Tel-Chai Nation

In 2005, leaders in Portland, Oregon, angry at the Bush administration's conduct of the war on terror, voted not to allow city law enforcement officers to participate in a key anti-terror initiative, the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. On Friday, that task force helped prevent what could have been a horrific terrorist attack in Portland. Now city officials say they might re-think their participation in the task force -- because Barack Obama is in the White House.

Reading the FBI affidavit describing Islamist terror suspect Mohamed Osman Mohamud's plan to bomb a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square is a chilling experience. Mohamud, a Somali-born naturalized U.S. citizen who attended Oregon State University, told undercover FBI agents he dreamed of performing acts of jihad in which hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Americans would die. "Do you remember when 9/11 happened when those people were jumping from skyscrapers?" Mohamud asked the agents, according to the affidavit. "I thought that was awesome." [...]

What is ironic is that the operation that found and stopped Mohamud is precisely the kind of law enforcement work that Portland's leaders, working with the American Civil Liberties Union, rejected during the Bush years. In April 2005, the Portland city council voted 4 to 1 to withdraw Portland city police officers from participating in the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. Mayor Tom Potter said the FBI refused to give him a top-secret security clearance so he could make sure the officers weren't violating state anti-discrimination laws that bar law enforcement from targeting suspects on the basis of their religious or political beliefs. [...]

In the Mohamud case, it appears that Portland's anti-law enforcement stand might actually have influenced Mohamud's decision to undertake an attack in the city. According to the FBI affidavit, the undercover agents asked whether he worried that law enforcement would stop him. "In Portland?" Mohamud replied. "Not really. They don't see it as a place where anything will happen. People say, you know, why, anybody want to do something in Portland, you know, it's on the west coast, it's in Oregon, and Oregon's, like you know, nobody ever thinks about it."

Now, there are indications that the Mohamud case might cause city leaders to change their mind about the FBI and the war on terror. Current mayor Sam Adams, who says he was not aware of the Mohamud investigation until after Mohamud had been arrested, told the Oregonian newspaper that he might as the city council to reconsider the decision to pull out of the Joint Terrorism Task Force. Because he now realizes the city was wrong? Not at all. "[Adams] stressed that he has much more faith in the Obama administration and the leadership of the U.S. Attorney's office now than he did in 2005," the paper reported.

Labels: dhimmitude, jihad, Moonbattery, political corruption, terrorism, United States, war on terror

Although applauded by moderate Muslims such as Zuhdi Jasser, passage of the "Save Our State Amendment" alarmed Islamists. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, accurately accused of aiming "to overthrow constitutional government in the United States," nevertheless convinced a federal district judge to impose a temporary restraining order on the state election board from certifying the amendment.

A full court hearing could helpfully stimulate further public debate over applying the Sharia. In this spirit, let's look more closely at the just-passed Oklahoma amendment, State Question 755. It limits Oklahoma courts to relying exclusively "on federal and state law when deciding cases." Conversely, it rejects "international law" in general and it specifically "forbids courts from considering or using Sharia Law," where it defines the latter as Islamic law "based on two principal sources, the Koran and the teaching of Mohammed."

Popular criticism of the amendment vacillates between two contradictory responses, claiming it's either discriminatory or superfluous.

Discriminatory? While the wording is indeed problematic (international law cannot possibly be banned; and the Sharia should not be singled out by name), State Question 755 correctly insists that judges base their judgments solely on U.S. law. Contrary to rumor, the amendment does not ban Sharia outside the court system: Muslims may wash, pray, eat, drink, play, swim, woo, marry, reproduce, bequeath, etc., according to the tenets of their religion. Thus does the amendment not harm American Muslims.

Labels: anti-americanism, CAIR corruption, islam, misogyny, United States

Labels: anti-semitism, islam, United States

The Fatah Revolutionary Council concluded its fifth convention in Ramallah over the weekend by declaring its refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

The council also urged the Palestinian Authority leadership to work toward foiling a new Israeli law requiring a referendum before any withdrawal from Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.

The Palestinians are opposed to any understandings between Israel and the US that could harm their interests, the council said.

“The council affirms its rejection of the so-called Jewish state or any other formula that could achieve this goal,” said a statement issued by the council. “The council also renews its refusal for the establishment of any racist state based on religion in accordance with international law and human rights conventions.”

The statement said that the Fatah council was categorically opposed to proposals for a land swap between Israel and the Palestinians under the pretext that “illegal settler gangs can’t be put on an equal footing with the owners of the lands and rights.”

The Fatah leaders said they supported Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s policies, especially with regards to the peace process with Israel. “The council salutes President Mahmoud Abbas for adhering to the basic rights, first and foremost the right of return for Palestinian refugees,” the statement said. “Also, the council salutes President Abbas for standing up against pressure aimed at resuming the peace talks without achieving the demands of the Palestinians.”

The council dismissed plans to supply Israel with weapons in return for reviving the stalled peace talks. It added that the Palestinians would not accept any understandings between Israel and the US which could “harm Palestinian rights and prolong occupation.”

The reported US package of incentives to Israel does not serve the cause of peace, the Fatah council cautioned. “Such gifts to the occupier will only make the occupier more stubborn and radical.”

Referring to the new Israeli measure regarding Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, the council said the law was in violation of international law and urged the PA leadership to make efforts through the UN and the Security Council to thwart it.

Abbas told the Fatah leaders during the three-day gathering that the Palestinians want a just and comprehensive peace, but would not compromise on their rights. He also ruled out the possibility of returning to the negotiating table without a full cessation of construction in settlements and east Jerusalem.

