Blue Star Chronicles

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So What’s Everybody Talking About?

September 29 - October 1, 2006

Just link and trackback to this post. Nothing to it but to do it.

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Jihadists are celebrating ramadan with calls to ‘kidnap Westerners’ and ‘Christian Dogs’. There is also a call for attacks on U.S. military camps in Iraq using “unconventional bombs such as biological and dirty bombs.” Oh - I thought there weren’t weapons of mass destruction in Iraq! Check it out at Jihadi du Jour.

The Pirate’s Cove has some good news out of Iraq:

Soldiers from Company B, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, took part in a ribbon cutting ceremony Sept. 15 celebrating the re-opening of the Al Bawasil School in Muelha, a town in the northern Babil province, south of Baghdad.

All Things Beautiful looks at Clinton’s Bonfire of Vanities.

The Median Sib says Saddam should be released and sent back to Iraq.

A Rose by Any Other Name has a couple of great Soldier stories. Here and Here. Go read them!

TeaFizz is leaving for Iraq next week. Go give him a good send off. (h/t My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy who hat tips Agent Bedhead)

Theodore’s World reports on Jihadists calling for scientists for Jihad.

Others with open trackbacks:

Disclaimer: trackbacks to this post do not necessarily represent the opinions or standards of the Blue Star Chronicles.

Please check out the posts linked below ~~~~~

My Beloved Curmudgeon has always told me that even though they fought a vicious jungle war in Vietnam, he always liked the Vietnamese people.

The picture above is from his collection.

‘Vietnam is proof that American soldiers are tough. They fought a mean, vicious jungle war with no support at all from the home front and kept it up for 10 years. It was a war where they had to literally kill the enemy by hand, one by one, by dragging them out from under the jungle bush. They only left when the politicians cut and run.’ ~Beloved Curmudgeon

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So What’s Everybody Talking About?

September 28, 2006

Just link and trackback to this post. Nothing to it but to do it.

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Others with open trackbacks: Conservative Cat, Third World County, TMH’s Bacon Bits, Planck’s Constant, Stuck on Stupid, Pursuing Holiness, Right Wing Nation,

Disclaimer: trackbacks to this post do not necessarily represent the opinions or standards of the Blue Star Chronicles.

Please check out the posts linked below ~~~~~

cartoon by Mike Lester

also at Right Wing Sparkle

Reuters Article

By Peter Graff in Baghdad
September 26, 2006 04:00am

BRITISH troops in Iraq said they killed one of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s top global lieutenants, who escaped from a US prison in Afghanistan last year.

Omar Faruq was shot dead while resisting arrest during a raid by about 200 British troops in Iraq’s second biggest city, Basra, British military spokesman Major Charlie Burbridge said.

US leaders have described Faruq as the top al-Qaeda operative in South-East Asia. He was caught in Indonesia in 2002 and held at a high-security detention centre at Bagram airbase, north of the Afghani capital Kabul, until his escape last year.

“The individual had been tracked across Iraq and was in hiding in Basra,” Major Burbridge said, calling him a “very, very significant man”.

Faruq, once believed to be the main link between bin Laden’s followers and the Jemaah Islamiah militant group blamed for bombings in Indonesia, was one of four men who escaped from Bagram in July last year.

Washington did not reveal that he had got away until November, when defence lawyers demanded he be produced as a witness at the trial of a US army sergeant accused of abusing prisoners in Bagram. US officials were then obliged to reveal that he could not testify because he had escaped.

The escape caused embarrassment for Washington, changes to security at Bagram and a massive manhunt in Afghanistan which failed to track down the four prisoners.

Major Burbridge said Faruq was hiding in Basra and not necessarily believed to be operating there. The mainly Shiite southern Iraqi city does not have a large presence of the Sunni militant group al-Qaeda, whose Iraq branch has claimed responsibility for attacks on Shiites.

