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Monday, September 27, 2010

The Mother of all Terrorists

To Be Taken Quite Literally!

For those of you who want "FACTS" and "FIGURES" and have the intellect to judge 'GOOD' from 'EVIL' and the courage to know and say out the TRUTH....for the rest you should stop here!


Ever since the United States Army massacred 300 Lakotas in 1890, American forces have intervened elsewhere around the globe 100 times. Indeed the United States has sent troops abroad or militarily struck other countries' territory 216 times since independence from Britain. Since 1945 the United States has intervened in more than 20 countries throughout the world.

Since World War II, the United States actually dropped BOMBS ON 23 COUNTRIES. These include: China 1945-46, Korea 1950-53, China 1950-53, Guatemala 1954, Indonesia 1958, Cuba 1959-60, Guatemala 1960, Congo 1964, Peru 1965, Laos 1964-73, Vietnam 1961-73, Cambodia 1969-70, Guatemala 1967-69, Grenada 1983, Lebanon 1984, Libya 1986, El Salvador 1980s, Nicaragua 1980s, Panama 1989, Iraq 1991-1999, Sudan 1998, Afghanistan 1998, and Yugoslavia 1999.

Post World War II, the United States has also assisted in over 20 different coups throughout the world, and the CIA was responsible for half a dozen assassinations of political heads of state.

The following is a comprehensive summary of the imperialist strategy of the United States over the span of the past century:

Argentina-1890-Troops sent to Buenos Aires to protect business interests.
Chile-1891- Marines sent to Chile and clashed with nationalist rebels.

Haiti-1891-American troops suppress a revolt by Black workers on United States-claimed Navassa Island.

Hawaii-1893-Navy sent to Hawaii to overthrow the independent kingdom-Hawaii annexed by the United States.

Nicaragua-1894-Troops occupied Bluefields, a city on the Caribbean Sea, for a month.

China-1894-95-Navy, Army, and Marines landed during the Sino-Japanese War.
Korea-1894-96-Troops kept in Seoul during the war.