Labels: anti-semitism, islam, Israel, Jerusalem, terrorism

Labels: dhimmitude, Europe, islam, political corruption, turkey

Labels: Asia, terrorism

PORTLAND, Ore. – Federal agents in a sting operation arrested a Somali-born teenager just as he tried blowing up a van he believed was loaded with explosives at a crowded Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, authorities said.

The bomb was an elaborate fake supplied by the agents and the public was never in danger, authorities said.

Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, was arrested at 5:40 p.m. Friday just after he dialed a cell phone that he thought would set off the blast but instead brought federal agents and police swooping down on him.

Yelling "Allahu Akbar!" — Arabic for "God is great!" — Mohamud tried to kick agents and police after he was taken into custody, according to prosecutors.

"The threat was very real," said Arthur Balizan, special agent in charge of the FBI in Oregon. "Our investigation shows that Mohamud was absolutely committed to carrying out an attack on a very grand scale,"

The FBI affidavit that outlined the investigation alleges that Mohamud planned the attack for months, at one point mailing bomb components to FBI operatives, whom he believed were assembling the device.

It said Mohamud was warned several times about the seriousness of his plan, that women and children could be killed, and that he could back out, but he told agents: "Since I was 15 I thought about all this;" and "It's gonna be a fireworks show ... a spectacular show."

Mohamud, a naturalized U.S. citizen living in Corvallis, was charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. A court appearance was set for Monday. Few details were available about him late Friday.

Authorities allowed the plot to proceed in order to build up enough evidence to charge the suspect with attempt.

Officials didn't say if the suspect had any ties to other Americans recently accused of trying to carry out attacks on U.S. soil, including alleged efforts in May by a Pakistan-born man to set off a car bomb near Times Square or another Pakistan-born Virginia resident accused last month in a bomb plot to kill commuters.

U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton released federal court documents to The Associated Press and the Oregonian newspaper that show the sting operation began in June after an undercover agent learned that Mohamud had been in regular e-mail contact with an "unindicted associate" in Pakistan's northwest, a frontier region where al-Qaida and Afghanistan's Taliban insurgents are strong.

The two used coded language in which the FBI believes Mohamud discussed traveling to Pakistan to prepare for "violent jihad," the documents said.

In June an FBI agent contacted Mohamud "under the guise of being affiliated with" the suspected terrorist. But the documents did not say how federal officials first became aware of Mohamud.

An undercover agent met with him a month later in Portland, where they "discussed violent jihad," according to the court documents.

As a trial run, Mohamud and agents detonated a bomb in Oregon's backcounry earlier this month.

"This defendant's chilling determination is a stark reminder that there are people — even here in Oregon — who are determined to kill Americans," Holton said.

Friday, an agent and Mohamud drove to downtown Portland in a white van that carried six 55-gallon drums with detonation cords and plastic caps, but all of them were inert, the complaint states.

They left the van near the downtown ceremony site and went to a train station where Mohamud was given a cell phone that he thought would blow up the vehicle, according to the complaint. There was no detonation when he dialed, and when he tried again federal agents and police made their move.

[...]

Tens of thousands of Somalis have resettled in the United States since their country plunged into lawlessness in 1991, and the U.S. has boosted aid to the country.

In August, the U.S. Justice Department unsealed an indictment naming 14 people accused of being a deadly pipeline routing money and fighters from the U.S. to al-Shabab, an al-Qaida affiliated group in Mohamud's native Somalia,

At the time, Attorney General Eric Holder said the indictments reflect a disturbing trend of recruitment efforts targeting U.S. residents to become terrorists.

Officials have been working with Muslim community leaders across the United States, particularly in Somali diasporas in Minnesota, trying to combat the radicalization.

U.S. counterterror officials have been warning for more than a year and a half about the escalating threat from al-Shabab, which they say has been recruiting young Somali-Americans, luring them home to fight and train.

Because they often carry U.S. passports, officials worry that they may be returning to the U.S. to form sleeper cells and carry out terror attacks.

If Mohamud is found to have ties to al-Shabab, including travel to Somalia or training in camps there, it would be the realization of the long-held fear that the group can successfully coordinate and inspire attacks on U.S. soil.

The alleged plot in Portland follows a string of terrorist attack planning by U.S. citizens or residents.

In the Times Square plot, Faisal Shahzad allegedly tried to set off a car bomb at a bustling street corner. U.S. authorities had no intelligence about Shahzad's plot until the smoking car turned up in Manhattan.

Late last month, Farooque Ahmed, 34, of Virginia was arrested and accused of casing Washington-area subway stations in what he thought was an al-Qaida plot to bomb and kill commuters. Similar to the Portland sting, the bombing plot was a ruse conducted over the past six months by federal officials.

A year ago in another federal sting, 19-year-old Jordanian Hosam Smadi was arrested on charges he intended to bomb a downtown Dallas skyscraper. Federal officials said he placed what he believed was a car bomb outside the building but was instead a decoy device given him by an undercover FBI agent.

"I think we've been extremely lucky so far in the United States that many of the incidents have been amateur," said Bruce Hoffman, terrorism expert at Georgetown University. "But even if their skill level is not enough that they can pull off a successful attack, what is clear that the intention or motivation to cause mass homicide or destruction is certainly genuine."

Labels: Africa, anti-americanism, islam, jihad, racism, Somalia, terrorism, United States, war on terror

As Israel waits for a letter clarifying America's guarantees in exchange for a proposed building ban for Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria, a diplomatic source has come forward saying that no such letter is on its way. United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton misled Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and contrary to reports, the U.S. does not guarantee an end to the freeze, the source said.