Omar al-Faruq, senior operative in Southeast Asia and confidant of Osama bin Laden, was to be a witness in a trial of an American Soldier for abuses in Bagram. Does that strike anyone else as absurd? An American Soldier is on trial for abusing prisoners who are in this prison are in this prison because they are top lieutenants in bin Laden’s Army. And this guy was going to be considered a witness in the American Soldier’s trial.

No wonder four of the prisoners there were able to escape. One wonders if the guards there are loath to do anything to prevent them from escaping. Touching one of them could end up in a court martial.

Another interesting point is that Omar al-Faruq was tracked across Iraq and was hiding out in Iraq. Would that imply that Iraq does, indeed, have something to do with the Global War on Terror?

The following is a summary of his capture, treatment and the information he gave up under interrogation.

June 2002

Omar al-Faruq, a top al-Qaeda senior operative in Southeast Asia, is captured by Indonesian agents after receiving a tip from the CIA. He is flown to the CIA interrogation center at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan where is subjected to months of intense interrogations . “It is likely, experts say, that … Mr. Faruq [was] left naked most of the time, his hands and feet bound. [He] may also have been hooked up to sensors, then asked questions to which interrogators knew the answers, so they could gauge his truthfulness,” the New York Times will later report. One Western intelligence official will tell the newspaper that Mr. Faruq’s interrogation was “not quite torture, but about as close as you can get.” For three months he is provided with very little food, subjected to sleep and light deprivation, prolonged isolation and temperatures ranging from 100 degrees to 10 degrees. After being softened up, Faruq provides information about “plans to drive explosives-laden trucks into American diplomatic centers [and] detailed information about people involved in those operations and other plots, writing out lengthy descriptions.” [New York Times, 3/9/2003]

Hooah for the Brits for ridding the world of this guy. A job well done.

Crossposted at Jihadi du Jour

Washington Times

President Bush has invited bloggers to join him today as he signs into law a bill creating a database of federal spending — a recognition of their role in forcing the bill through Congress over the objections of senior senators and an indication of how much bloggers are changing the political process.

A coalition of bloggers from the left and the right last month did what the Senate’s Republican leadership could not: smoke out obstructing senators, bring public pressure to break their hold and move the bill to the Senate floor, where it passed by a voice vote.

“The bloggers mobilized Congress; Congress did not mobilize bloggers,” said John Hart, spokesman for Sen. Tom Coburn, the Oklahoma Republican who teamed with Sen. Barack Obama, Illinois Democrat, to support the bill.

“It really does represent a revival of basic democratic values: that active citizens using tools of technology really can steer the political process,” Mr. Hart said. “And what happened was profoundly subversive to the established political order.”

The legislation will establish a searchable database of all federal contracts and grants, and most other spending.

The Bush administration supported the database as a way to improve transparency and accountability, but senior senators from both parties blocked the bill through a “secret hold,” a parliamentary tradition that allows a single senator to obstruct legislation.

Bloggers mounted a drive to identify the obstructors, asking readers to call their senators and demand to know whether they were the culprits. The obstructors eventually acknowledged their role and relented.

One administration official called the bill the “‘Blair Witch Project’ version of legislation” because support grew by word of mouth through blogs.

Bill-signing ceremonies give the president, lawmakers and key interest groups a chance to proclaim victory. Bloggers say this is the first time they have been invited as a group.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that without the attention paid to the bill by the bloggers it wouldn’t be getting signed into law by the president,” said Tommy Vietor, a spokesman for Mr. Obama.

“It was a bill that just made so much intuitive sense that no one could understand how Congress could not pass it, which got folks involved and brought a lot of pressure from bloggers on the right and left.”

Some of the bloggers also will have a chance to talk about their work on the bill tomorrow with Clay Johnson, deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget.

“They definitely showed a tremendous interest and a dogged determination to see this bill passed, and we are happy to invite them to the White House,” said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.