Panama-1895-Army, Navy, and Marines landed in the port city of Corinto.
China-1894-1900-Troops occupied China during the Boxer Rebellion.
Philippines-1898-1910-Navy and Army troops landed after the Philippines fell during the Spanish-American War; 600,000 Filipinos were killed.
Cuba-1898-1902-Troops seized Cuba in the Spanish-American War; the United States still maintains troops at Guantanamo Bay today.
Puerto Rico-1898-present-Troops seized Puerto Rico in the Spanish-American War and still occupy Puerto Rico today.
Nicaragua-1898-Marines landed at the port of San Juan del Sur.
Samoa-1899-Troops landed as a result over the battle for succession to the throne.
Panama-1901-14-Navy supported the revolution when Panama claimed independence from Colombia. American troops have occupied the Canal Zone since 1901 when construction for the canal began.
Honduras-1903-Marines landed to intervene during a revolution.
Dominican Rep-1903-04-Troops landed to protect American interests during a revolution.
Korea-1904-05-Marines landed during the Russo-Japanese War.
Cuba-1906-09-Troops landed during an election.
Nicaragua-1907-Troops landed and a protectorate was set up.
Honduras-1907-Marines landed during Honduras' war with Nicaragua.
Panama-1908-Marines sent in during Panama's election.
Nicaragua-1910-Marines landed for a second time in Bluefields and Corinto.
Honduras-1911-Troops sent in to protect American interests during Honduras' 
civil war.
China-1911-41-Navy and troops sent to China during continuous flare-ups.
Cuba-1912-Troops sent in to protect American interests in Havana.
Panama-1912-Marines landed during Panama's election.
Honduras-1912-Troops sent in to protect American interests.
Nicaragua-1912-33-Troops occupied Nicaragua and fought guerrillas during its 20-year civil war.
Mexico-1913-Navy evacuated Americans during revolution.
Dominican Rep-1914-Navy fought with rebels over Santo Domingo.
Mexico-1914-18-Navy and troops sent in to intervene against nationalists.
Haiti-1914-34-Troops occupied Haiti after a revolution and occupied Haiti for 19 years.
Dominican Rep-1916-24-Marines occupied the Dominican Republic for eight years.
Cuba-1917-33-Troops landed and occupied Cuba for 16 years; Cuba became an economic protectorate.
World War I-1917-18-Navy and Army sent to Europe to fight the Axis powers.
Russia-1918-22-Navy and troops sent to eastern Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution; Army made five landings.
Honduras-1919-Marines sent during Honduras' national elections.
Guatemala-1920-Troops occupied Guatemala for two weeks during a union strike.
Turkey-1922-Troops fought nationalists in Smyrna.
China-1922-27-Navy and Army troops deployed during a nationalist revolt.
Honduras-1924-25-Troops landed twice during a national election.
Panama-1925-Troops sent in to put down a general strike.
China-1927-34-Marines sent in and stationed for seven years throughout China.
El Salvador-1932-Naval warships deployed during the FMLN revolt under Marti.
World War II-1941-45-Military fought the Axis powers: Japan, Germany, and Italy.
Yugoslavia-1946-Navy deployed off the coast of Yugoslavia in response to the downing of an American
plane.
Uruguay-1947-Bombers deployed as a show of military force.
Greece-1947-49-United States operations insured a victory for the far right in national "elections."
Germany-1948-Military deployed in response to the Berlin blockade; the Berlin airlift lasts 444 days.
Philippines-1948-54-The CIA directed a civil war against the Filipino Huk revolt.
Puerto Rico-1950-Military helped crush an independence rebellion in Ponce.
Korean War-1951-53-Military sent in during the war.
Iran-1953-The CIA orchestrated the overthrow of democratically elected Mossadegh and restored the Shah to power.
Vietnam-1954-The United States offered weapons to the French in the battle against Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh.
Guatemala-1954-The CIA overthrew the democratically elected Arbenz and placed Colonel Armas
in power.
Egypt-1956-Marines deployed to evacuate foreigners after Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal.
Lebanon-1958-Navy supported an Army occupation of Lebanon during its civil war.
Panama-1958-Troops landed after Panamanians demonstrations threatened the Canal Zone.
Vietnam-1950s-75-Vietnam War.
Cuba-1961-The CIA-directed Bay of Pigs invasions failed to overthrow the Castro government.
Cuba-1962-The Navy quarantines Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Laos-1962-Military occupied Laos during its civil war against the Pathet Lao guerrillas.
Panama-1964-Troops sent in and Panamanians shot while protesting the United States presence in the
Canal Zone.
Indonesia-1965-The CIA orchestrated a military coup.
Dominican Rep-1965-66-Troops deployed during a national election.
Guatemala-1966-67-Green Berets sent in.
Cambodia-1969-75-Military sent in after the Vietnam War expanded into Cambodia.
Oman-1970-Marines landed to direct a possible invasion into Iran.
Laos-1971-75-Americans carpet-bomb the countryside during Laos' civil war.
Chile-1973-The CIA orchestrated a coup, killing President Allende who had been popularly elected. The
CIA helped to establish a military regime under General Pinochet.
Cambodia-1975-Twenty-eight Americans killed in an effort to retrieve the crew of the Mayaquez, which had been seized.
Angola-1976-92-The CIA backed South African rebels fighting against Marxist Angola.
Iran-1980-Americans aborted a rescue attempt to liberate 52 hostages seized in the Teheran embassy.
Libya-1981-American fighters shoot down two Libyan fighters.
El Salvador-198-92-The CIA, troops, and advisers aid in El Salvador's war against the FMLN.
Nicaragua-1981-90-The CIA and NSC directed the Contra War against the Sandinistas.
Lebanon-1982-84-Marines occupied Beirut during Lebanon's civil war; 241 were killed in the American
barracks and Reagan "redeployed" the troops to the Mediterranean.
Honduras-1983-89-Troops sent in to build bases near the Honduran border.

Grenada-1983-84-American invasion overthrew the Maurice Bishop government.
Iran-1984-American fighters shot down two Iranian planes over the Persian Gulf.
Libya-1986-American fighters hit targets in and around the capital city of Tripoli.
Bolivia-1986-The Army assisted government troops on raids of cocaine areas.
Iran-1987-88-The United States intervened on the side of Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War.
Libya-1989-Navy shot down two more Libyan jets.
Virgin Islands-1989-Troops landed during unrest among Virgin Island peoples.
Philippines-1989-Air Force provided air cover for government during coup.
Panama-1989-90-27,000 Americans landed in overthrow of President Noriega; over 2,000 Panama
civilians were killed.
Liberia-1990-Troops entered Liberia to evacuate foreigners during civil war.
Saudi Arabia-1990-91-American troops sent to Saudi Arabia, which was a staging area in the war against
Iraq.
Kuwait-1991-Troops sent into Kuwait to turn back Saddam Hussein.
Somalia-1992-94-Troops occupied Somalia during civil war.
Bosnia-1993-95-Air Force jets bombed "no-fly zone" during civil war in Yugoslavia.
Haiti-1994-96-American troops and Navy provided a blockade against Haiti's military government. The CIA restored Aristide to power.
Zaire-1996-97-Marines sent into Rwanda Hutus' refugee camps in the area where the Congo revolution
began.
Albania-1997-Troops deployed during evacuation of foreigners.
Sudan-1998-American missiles destroyed a pharmaceutical complex where alleged nerve gas
components were manufactured.
Afghanistan-1998-Missiles launched towards alleged Afghan terrorist training camps.
Yugoslavia-1999-Bombings and missile attacks carried out by the United States in conjunction with
NATO in the 11 week war against Milosevic.
Iraq-1998-2001-Missiles launched into Baghdad and other large Iraq cities for four days. American jets
enforced "no-fly zone" and continued to hit Iraqi targets since December 1998.

