 because the imams say it takes more work to process a woman's application as her word has to be corroborated.

...Until last year, these rulings depended on voluntary compliance among Muslims. But now, due to a clause in the Arbitration Act 1996, they are enforceable by county and high courts.

...However, a Muslim couple must still be divorced in the British courts for it to recognised under British law...   

Video cam on train records tornado hit

The video is pretty slow the first minute but stay with it.

Fireworks!

I found this on the net and thought it was a great picture!

Video: Gay man harrassed by Somali youth

It 's disturbring to see how cruel Islamic countries treat gay people, who are often killed.   A recent incident was caught on video when a group of Somali youth harrassed a gay man.  Oh, but wait - this didn't actually happen in Somali but in Minnesota after the Twin Cities GLBT Pride Festival:

Statute of Liberty Crown opens today!

The crown of the Statute of Liberty opened today for the first time since 9/11.

I remember as a 9 year-old child viewing the city of New York with my mom and dad from these windows.  What an incredible experience it was.

Below a photo of a view you won't see any more from the crown:

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July

This video was produced by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. It's worth watching:

Action: Hizb ut-Tahrir America plans 1st Khilafah Conference!

The 4th of July symbolizes the many freedoms we enjoy in America.  It's a day millions of Americans proudly display the American flag on their home to help celebrate what makes our country the best place in the world to live.

But, there are organizations in America that do not share this view.  For example, the Islamic Society of North America usually picks this weekend for their annual conference rather than stay at home to celebrate this holiday with their neighbors.  ISNA was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation Hamas terror-funding trial because of their relationship to or with the Muslim Brotherhood. Board member, Jamal Badawi, is a Muslim Brotherhood leader who approves of martyrdom, if that helps.   

Another example is Hizb ut-Tahrir.  This is an Islamist organization which has emerged fully in the United States since the election of President Barack Obama.  Under President Bush, they operated primarily in the shadows and behind closed doors covertly.

July 19th is the day HT plans to have their first Khilafah Conference in Oak Lawn, Illinois!  It encapsulates the full capacity of the literal interpretation of the Quran. Their slick ominous video titled "Fall of Capitalism and Rise of Islam" advertises their conference (see video below).  The goal of this global Islamist organization is to restore an Islamic State. On their American website they claim their goal in America is to only spread the message of Islam and do not seek to overthrow the government.  Do not believe them.  Khilafah means Islamic rule and Islamic supremacy and is in the title of their 1st American conference.

A local Islamic school, Agsa School,  in Bridgeview, Illinois was to host the conference in their facility but backed out according to CBS News.  HT website now states they still plan to go ahead with their anti-American, anti-capitalism, Islamic supremacy conference but at the Hilton Oak Lawn hotel, instead..

Seriously, this conference should be stopped. 

Action:  Please call to express your concern that an extremist Islamic organization plans to hold their conference at their hotel in their Grand Ballroom on the 19th of June from 11 to 5.

Hilton Oak Lawn

9333 South Cicero Avenue
Oak Lawn, IL 60453
(708) 425-7800

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Also see:

HT video advertising their conference (already viewed over 18,000 times).

Profile of Sheikh Ata Abu Rashta the current global leader of HT

July Conference in Britain flyer, also see video trailer

Hizb-ut-Tahrir's Activities in the United States  Jamestown Foundation 2007

"...HTA's presence in the United States was not limited to the two coasts. Some of HTA's most influential members are in the Midwest, including Palestinian-Jordanian Mohammed Malkawi (also known as Abu Talha), formerly a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Wisconsin, and Muslim convert Jaleel Abdul-Adil, currently a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Abdul-Adil is perhaps the most charismatic of the identified members of HTA. He has spoken at major HT conferences in Britain, and was featured in a July 2007 video produced by members of HT Britain to promote their 2007 Khilafah Conference, making Abdul-Adil the first representative of HTA to be publicly identified as such [10].

President Bush to speak in Woodward, Oklahoma

President Bush surprised the town of Woodward, Oklahoma by accepting their invitation to help them celebrate the 4th of July. 

But,  one resident of this town is not happy about the former president's visit.  Warren Henthorn expressed his displeasure in a letter-to-the-editor published in the Tulsa World.  In 2005, he lost his son, Jeffrey S. Henthorn, in Iraq to suicide on his 2nd tour of duty (PBS video), which wasn't mentioned in his letter. Mr. Henthorn did write that Iraq a war of choice and that our economic problems are because of it. 

But was Iraq really a war of choice?

In November 1998, a United States District Court in New York federal grand jury indicted Osama Bin Laden for his long-term conspiracy to attack American interests and citizens.

Count 4 of the indictment reads:

4. Al Qaeda also forged alliances with the National Islamic Front in the Sudan and with the government of Iran and its associated terrorist group Hezballah for the purpose of working together against their perceived common enemies in the West, particularly the United States.In addition, al Qaeda reached an understanding with the government of Iraq that al Qaeda would not work against that government and that on particular projects, specifically including weapons development, al Qaeda would work cooperatively with the Government of Iraq.

This indictment came a couple years before President Bush took office.  Earlier that same year President Bill Clinton spoke about the dangers of Iraq (video).   

I'm just throwing some facts out there that pointed to Iraq as a problem way before President Bush took office.

Update 7/4/09:  The Tulsa World did an article on this yesterday and then republished it again today where they featured Mr. Henthorn and another dad who also lost his son.  These men believe former President Bush and his administration bear some blame for their son's death.

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Also see:

Warren Henthorn speaks out against George Bush's visit to Woodward posted today on YouTube

Sarah Palin resigns as governor of Alaska!

Sarah Palin announced (video) today she will step down as the governor of Alaska and will hand over control to the Lt. Governor at the end of the month.   

What will the left do when they won't have Sarah to pick on anymore?  Or is she positioning herself for the 2012 presidential race?  Frankly, for the sake of her family I wish she would step out of the spotlight.  The left-leaning press wants to destroy her.