The source, a senior diplomat with inside knowledge of Netanyahu's recent meetings in Washington, said Clinton made commitments when talking to Netanyahu, but later slipped out of them by claiming that she had not been speaking on behalf of U.S. President Obama – who, she said in the end, did not give his approval.

When Netanyahu called the State Department to clarify America's position, officials expressed surprise at his surprise, the source continued. While Clinton made promises, Netanyahu knew from the beginning that Obama has the final word, they allegedly said.

Clinton had told Netanyahu that the proposed construction freeze would last for three months, and that it would end regardless of whether or not there was progress in talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. After that, she said, America would not push for a third building freeze.

However, according to the diplomat, U.S. leaders have since said that the building ban for Jews in Judea and Samaria would only end if Israel and the PA reached an agreement on the borders of a proposed PA state.

Former prime minister Ehud Olmert took a rare public jab at his successor on Thursday, saying that Israel should agree to the US demand to halt settlement construction in the West Bank in order to restart Mideast peace talks.

Olmert suggested Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the Obama administration are wasting valuable time by focusing on such a "marginal" issue, rather than tackling the essential issues at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. [...]

Speaking to foreign correspondents, he said he wouldn't have agreed to a settlement freeze in the first place, saying it was more important to focus on larger issues like final borders, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem. But he said he would not turn down a request from Israel's closest ally and endanger ties.

"If someone says that he agrees to 10 months of freezing and the president of the mightiest nation on earth and friendliest nation to Israel comes to you and says 'please give me two (more) months, only two months,' I mean what could happen in two months?" he said. "I would say 'president, why two? Why not three? Take three!"

Olmert said both Israel and the US should instead focus on reaching a final peace deal with the Palestinians.

Since leaving office, Olmert has confirmed he made Israel's most far-reaching offer to the Palestinians, proposing a Palestinian state on close to 94 percent of the West Bank, and offering them the equivalent of the final 6 percent of territory in a land "swap."

Olmert said the Palestinians never responded to his offer, made in the final months of his term in office.

"I think that they made a mistake. I think that the fact that they didn't respond to my proposal was a historic mistake of the highest order that they will live to regret for a long time, until someone will come from our side with the same ideas," he said.

The Olmert plan would have also have turned over Arab neighborhoods in east Jerusalem to Palestinian control. Jerusalem's Old City, with its holy sites, one of the most intractable issues dividing the sides, was to be governed jointly by Israel, the Palestinians, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United States, he said.

Labels: anti-semitism, dhimmitude, islam, Israel, Jerusalem, political corruption, State Dept, United States

Labels: anti-semitism, iran, islam, Israel

A new Palestinian Authority construction project could cut Jewish access to the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hevron, Jewish activists say. The Tomb is one of Judaism's most holy sites; however, the PA claims the site as a mosque, and demands that Israelis leave Hevron under any future peace deal.

The PA is sponsoring the construction of a new marketplace between the Tomb of the Patriarchs and the nearby Jewish city of Kiryat Arba. The street between Kiryat Arba and Hevron is the road Israelis and tourists from around the world use to access the Jewish neighborhood of Hevron and the historic tomb.

Hevron currently has a large marketplace located elsewhere in the city, several blocks away from the Jewish neighborhood.

Kiryat Arba-Hevron Regional Council head Malachi Levinger and leaders of the Jewish community of Hevron protested near the construction site on Wednesday and brought about a temporary halt in the building. However, while police ordered builders to stop while the situation is clarified, one tractor continues to work, and is creating a roadblock, the Jewish protesters said.

“They want to block off Kiryat Arba... They are bringing terrorists who served time in Israeli prisons to here to create an area that is dangerous for Jews,” said Noam Arnon, spokesman for the Hevron Jewish community.

“This is an area where the IDF is in charge of security,” he continued. However, he said, as the PA controls civilian affairs, it can build a dangerous area while claiming that the structures will be used for civilian purposes.

Hevron's new Arab market is to be funded by various foreign states and extreme-Left organizations, he said. The project is estimated to cost at least $20 million.

Levinger called on Israel to put a stop to the construction in its current location. “Prevent the creation of a dangerous casbah [marketplace] that will pose a threat to Israeli citizens who visit the Tomb of the Patriarchs and will cut off Kiryat Arba from the city of our Patriarchs,” he told Israel's lawmakers and the IDF.

Labels: anti-semitism, islam, Israel, Moonbattery

Developers of a mosque near Ground Zero are fanning a new flame of controversy by applying for a $5 million federal grant reserved for the redevelopment of lower Manhattan.

"I think it's an insult to the 9/11 families. It's another smack in the face," said retired FDNY Deputy Chief Jim Riches, whose 29-year-old son, Jim, a firefighter, was killed on 9/11.

"I think it's becoming more and more comical," he said of the latest twist over the proposed 13-story Islamic community center and mosque. "Now we're going to have to pay for it."

Sharif El-Gamal, developer of the proposed Park Place project, confirmed his group has applied for the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. grant.

He said the grant would fund social service programs open to all lower Manhattan residents--such as domestic-violence prevention, Arabic and other foreign language classes--and two multicultural art exhibits.

Grant money would not go to pay for the mosque at the 13-story center two blocks from Ground Zero, according to a report posted on TheDailyBeast.com Monday.