These*100*instances of American military intervention did not include times when the United States:

(1) Deployed military police overseas;
(2) Mobilized the National Guard;
(3) Sent Navy ships off the coast of numerous countries as a show of strength;
(4) Sent additional troops to areas where Americans were already stationed;
(5) Carried out covert actions where American forces were not under the direct rule of an American command;
(6) Used small hostage rescue units;
(7) Used American pilots to fly foreign planes;
(8) Carried out military training and advisory programs which did not involve direct combat.

U. S. Government Assassination Plots
Following is a list of prominent foreign leaders whose assassination (or planning for same) the United States has been involved in since the end of Second World War. The list does not include several
assassinations in various parts of the world carried out by anti-Castro Cubans employed by CIA and headquartered in the United States:

LIST A: NON MUSLIMS
1949 - KIm Koo, Korean opposition leader
1950's - CIA/Neo-Nazi hit list of numerous political figures in West Germany
1950's Chou En-lai, Prime Minister of China, several attempts on his life
1950s (mid) - Claro M. Recto, Philippines opposition leader
1951 - Kim Il Sung, Premiere of North Korea
1955 - Jose' Antonio Remon, President of Panama
1955 - Jawar Lal Nehru, Prime Minister of India
1959 and 1963 - Norodom Sihanouk, leader of Cambodia
1950s-70s - Jose Figueres, President of Costa Rica, two attempts on his life
1961 - Francois "Papa Doc"Duvalier, leader of Haiti
1961 - Patrice Lumumba , Prime Minister of Congo (Zaire)
1961 - Gen. Rafael Trujillo, leader of Dominican Republic
1963 - Ngo Dinh Diem, President of South Vietnam
1960s - Fidel Castro, President of Cuba, more than15 attempts on his life
1960s - Raul Castro, high official in government of Cuba
1965 - Francisco Caamanao, Dominican Republic opposition leader
1965 - Pierre Ngendandumwe, Prime Minister of Burundi
1965-6 - Charles de Gaulle, President of France
1967 - Che Guevara, Cuban leader
1970 - Salvadore Allende, President of Chile
1970 - General Rene Schneider, Commander-in-Chief of Army, Chile
1970s and 1981 - Gen. Omar Torrijos, leader of Panama
1972 - General Manuel Noriega, Chief of Panama Intelligence
1975 - Mobutu Sese Seko, President of Zaire
1976 - Michael Manley, Prime Minister of Jamaica
1983 - Miguel d'Escoto, Foreign Minister of Nicaragua
1984 - The nine commandantes of the Sandanista National Directorate
1980's - Dr. Gerald Bull, Canadian Ballistics Scientist assassinated by Mossad in Belgium.

Partial List Of Muslim Leaders Assassinated Or Attempted Assassinations
 
1950's Sukarno, President of Indonesia

1957 Gamal Abdul Nasser, President of Egypt

1960 Brigadier General, Abdul Karim Kassem, Leader of Iraq

1980-86 Muammar Qaddafi, Leader of Libya, several plots and attempts upon his life

1982 Ayatullah Khomeini, Leader of Iran

1983 General Ahmed Dlimi, Moroccan army Commander

1985 Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadllallah, Lebanese Shiite Leader (80 people killed in that attempt)

1991 Saddam Hussein, Leader of Iraq

Reference: Blum, William, "KILLING HOPE - U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II," Appendix III U.S. Government Assassination Plots, page 453, Common Courage Press, Monroe, Maine 1995. ISBN 1-56751-052-3 Very likely Victims :

April 4, 1979 - Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Leader of Pakistan, for pursuing making of Nuclear Bomb.

August, 1988. General Ziaul Haq, Military Leader of Pakistan.

1995 - Murtaza Bhutto, Son of ZUlfiqar Ali Bhutto, Anti-American would-be Leader - Pakistan.

March 25, 1975 - King Faisal of Saudi Arabia through his Nephew, Saudi Arabia for imposing 1973 Oil Embargo.