Glenn Reynolds, who led the charge from the right on his blogs Instapundit.com and Porkbusters.org, said blogs have given a voice to the constituency that wants spending controls and accountability. That means lawmakers can’t talk about financial responsibility while getting away with profligate spending on pet projects.

“That’s sort of the big news here,” Mr. Reynolds said. “What blogs make it hard for people to do in a whole lot of different ways is tell one group of people one thing and tell another group something different, and hope nobody noticed.”

Part of the bill’s success may be attributed to the unlikely team of Mr. Coburn and Mr. Obama. They first collaborated on good-government efforts over Hurricane Katrina relief spending, and their cooperation on spending issues could be the model for finding agreement on entitlement relief.

Congratulations Porkbusters!, Instapundit and N.Z. Bear!!

Blogging makes a difference!!!

Video and transcript are at the White House website.

Hot Air also has video.

More pics and coverage at Tim Chapman’s Blog.

Senator Bill Frist

Without the hard work of men and women like Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit, Mark Tapscott of the Examiner Editorial Board, Ed Morrissey of Captain’s Quarters, NZ Bear of Truth Laid Bear, Robert Bluey on Human Events, Liz Mair of GOP Progress, and Paul Kiel of TPM Muckraker (to name but a few), this legislation would likely never have received the President’s signature. And, with their continued efforts, I’m confident that the database created today will help keep Washington’s addiction to wasteful spending in check.

more at: Michelle Malkin, Lords of Kobol, Right Minded, Morning Coffee, Mary Katherine Ham, Ace of Spades, Freedom Folks, Right Wing Nation

Read an improper take on the Mel Gibson scandal here.

Three Marines to face court martial

SAN DIEGO - Three Marines from Camp Pendleton will face courts-martial on murder charges in the death of an Iraqi man in the town of Hamdania, the Marine Corps said Monday.

Gen. James Mattis, the commanding general in the case, said he would not seek the death penalty.

The three were among seven Marines and one Navy corpsman charged with kidnapping and murdering 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad last April. The other five face preliminary hearings in coming weeks.

Pfc. John J. Jodka, 20, Cpl. Marshall L. Magincalda, 23, and Lance Cpl. Jerry E. Shumate, 21, will also face charges including conspiracy, housebreaking and wrongfully seizing and holding a victim against his will.

The Marines Corps dropped some charges against the three, including an assault charge against Magincalda and Shumate. Jodka had charges of making a false official statement, larceny and wrongfully endeavoring to impede an investigation dropped.

Joseph Casas, an attorney for Jodka, said he was pleased.

“(Jodka) is looking forward to getting a fair court martial and moving this forward as expeditiously as possible,” Casas said. “Every day he sits in there in limbo is a day behind bars that he doesn’t spend with his family.”

Attorneys for Magincalda and Shumate did not immediately return phone messages seeking comment.

According to prosecutors, the Marines and sailor kidnapped Awad on April 26, bound his feet, dragged him from his home and shot him to death in a roadside hole.

Jodka is accused of firing on Awad. Magincalda is suspected of binding Awad’s feet and kidnapping him. Shumate is suspected of firing his M-16 at Awad, then lying to investigators about what had happened.

I have a hard time buying that 8 individual people would conspire to murder one guy for no apparent reason and all stick to their stories while in isolation for months. It’s not feasible.

I’m glad they’ve dropped the death penalty - but these guys need justice. It’s time to let them get on with their lives.

h/t CalTech Girl

Previous:

• Camp Pendleton 8 Hearings Begin
• Demand Justice for the Pendleton 8
• Rally for the Camp Pendleton 8
• Civil Liberties for Terrorists but not for U.S. Soldiers

linked to: Jo’s Cafe, Mark My Words, Third World County, Dumb as an Ox, Clash of Civilizations,

Political Gateway

BERLIN, Sept. 24 (UPI) — The president of the European Commission says he is disappointed the leaders of Europe didn’t defend Pope Benedict XVI’s remarks about Islam.