"Park51 remains committed to exploring all sources of revenue and funding to build the community center in lower Manhattan," said El-Gamal, adding that the $100 million project will "provide hundreds of construction jobs" and 150 permanent jobs once opened....

Diane Horning, 63, founder of the WTC Families for a Proper Burial, scoffed at the developer's application and questioned the LMDC's use of federal money.

"All I know is that we asked for assistance from the LMDC to give our dead decent and proper burials and were rejected," said Horning, referring to a proposal to re-comb the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island for remains of 911 victims.

Labels: anti-americanism, islam, New York, terrorism, United States

After years of feeling betrayed by the legislative process, settlers on Tuesday quietly celebrated the Knesset’s passage late the previous night of the National Referendum Law, which they believe will make it much harder to create a Palestinian state.

“This is very good news, because we know that an overwhelming majority of Israelis oppose a Palestinian state and the evacuation of settlements,” said Naftali Bennett, the director- general of the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip.

[...]

Until Monday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had to bring any peace deal that involved relinquishing sovereign Israeli territory to the Knesset, where it needed an absolute majority of 61 to pass.

But as of Monday night, according to the National Referendum Law, which Netanyahu himself supported, he would need 80 MKs to ratify any diplomatic agreement that involved giving away sovereign Israeli territory.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday condemned as an obstacle to peace the new law requiring the approval of 80 MKs or a national referendum before any Israeli withdrawal from east Jerusalem or the Golan Heights.

“This law is aimed at placing obstacles in front of a peace settlement,” Abbas told reporters in Ramallah, where he inaugurated a new headquarters for the PLO. “The Israelis are telling the world that they won’t withdraw from Jerusalem and the Golan.”

Labels: CAIR corruption, dhimmitude, islam, msm foulness, United States

Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef slammed MK Rabbi Haim Amsalem (Shas) in his weekly Saturday night sermon, in his first public reference to the maverick lawmaker, who on Wednesday announced that he wouldn’t return his mandate despite the growing animosity toward him in the party’s leadership.

“There are those who speak about yeshivot, as though they were created solely for great Torah scholars who will become rabbis and rabbinical judges, and if that doesn’t suit the person, he should go to work,” Yosef said of Amsalem’s doctrine, without naming him.

“These are not the voices of Torah, but against it; Torah learners sustain the world,” Yosef said.

“Whoever tells yeshiva boys to go to work is lacking faith in our Torah,” he said later in the talk.

Labels: Israel

The Palestinian Authority will not return to peace negotiations unless Israel agrees to stop building in east Jerusalem as well as in West Bank settlements, Reuters quoted PA President Mahmoud Abbas as saying on Sunday. The comments followed Abbas's Cairo meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

"Of course ... if there is no complete halt to settlements in all of the Palestinian territories including Jerusalem, we will not accept," said the PA president.

Abbas added that the US had not formally requested that the Palestinians return to the negotiating table for renewed peace talks with Israel.

The Palestinians and the Egyptians said over the weekend that they still haven’t received the full details of a US proposal to provide Israel with a package of incentives in return for freezing settlement construction in the West Bank for an additional 90 days.

Abbas was quoted by the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper as saying that there should be no linkage between freezing settlement construction and supplying Israel with weapons. He also complained that the US Administration still hasn’t come up with new ideas to revive the peace process.

The paper quoted a senior PA official as saying that US envoy David Hale, who met with Abbas in Ramallah last week, informed the Palestinian leadership that the US Administration and Israel have yet to agree on a formula for freezing settlement construction.

“We understand from Hale that all what has been published so far [about an agreement between Israel and the US] is nothing but Israeli leaks,” the official said. “President Abbas made it clear that the Palestinians can’t accept any agreement that excludes Jerusalem.”

The Palestinian Authority slammed a Sunday cabinet decision to allot NIS 85 million to a development project for the Western Wall over the next five years, AFP reported.

Ghassan Hatib, a PA spokesperson reportedly said: "Israel does not have permission to make changes in the occupied territories, especially in Jerusalem."

"This move is preventing us from reaching an agreement, because any solution must include Jerusalem," Hatib added.

The project will upgrade physical and transportation infrastructure at the site, provide access to new archeological findings, and run educational programs for soldiers and students.

The approved plan is a continuation of another five-year project that began at the site in 2004 and, according to a statement put out after Sunday’s cabinet meeting, led to a phenomenal growth in the number of visitors to the Wall, from 2 million annually before the project began to 8 million visitors in 2009. The Wall is the most visited site in the country.

The continuation of the development project will be managed by the Prime Minister’s Office and carried out by the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, with the funds coming from the Interior, Transportation, Tourism, Public Security, Defense and Education ministries, as well as from the Israel Lands Authority.

“The Western Wall is the Jewish people’s most important heritage site,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said during the cabinet discussion. “We are obligated to develop and preserve it so it can continue to be a focus for visitors and a source of inspiration for millions of visitors, tourists and children and adults from Israel and around the world.”

Labels: anti-semitism, Egypt, islam, Israel, Jerusalem, terrorism, United States

Netanyahu seems to ignore some basic lessons of history.

The Israeli government is the guardian of the land of Israel, a land to which the Jews have a historic and natural right predating the existence of the current state, modern nations, and international bodies. This right, known since the end of the 13th century BC, was expressed in the Balfour Declaration of 1917, the Mandate of the League of Nations in 1920, and the UN resolution of 1947.