August 24, 1999. Mullah Mohammad Omar, in Kandhar, Afghanistan.

|"À"List Of Known Assassination Plots

1950's Sukarno, President of Indonesia

1957 Gamal Abdul Nasser, President

2001 Since early this year more than 40 Palestinian leaders assassinated through surrogat


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Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Church plans to burn the Quran on 9/11


A BOOK WHICH SAYS TO WORSHIP ONE GOD, THE GOD OF ADAM, NOAH, ABRAHAM, MOSES, JESUS AND MUHAMMAD

The Holy Quran

Even now as several churches across the United States plan to burn copies of the Quran, Islam's holy book, it is suggestive of the flare of the pride that spread throughout Italy and Europe in 1497. disease, poor harvests and social and political strife escalated fear, distrust, intolerance and religious fanaticism.


Some Christians assumed the unfolding chaos surrounding them was God's wrath and punishment for their selfish and immoral behavior. They gathered what was thought to be vain objects, like secular books, works of art, mirrors, jewelry, combs and playing cards (sometimes even people), to be burned.

A half of millennium later and as the Sept. 11, 2001 commemoration draws near, several churches are preparing to ignite bonfires to burn Qurans. Known as "International Burn A Quran Day," church leaders and members want to send a strong message to Americans and the rest of the world that Islam is a violent and oppressive religion. Along with being responsible for the attacks on Sept. 11, they also claim Islam is a religion of the Devil and is causing billions of people to go to hell. They are fearful that Islamic governments and Muslims want to take-over and dominate the world, including the United States.


It is unfortunate that such thinking negates the numerous achievements of the Quran and Islam. The Quran states, "O mankind! We created you from a single pair of a male and a female and made you into Nations and tribes, that ye may know each other, not that you may despise each other." (Surah 49:13) Not only has the Quran provided hope, meaning and guidance for billions people, but it still offers a universal message of understanding and peace. Islamic cultures have been responsible for some of the greatest advancements in medicines, astronomy, health, literature, philosophy and math.


Some Islamic civilizations also uphold enlightenment ideas. While honoring the sanctity of life and justice: "...take no life, which Allah has made sacred, except by way of justice and law," the Quran encourages goodness and forbids killing: "Slaying an innocent individual is like slaying the whole people." (Surah 6:51/5:32) Regarding rights, the Quran secured freedom of conscience and worship where at one time they did not exist. "Whoever does right, whether male or female, and is a believer,...will enter the Garden," has guaranteed women the right to property, education, and to participate in public and political life.

The Quran also prohibited the killing of daughters and specifically ensured the protection of orphans and widows. In some Islamic cultures, everyone enjoys equal protection under the law. The Prophet Muhammad, who began his message with the words, "In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful,..." established religious toleration by working with and recognizing other faiths. When he entered Mecca everyone was spared, ending cycles of revenge and retaliation that had dominated the region. Jihad, which has been distorted by the West, means an inner struggle to achieve spiritual peace and entails acts of charity.


While the churches plan to burn Qurans in remembrance of the 9-11 victims, fortunately the Council on American-Islam Relations (CAIR) will provide an educational "Share the Quran" dinner. The council believes American Muslims and people of conscience should support positive educational efforts to prevent the spread of Islamophobia. Some pastors and Christians have forcefully denounced the burning of the Qurans and are calling for a spirit of trust, understanding and religious unity. They are rejecting conspiracy theories too about Islam, that are either propagated out of ignorance or by political demagogues.


Regrettably, there are some who have always succumbed to hysteria and fanaticism, acting as if they were a divine judge and executioner. Still others have distorted the purposes and meanings of the major faiths in the world. When horrific events-like plagues or Sept. 11-are mixed with imagined fears, blame, self-interest, militancy and ethnocentric views, one's perception of God can easily be twisted into a destructive ideology. As Christians in Italy burned what they thought were vain objects, another Italian, just one of many Europeans, was enslaving and committing mass genocide against Amerindians. What was really vain?


When religious faith is intermingled with military and commercial empires, it has a way of hindering God's love and mercies and denigrating the "Other." In confronting the Roman Empire, Jesus said what comes out of the heart-murder, evil intentions, adultery, slander, fornication, theft, and false witness-is what really defiles a person. (Matthew 15:19,20.) Christians in Italy, not to mention other European imperial powers, should have readied bonfires to burn their deadly allegiances to materialism, racism and militarism, not books, artworks, combs and mirrors.