In Sunday’s edition of the German newspaper Weltam Sonntag, Jose Manuel Barroso said Islamic extremists are a threat, but people cannot confuse tolerance with political correctness by putting others’ values above their own, Deutsche Welle reported.

Barroso also said the problem does not not lie with the pope’s comments, but with the violent reaction of extremists.

In a September address in his native Germany, the pope quoted the words of a 15th century Byzantine emperor that characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed — particular the urging of Muslims to spread the faith through conquest — as evil.

The comment was followed by demonstrations across the Muslim world demanding an apology.

The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union.

From Christian Today

“I was disappointed there were not more European leaders who said ‘naturally the Pope has the right to express his views’,” Barroso was quoted as saying to the German Die Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

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Barroso said the caution on the part of European leaders was probably due to “worries about a possible confrontation” as well as a “certain form of political correctness”.

“We have to defend our values,” he said. “We should also encourage the moderate leaders in the Muslim world - and they’re the majority - to distance themselves from this extremism.”

Can it be the Europeans developing a backbone? Are they finally having enough of the muslims bullying them around and imposing their values on everyone else in Europe?

I hope so.

There’ll probably be a fatwa issued for Barroso by tomorrow.

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previous:
Cat Stevens Criticizes the Pope
Still More Protesting the Pope
Protesting the Pope
crossposted at Right Wing Sparkle

linked to: Jo’s Cafe, Mark My Words, Third World County, Dumb as an Ox, Clash of Civilizations

Oh for CRYING OUT LOUD!!!

Now comes the once pop music star Cat Stevens AKA Yusuf Islam to criticize the Pope. Will the hypocrisy NEVER end?

Khaleej Times

LONDON, England - Yusuf Islam, the British singer known as Cat Stevens before his conversion to Islam, on Sunday added to the criticism of Pope Benedict XVI’s recent remarks about the religion.

Islam, known for his 1970s hits including “Father And Son” and ”Wild World”, said that the pope quoting from a medieval text, which attacks some of the Prophet Mohammed’s teachings as “evil and inhuman” showed the pontiff was not infallible.

Apparently, Cat was raised Catholic and converted to islam in 1977 following a near-death experience.

Toronto Daily

Raised Catholic and prominent convert to Islam, Cat Stevens, who now uses the name Yusuf Islam, said in an interview with BBC that the pope’s words proved he was not “infallible.”

“At one point, I used to believe that the pope was infallible,” Islam said.

Cat Stevens, whose real name is Steven Demetre Georgiou, sold over 60 million albums, mostly in the 1970s. His most notable songs include “Morning Has Broken”, “Peace Train”, and “Moonshadow”.

I had a crush on Cat Stevens when I was a kid. I was one of the 60 million that bought his albums. That irritates me now.

I’m thinking WHERE Cat, WHERE was your outrage when muslims cut off the heads of American Soldier’s in Iraq?? Where was your outrage when muslims fire bombed churches because they didn’t like what the Pope said? Where was your outrage when they slit Theo Van Gough’s throat because they didn’t like a movie he made?? Where was your outrage when they shot a nun in the back because they didn’t like what the Pope said. Where was your outrage when YOUR chosen religion of peace beheads, hangs, buries alive anyone who does not behave in the manner they deem worthy?

Does any of that bother you? All you seem to be able to say is that you shouldn’t be judged by how another muslim behaves. I have yet to hear you speak diapproval about girls being murdered for their families ‘honor’ after being raped. I have yet to hear you speak against the destructive riots or the bombings muslims have perpetrated in your own country.

Shut up CAT STEVENS. You got rich in the 1970s singing songs. That does not make you an expert on world events or religion. You have nothing worth while to offer.