Thus, the land of Israel is not Netanyhu‘s to give. Nor was it former Prime Minister Ehud Barak’s to give when he offered Yasser Arafat 92% of the West Bank, all of Gaza, and sovereignty over East Jerusalem and half of Jerusalem’s Old City at Camp David in 2000. The PA’s responded with the second Intefada, killing more than 1100 Israelis, and injuring over 6000. Nor was it Sharon’s to give in 2005 when he carried out a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, ripping more than 9,000 of his citizens out of their homes during Disengagement, This Disengagement led to a barrage of thousands of Kassam rockets fired from Gaza into Israel, killing and maiming thousands of civilian Israelis, devastating daily life, destroying any sense of security for more than 200,000 residents of the western Negev. Nor was it former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s to give, when in 2008 he offered Mahmoud Abbas to internationalize Jerusalem, and territory equivalent to 100% of the West Bank, with a naïve condition that this “will not be used as an opening position in future negotiations. But no matter what conditions were attached to the Israeli concessions, all were considered by the Palestinians and their allies as further Israeli concessions.

In bartering away Jewish territory, the Prime Minister undermines the Jewish history, identity, religion, and security with which the land is inextricably intertwined.

Labels: islam, Israel, Israeli Arabs, jihad, terrorism, United States

Labels: CAIR corruption, dhimmitude, islam, msm foulness, United States

Labels: islam, terrorism, United States

Labels: anti-semitism, Israel, Moonbattery, United States

A New York jury delivered a stunning verdict Wednesday. Ahmed Ghailani, an al Qaeda terrorist who conspired to blow up American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, was acquitted of more than 280 charges, including one count of murder for each of the 224 people killed in the simultaneous attacks. The jury found Ghailani guilty of only one charge: conspiracy to destroy U.S. government buildings.

The Department of Justice, which moved Ghailani from Guantanamo to New York for the trial, says it is “pleased” with the outcome since Ghailani will face a minimum of 20 years in prison and possibly serve a life sentence.

It is difficult to square the DOJ’s rhetoric with the carnage that was unleashed in Africa more than a decade ago. The man who helped murder more than 200 civilians was acquitted of their murders even though he is obviously guilty.

Let’s review some of the evidence presented at Ghailani’s trial. According to CBS News, government prosecutors presented all of the following facts to the jury:

1. Ghailani and another al Qaeda operative “purchased the used refrigeration truck converted to a weapon of mass destruction in Tanzania.”

2. “Ghailani then obtained some of the oxygen and flammable acetylene gas tanks joined to the TNT to enhance the explosion.”

3. “Ghailani also stored electric detonators - one and a half inch, aluminum coated, PETN charged blasting caps -- in the armoire of his Dar es Salaam house. The FBI found one, along with clothing tainted with TNT residue.”

4. Ghailani gave the suicide bomber who blew himself up in Tanzania the cell phone he used in plotting the attack. The suicide bomber made calls from this phone both the night before, and the morning of, the attack.

5. The government produced “numerous witnesses” who “placed Ghailani in 1998 in the company of known al Qaeda operatives and embassy bombers, at [a] ‘safe house’ in coastal Mombasa, Kenya, at the house Ghailani shared in Dar es Salaam, and riding in utility vehicles the conspirators used to ferry supplies to their bomb making locations.”

CBS News explains that two of the men “seen with Ghailani” have already been convicted for their role in the embassy bombings and are “serving life sentences.”

6. “Ghailani fled Tanzania using a fake name and passport the day before the bombings” and “three senior al Qaeda leaders involved with the East Africa's cell were on Ghailani's flight to Karachi, Pakistan."

Labels: Africa, jihad, terrorism, United States, war on terror

Labels: islam, Israel, United States

Labels: misogyny, United States

The United States on Monday refused to confirm a key component of the security guarantees it reportedly offered Israel in exchange for a 90-day freeze on new settlement construction in the West Bank.

Supporters of the freeze have cited the US offer to give Israel 20 F-35 joint strike fighter jets worth $3 billion as a critical reason to support the deal; the initial details of which were hammered out last Thursday between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

But when quizzed about the weapons offer, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said, “We are committed to maintaining Israel’s qualitative edge in the region – but beyond that, I’m not going to comment."

"I would just always caution that any time you have reports about specific things, some details may be right, some details may be wrong,” Crowley said.

Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein told The Jerusalem Post that he and other Likud skeptics are not convinced that, despite assurances to the contrary, the US will give its support in writing to continued Jewish construction in east Jerusalem or to a commitment that the mooted 90-day freeze would be the last such moratorium on new construction in the settlements.

Furthermore, Likud rebels are warning, an American promise of a guaranteed one-year US veto in the Security Council against any Palestinian moves to unilaterally seek statehood, rather than representing a benefit for Israel, constitutes something of a threat, since it opens the door to the possibility that, after the year is over, the US might in fact support Palestinian unilateral moves.

Labels: Israel, Jerusalem, UN corruption, United States

Pressure was mounting over the second settlement construction freeze on Monday, as Likud rebels met in the office of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein.

During the meeting, MK Danny Danon announced that he had sent a letter to Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in which he said, "We will do everything we can to stop the freeze. The issue is at the hands of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef to who I have written today."

In addition to Edelstein and Danon's attendance at the "emergency meeting," coalition chairman Ze'ev Alkin, MKs Miri Regev, Haim Ratz, Yariv Levin and Tzipi Hotovely also attended. "We are opposed to the freeze and we will do everything we can to stop it. It is not a suitable decision," said Levin. "We must say no to an additional freeze in Judea and Samaria."