Can the same be said today? Hopefully, churches planning to burn sacred Qurans on Sept. 11 will reconsider their belief and behavior. Would it not be much better to burn the vanity of collaborating with a corporate-military and national security state trying to control the entire world and its resources? Would it not be better to set ablaze vain modernity and its technological superiority that steals human dignity, devalues others faiths and cultures, and commodifies individuals while producing economic, psychological and spiritual poverty?

These churches might want to try and distinguish between sacred and profane rights and laws, and how some Islamic republics are experimenting with toleration of mosque and state (versus a strict separation of church and state ruled by a secular military regime). At the same time, when highly valued beliefs are threatened or preemptively attacked, Islam and the Quran does justify using self-defense to protect their communities against external acts of aggression by non-Islamic populations. This important faith-principle is important to understand when collaborating with and empire and its many preemptive wars.

Perhaps the real fires needing lit are acts of charity, empathy, religious toleration and an historical awareness with regards to Islam. Has there not been enough acts of militancy, hatred, revenge and political ignorance-all of which preceded and then followed Sept. 11, and none of which mirrored Christianity or Islam, let alone the Quran or Gospels? If some churches and Christians do burn the Quran on Sept. 11, it will be a Bonfire of the Sacred instead of a Bonfire of the Vanities. It will cause more ill-will and division, not only with others, but maybe even with God.

Related News: Al-Jazeera
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Thursday, September 2, 2010

Austria launches online video that allows players to shoot down minarets and muazzins (Caller for Prayer)

The game allows players to shoot down minarets and muezzins with a 'Stop' button

A far-right party in Austria has sparked outrage by launching an online video game which allows players to shoot down minarets and muezzins calling for prayer.

The game, called "Moschee Baba", or "Bye Bye Mosque", gives players 60 seconds to collect points by placing a target over cartoon mosques, minarets and Muslims and click a "Stop" sign.

It is being used by the Freedom Party (FPOe), which has a link to the game on its website, to encourage voters to elect Gerhard Kurzmann, the party's candidate in the picturesque region of Styria.

"Game Over. Styria is now full of minarets and mosques!" it says at the end of a session, before inviting players to vote for Kurzmann on September 26, when local elections are being held.

The website then invites viewers to take part in a survey which asks them whether the construction of minarets and mosques should be banned in Austria, and whether Muslims should sign a declaration in which they accept that the law takes precedence over the Quran.
According to the Austria Press Agency there are no mosques with minarets in Styria, where 1.6 per cent of the population is Muslim, and only four such buildings in the entire country.


'Religious hatre beyond comparison'

Anas Schakfeh, the leader of Austria's Islamic community, has described the game as "tasteless and incomprehensible".

"This is religious hatred and xenophobia beyond comparison," he told Austrian broadcaster ORF.

Austria's Social Democrats and Green Party have joined the Islamic community in condemning the video.

"The FPOe is targeting minarets that don't even exist," Werner Kogler, the Green candidate in Styria, said.

The game also appears to have divided the FPOe camp, with its deputy, Manfred Haimbuchner, quoted as saying the party should "seek attention with substance, not with constant provocations".

However Herbert Kickl, the party secretary, defended the game saying it did not involve any real shooting, but rather "the pushing of a stop-button to halt a bad political decision."


European debate

The Islamic community and the Green party filed complaints for incitement of hatred and degrading of a religion on Wednesday, which can be punished with prison sentences of up to two years.

Prosecutors in Graz, the capital of Styria, have launched an inquiry and will decide whether to take the game off the Internet.

Islamic buildings and dress have sparked debates in many European countries recently, with French and Belgian MPs voting to outlaw the niqab, and Swiss voters backing a ban on building minarets.

Austria's Freedom Party wants a special vote on banning mosques with minarets and Islamic face veils.

Heinz-Christian Strache, its leader, has said he wants to see anti-Muslim protests similar to those in New York over the building of a Muslim cultural centre near the World Trade Center site.

The debate isn’t just coming from the right. In Germany central banker Thilo Sarrazin, a Social Democrat, has provoked uproar for saying that Muslim immigrants undermine German society, refuse to assimilate, and sponge off the state. He has also said “all Jews share a particular gene” angering people across the German community.

The Freedom Party said its “Bye bye Mosque” game was in part in reaction to Sarrazin’s comments saying they would prefer to have “Sarrazin rather than muezzin,” in Austria. Freedom wants to “deal with a situation which has already long been widespread in Europe,” Kurzmann said. He said young people needed to be informed about the problem.

With its catchy slogans and youthful leader, the Freedom Party enjoys strong support from young people in Austria, polling 17.5 percent of the vote at a national level in 2008.

Source: Al-Jazeera English


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