Cat Stevens then and now.

crossposted at Right Wing Sparkle

linked to: Jo’s Cafe, Mark My Words, Third World County, Dumb as an Ox, Clash of Civilizations

Swiss Info

Swiss voters have approved tougher regulations on asylum and have limited immigration for citizens from outside the European Union.

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On asylum voters were evidently convinced by the government’s arguments that harsher measures against asylum abuses were necessary to avoid social tensions and provide protection for those fleeing persecution.

~snip~

Justice Minister Christoph Blocher of the rightwing Swiss People’s Party – who is at the forefront of the reform – warned of an increasing number of asylum requests and high costs for the country’s welfare system.

~snip~

The amended law on foreigners in principle limits immigration for citizens outside the European Union and the European Free Trade Association (Efta) to highly skilled labour.

It also aims to encourage integration, in particular by language courses, while cracking down on human trafficking and marriages of convenience.

The cabinet, as well as three of the four main parties, are in favour, but opponents criticised the restrictions for family members of immigrants and harsh jail terms for illegal immigrants who refuse to leave the country.

The law passed by 80%. EIGHTY PERCENT. I think that means a large majority of Swiss want to have stricter laws on immigration.

Predictably, the U.N. is condemning Switzerland for passing these new laws.

William Spindler, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said he regretted the outcome of the referendum. “It will now be necessary to ensure that the rights of asylum-seekers and refugees remain protected and that the new laws meet international standards,” he said.

If only the U.N. would be as concerned about the laws meeting ‘international standards’ in the nations these people are fleeing. If those nations met ‘international standards’ than there would be much less a need for the nations that DO meet those standards to make EVEN MORE room for ‘asylum-seekers’. Or you might call them ‘illegal immigrants’ or whatever you want to call people who come to these countries to try to better their lots in life or to take advantage of generous welfare systems paid for by the hard working tax payers of those nations.

It looks to me like the people of Switzerland are attempt to keep the country from being crushed under the weight of those seeking to take advantage of it’s once generous welfare system. That’s what happens when a system is abused.

Not to worry! Switzerland can always ignore the U.N. like everybody else does.

Crossposted at Right Wing Sparkle

linked to: Jo’s Cafe, Mark My Words, Third World County, Dumb as an Ox, Clash of Civilizations

I don’t know where my Soldier Son is. The last time I got a message from him he said his unit was pushing to another area. He was vague about where that would be, but I know it’s an area where there is a lot of fighting right now.

I’ve gone to his MySpace account to see when the last time he logged in was - it hasn’t been updated. I’ve emailed his girlfriend knowing he’s likely to get in touch with her before I hear from him. She hasn’t heard from him. My daughter hasn’t heard from him.

It really hit me when I got his orders in the mail. He sent them to me for safe keeping and ‘just in case’. Just in case. That’s what really got me. The ‘just in case’. I tried to read the orders, but they looked like they had been xeroxed way too many times and were barely legible. The part I could read was his name, rank and the statement that he’s deployed in the Global War on Terror. That got me too.

The Global War on Terror. Reading that on his orders made it very much more real for me. The Global War on Terror and just in case. Those phrases really bothered me.

When I’m watching (more like listening) to the news and hear about IEDs and bombs and this many have been killed and/or wounded, I find myself just listening enough to hear whether any were Americans. Does that sound cold? It probably does. It probably is. But all I really want to know is that our Soldiers are okay. Beyond that, I don’t want to hear it any more.

On one hand I am obsessed with the news of the war and on the other I find myself averting my eyes from the horrors of it.

When I hear that the al-islamofascists have put out yet another tape of their disgusting medieval abuses and tortures of U.S. military Soldiers or civilians from anywhere I feel my anger towards them building. When I hear their fascist hate-filled rhetoric I just want to scream.

When I hear the hate-filled ignorant rhetoric of our enemies within who just don’t GET IT, I want to scream even more. These are the worst. They are speaking against their own people, their own country.