Naftali Bennet, director general of the Yesha Council, the umbrella organization for Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and Ze'ev Haver, head of the Amana settlement movement, also attended the meeting.

"We have 48 hours to take action. Every proposal offered by Israel is like a one-way street with no exit points," said Edelstein.

"The key is in the hands of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef," said Danon. "If Shas ministers will cooperate in the cabinet, the decision will pass," he said. "At the same time, we are taking action here in order to prevent the Israeli government from accept a decision like this [a freeze] - which is not in line with Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria," Danon added.

Labels: islam, Israel, Jerusalem, Knesset, United States

In a forum of Likud ministers that met prior to the cabinet meeting, Moshe Ya'alon called the American proposal a "honey trap that will plunge us into another crisis with the Americans in the future, in three months or maybe even before then."

Deputy Knesset Speaker Danny Danon (Likud) also entered the debate and held an emergency round of consultations with key cabinet members to shore up their support for settlers.

Danon especially focused on ministers that have voiced their opposition an additional freeze such as Benny Begin, Limor Livnat and Moshe "Boogie" Yaalon.

During his conversations Danon reminded the ministers that, "a second construction freeze has never been, and never should be, a viable policy option for the Netanyahu Government. A few more F-16s cannot be a replacement our long-held ideals, commitments and promises to the citizens of Israel."

Coalition head Ze'ev Elkin said he believes the majority of Likud ministers and MKs will oppose Netanyahu's proposal to approve the American plan. Referring to the international political assistance offered by the US in exchange for the extended freeze, Elkin said that it is possible the assistance could be of more harm to Israel than it is helpful.

Labels: Israel, political corruption, United States

Labels: islam, political corruption, racism, State Dept, United States

UNION CITY - After months of Union City vying for custodial receivership of Imam Feisal Rauf’s property on Central Avenue, Superior Court Judge Olivieri, in a teleconference Nov. 9 with Union City’s attorney and Rauf’s attorney, has granted receivership with “restrictions” to custodial receiver Raymond Bulin, according to Union City spokesman Mark Albiez.

Rauf is the Muslim cleric at the center of the controversy over the proposal to build an Islamic cultural center and mosque near the former World Trade Center site.

The teleconference was the next step after Olivieri received the city’s final inspection report Oct. 22 based upon a final inspection by the city Oct. 21 that revealed fire, building, and health code violations remained at 2206 Central Ave. In the report, the city again called for receivership on the basis of continued failure to remedy violations by the specified deadlines.

Bulin has not been granted full management of the building, but has been tasked with abating the remaining violations, such as uncapped sewer lines and bedbug infestation. A $7,000 check, money from October rent payments held in escrow from Rauf’s attorney, will pay for the repairs.

Labels: anti-americanism, anti-semitism, islam, Israel, United States

Labels: communications, msm foulness, United States

Labels: communications, islam, Israel, terrorism

LONDON, ON – Iran’s development of nuclear weapons is “one of the great tragedies of the age” and it would be shameful to expect Israel to act alone to stop it, said author, journalist and radio guest host Mark Steyn.

[...]

“Israel has the toughest job,” Steyn said. “The idea that the defence of the West has come down to this little county-sized state, because all the big, rich countries were not prepared to do anything, will tell our enemies something profound. So even if Israel were to bomb it, the fact that there are no Americans, no British, no French, no Germans, no Canadians along for the ride, tells our enemies something very profound about Western will.

“The ‘nuclearization’ of the Iranian regime is one of the great tragedies of the age. It’s not like the Pakistanis, where they did it in the dark; they've [Iran) done it in full, open view of the world and so they’ve told the world something about Western will. Israel is on the front line of that battle and in that sense should not have to shoulder the burden all by itself. But we have condemned Israel to live at Code Red now....

“This is the most profound change in geopolitics since the Second World War: Iranian nuclearization changes everything. And the idea that it’s an Israeli problem and not an American and Canadian one, too, is shameful.”

Labels: anti-semitism, Canada, Europe, iran, islam, Israel, jihad, terrorism, United States, war on terror

Amsalem, who served in the past as rabbi of a large synagogue in Geneva, has been outspoken in taking non-Shas-like stances on various issues, including most recently the matter of Torah study and work. Amsalem feels that Kollel members [married men who study Torah full-time] must not rely on others to support them. This morning, he displayed letters from Rabbi Mazuz, one of the most highly-regarded Sephardic Torah giants, supporting this position as well.

[...]

Another letter from Rabbi Mazuz to Rabbi Amsalem notes that Torah scholars traditionally supported themselves and did not rely on the public. He specifically noted the scholars of Jerba, who engaged in business or silver-crafting; the author of Chaye Adam; and the Chazon Ish, who supported his family only from the sale of his books.

“This method of the woman working to support her husband [while he studies Torah] was unknown to the Sages, except in the most special cases,” Rabbi Mazuz wrote. “Aside from Rabbi Akiva and his friends, the Sages of blessed memory supported their wives, and not vice-versa, as is written in the ketuba [marital contract]: ‘I will support and feed, etc.’”

Labels: Israel

Labels: CAIR corruption, islam, Moonbattery, political corruption, showbiz, United States

Jerusalem is not a settlement; Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Israel. Israel has never accepted upon itself restrictions of any kind on construction in Jerusalem, which has approximately 800,000 residents, including during the ten months in which construction was suspended in Judea and Samaria.

Israel sees no connection between the diplomatic process and planning and building policy in Jerusalem, which has not changed in 40 years. All Israeli governments in the past 40 years have built in all parts of the city. During this period, peace agreements were signed with Egypt and Jordan, and for 17 years, diplomatic negotiations have been conducted with the Palestinians. These are historical facts. Construction in Jerusalem has never hindered the peace process.

The disagreements with the US over Jerusalem are well-known. They are not new and have continued for 40 years. We hope to overcome them and continue to advance the diplomatic negotiations. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is looking forward to his planned Thursday meeting with US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in order to advance the peace talks.

Labels: islam, Israel, Jerusalem, United States

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Labels: iran, islam, Israel, jihad, terrorism

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Actors, playwrights and directors who have joined the boycott might be applauded by left-wing activists here and abroad who advocate boycotts to coerce Israel into potentially irresponsible “peace” agreements with the highly problematic Palestinian leadership (rather than leaving the complexities of peacemaking to the duly elected government). But they stand to lose popularity among many, probably most, of their fellow Israelis who have a better grasp of local political realities – including the fact that Israel anticipates extending sovereignty to Ariel under any peace accord – and who may wish to punish them at the box office.

Labels: Israel, Moonbattery, showbiz

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An imam from a Nazareth mosque, Nazim Mahmoud Salim, was indicted on Sunday in Nazareth District Court for incitement to violence and supporting a terror organization. He was arrested nearly one month ago by the Shin Bet (Israeli Security Agency) and Israel Police.

Salim was originally arrested after one of the suspects in the November 2009 murder of taxi driver Yafim Weinstein told investigators that the imam's sermons were what incited him to commit the murder.

The indictment stated that Salim gave sermons and circulated leaflets to the worshipers at his mosque that incited them to act against the state. He was accused of calling his worshipers to act violently on several occasions. Additionally, the indictment accused him of establishing a website, "Muslim 48," to spread those opinions and others, including support for global jihad.

Aside from the Shihab a-Din Mosque in Nazareth, Salim also preached at various other mosques, including the al-Asqa Mosque in Jerusalem. Salim had previously called for jihad against Israeli soldiers, the pope, and all targets that cause harm to Islam. The imam was quoted as saying that "Jews are Satan," and "Osama bin Laden is loved by God," according to Army Radio.

The state requested that Salim's remand be extended until the end of the proceedings against him.

Salim's indictment came a few months after the sentencing of northern branch of the Islamic Movement head Sheikh Raed Salah was sentenced to five months in prison for attacking a Jerusalem police officer.

Labels: anti-semitism, islam, Israel, jihad, londonistan, racism, terrorism, war on terror

Labels: anti-americanism, jihad, military, racism, United States

French authorities have filed preliminary charges for terrorism against a 27-year-old man who allegedly travelled to fight in the border zones of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Police investigators say they believe the Frenchman of Algerian origin spent 10 months in the volatile region, which is a base for the Taliban and al-Qaida linked fighters, before returning home earlier this year.

Labels: France, jihad, terrorism, war on terror

One of two mail bombs sent from Yemen last week was disarmed just 17 minutes before it was set to go off, the French interior minister said Thursday, but American and British officials said they had no information that would confirm that.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the question of when the bombs found in Britain and the United Arab Emirates were to go off was still under investigation and there was no information confirming such a close call. U.S. investigators also said they were unable to confirm the French report.

A senior U.S. official told Fox News on Thursday that both bombs contained cell phone detonators that were timed to the alarm function. The official said that the bombs were constructed to have the alarm trigger power from a battery that would in turn heat lead azide -- a chemical initiator -- in a syringe. Once hot, the lead would then cause PETN explosives -- packed into each printer cartridge -- to detonate.

The official said the syringe was the same style of detonator that master bomb maker Ibrahim al-Asiri used in the failed bombing last Christmas of a Detroit-bound airliner.

Labels: Europe, France, islam, jihad, londonistan, terrorism, war on terror, yemen

Prominent Jewish voices are speaking out against the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee’s (ADC) decision to honor former White House reporter and harsh critic of Israel, Helen Thomas, with their Mehdi Courage in Journalism award.

Labels: anti-semitism, islam, Israel, United States

British Foreign Secretary William Hague signed a “treaty between nations” with Palestinian Authority leaders on Wednesday. “This agreement is the first ever bilateral treaty between the two nations,” the British Consulate-General site proclaimed.

The treaty covers cooperation in the film industry. Hague signed a similar agreement with Israel.

Aside from its reference to the “treaty between nations,” the UK Consulate site also referred to Hague's trip to visit PA leaders in Ramallah as “his first visit to Palestine,” apparently recognizing a new country of “Palestine” before even PA leaders have declared one to exist.

Labels: anti-semitism, islam, Israel, londonistan, political corruption

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Labels: islam, Israel, Knesset, political corruption, United States

UNION CITY -- City officials conducted a final inspection on Oct. 21 of the 16-unit building owned by the imam who intends to build a mosque and Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero and say fire violations still exist at the Central Avenue property.

Hudson County Judge Thomas Olivieri will hold a conference call with city officials and attorneys representing Feisal Abdul Rauf on Nov. 9 to decide what should happen with the building, officials said.

As a result of accumulating over 200 fire and health code violations, including problems with bedbugs, mold, and faulty fire alarms, the city had petitioned the court to put 2206 Central Ave. into receivership, meaning a third-party would be responsible for collecting rent and maintaining the property.

City officials said today the bedbug infestation persists in four out of the building's 16 units, some sewer lines have not been capped, and a fire escape ladder is still not working properly.