The main stream media is the worst. I listen to them put out propaganda AGAINST our own country and it is infuriating. It puts our troops in a much more dangerous position. Appeasement does nothing but prolong suffering and conflict. You can avoid conflict, but it only leads to unavoidable conflict. How they can do that and sleep at night is beyond my understanding.

I keep telling myself that my son is well trained and a good Soldier. He certainly knows how to take care of himself and his men. I tell myself that the streets of many U.S. cities are more dangerous than the streets of Baghdad. I tell myself that many more U.S. sons are killed in car accidents than in Iraq. I tell myself a lot of things, but I still am hyper-vigilent in watching what is happening over there.

How does a parent manage having a child over there in harms way? I know there are many others out there who are going through the same thing. I know that we deal with what we have to deal with. I know. It doesn’t make it any easier.

This is just a stream of consciousness vent.

Welcome to the 16th Carnival of Blue Stars. Our military men and women are our best and brightest! Their accomplishments are the pride of our country.

The Carnival of Blue Stars gives us, the families, friends, supporters, veterans and current service members an opportunity to have a voice in the Blogsphere.

The history of the Blue Star Banner can be found here.

Send the post you want to showcase to carnival [at] bluestarchronicles [dot] com to be included in the next Carnival of Blue Stars.

In your email please include the URL to the post you are submitting. Don’t make me come looking for you ….

And remember to join the Blue Star Blogroll.

Links and trackbacks are welcome, appreciated and reciprocated. [If you do not have trackbacks or use Haloscan, I'd appreciate a link back to this post to help it's exposure. Thanks!]

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Our Warriors:

Theodore’s World share information about the Strikeouts for Troops program. Who would’ve thought baseball players supporting the troops!

Texas Fred has news from Iraq.

The Army has met it’s recruiting goal early says Blue Crab Boulevard. 80,000 new recruits joined the service in the past year.

Echo9er has the story of Army Pvt. Francis Lupo who has been missing since World War I. His remains have been identified and returned to his family for burial at Arlington Cemetery.

Bear Creek Ledger has info on the Military Traumatic Injury Insurance bill.

Old War Dogs have some suggestions on how to honor our military.

Military Families

Keep My Soldier Safe (now G.R.I.T.S. since her son has returned home safely!) does some military site seeing.

Global War on Terror:

Amy Procter explains Iraq and the War on Terror.

Iraqi’s are getting fed up with the al-Quada insurgents, Red Hot Cuppa Politics reports.

Did you know that in London the police have agreed to brief a panel of muslim leaders before they conduct a counter-terrorism raid? Violence Worker has the story. I wonder how that would have impacted the recent raid and arrests that stopped the plane bombing plot?

Woman Honor Thyself wonders what a fair fight with terrorists is.

A Rose by Any Other Name shares a letter from the president of Iraq to the citizens of America. It’s worth a read.

Politics

Strong as an Ox and Nearly as Smart takes on the Main Stream Media.

Prying1 looks at the reasons behind Bush’s war. Hours of scouring through Urban Legend websites and carefully picking pieces of data have lead him to startling conclusions. Go see for yourself!

Gawfer takes a look at the debate over military tribunals for the Gitmo terrorists.

Miscellaneous

AubreyJ will be away for a couple of weeks. He’s having surgery on Monday. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Karen’s Korner has a round up of news.

The Bull Speaks reports that the USS Dolphin (AGSS 555) Completes Final Underway.

123 Beta is getting frustrated with the trial of Saddam Hussein.

Seaspook’s Rants blogs about the intolerance of the barbarous Arab culture.

Church and State evaluates whether or not you can even call islam a religion anymore.

Chas’ Compilations writes an excellent article on Ahmadinejad’s madness.

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Linked to open trackbacks: Church & State, Conservative Cat, Outside the Beltway, Adam’s Blog, Third World County, Clash of Civilizations, Jo’s Cafe, Is It Just Me?, Leaning Up Straight, Point Five,