Labels: anti-americanism, islam, terrorism, United States

Labels: dhimmitude, islam, Israel, UN corruption

In a landmark ballot measure that tested the boundaries of the public’s acceptance of pot, California voters decided Tuesday night they’re not ready to legalize marijuana smoking as a leisure activity.

With more than one-fifth of votes counted, Proposition 19 was losing by 56 to 44 percent. The initiative would have allowed adults over 21 to possess up to an ounce of pot and cultivate small amounts of marijuana at home.

The pot initiative – which would have made California the first state to legalize marijuana beyond medical use – drew international attention.

Ultimately, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder weighed in on the campaign, vowing to “vigorously enforce” federal drug laws in California if voters passed the initiative.

“When the U.S. attorney general talked about the conflict with federal law, that gave people pause,” Roger Salazar, spokesman for Public Safety First, the No on 19 campaign, said as returns showed the measure headed to defeat.

Labels: United States

Labels: anti-americanism, jihad, terrorism, United States

Oklahoma is set to become the first state in America to outlaw Sharia law.

Voters were expected to rule it illegal for judges to rely on the Islamic code when ruling on cases following a state-wide ballot.

Proponents of the ban said it was a ‘preemptive strike’ to stop Oklahoma suffering the same fate as European countries such as Britain, where Sharia is routinely used in Muslim communities.

Even though Oklahoma has a very small proportion of Muslims - just 15,000 out of a population of 3.7million - they want to stamp out the problem before it begins.

Around a dozen other states will be watching closely to see if the proposition is approved amid heightened anti-Muslim sentiment fueled by row over the Ground Zero Mosque.

The Republican-controlled state legislature in Oklahoma has already passed State Question 755, or ‘Save Our State’ with an 82-10 vote in the House of Representative and a 41-2 vote in the Senate.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma voters have approved a measure that would forbid judges from considering international law or Islamic law when deciding cases.

Republican Rex Duncan, the sponsor of the measure, called it a "pre-emptive strike" designed to close the door on activist judges "legislating from the bench or using international law or Sharia law."

Members of the Muslim community called the question an attack on Islam and some of them said they are prepared to file a lawsuit challenging the measure.

Labels: islam, United States, war on terror

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A Muslim woman tried to kill a Labour MP by stabbing him in the stomach 'in revenge' for him voting for the Iraq War, a court heard today.

Roshonara Choudhry, 21, is accused of knifing Stephen Timms twice in a shock attack during a constituency surgery meeting after she greeted the MP with a smile and offered him the hand of friendship.

A second later the fanatic allegedly lunged forward, repeatedly plunging a three inch kitchen knife into his stomach, sending the MP 'reeling and staggering' backwards, before staff jumped in to wrestle the blade from her grasp.

The Old Bailey heard how the young Muslim woman had plotted for weeks to kill her local MP, buying two knives in case one 'broke' when she enacted her 'punishment' for him voting in Parliament to invade Iraq in March 2003.

After the attack, she coolly told police: ''I just pushed it (the knife) in like how it is if you punch someone.

'I was trying to kill him because he wanted to invade Iraq.

'I was not going to stop (stabbing him) until someone made me.

'I wanted to kill him. I was hoping to get revenge for the people in Iraq.'

Mr Timms, 55, suffered potentially life-threatening injuries in the attack days after the general election in May this year.

The MP for East Ham underwent surgery at the Royal London Hospital after the knife punctured his liver and stomach, but he has now made a full recovery.

Choudhry was later charged with attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon.

But in an extraordinary case, she has refused to challenge the evidence, saying she does not recognise the jurisdiction of the court.

In what is thought to be the only case in living memory, the defendant has refused to appear in court for her trial and has instructed her lawyers not to offer any evidence in her defence or cross-examine any witnesses.

Labels: islam, londonistan, racism

“The findings in the case of Muhammed Al-Dura, and particularly the investigative report by German’s ARD 1 television station, arouse significant doubts regarding the accuracy of the claims by France 2 as they were broadcast on Sep. 30, 2000, according to which the boy was killed by fire from an IDF position.

“Ever since the incident, the methods by which the Palestinians have created and staged media events for propaganda purposes have been revealed. Even the reporter of the Al-Dura incident has admitted that he is aware that this is Palestinian policy. Two incidents stand out clearly in this regard: The movie purporting to show that Israel had committed a ‘massacre’ in Jenin, which never happened, and an incident in which a ‘dead body’ fell off the stretcher on which he was being carried, before the cameras – and began to walk.

“In light of all this, there is room to expect the international media to check carefully such reports, and not to publicize any reports with unsubstantiated claims.

“It should be emphasized that over the years, the Al-Dura case has been utilized by certain elements to promote hatred, anti-Semitism and incitement to attack Israelis.

“It is now clear that it was wrong to assign responsibility for this incident to the IDF or the State of Israel... Despite the presence of dozens of photographers at the site, there is no proof, filmed or otherwise, that Israeli forces fired towards the boy, other than the [dubious] film of France2... The distance, angle, and other signs show that the bullets fired at the boy did not come from the Israeli position.”

Minister of Information Yuli Edelstein was asked by Arutz-7 why it is that a statement of this nature is issued only ten years after the event. “It should have been released closer to the incident,” Edelstein acknowledged. “We have what to fix, but we must remember that the other side has no problem with lying in their propaganda. I’m not saying that we have to act like them, just like we do not act like them on the battlefield. But certainly things like the speed of our responses should be improved..."

Labels: anti-semitism, Europe, France, islam, Israel, jihad, Moonbattery, msm foulness