It’s Sunday again so again it is my turn to do Round the Reader. For those who are coming here looking for it, geez people have some patience. And please no more hate email otherwise I’ll never write it today. Please enjoy.

President Bush is set to finally make the trip to the Boy Scout National Jamboree. Really Mr. President, don’t you think you’ve done enough? Bush is already causing increased hurricane strength so to assume he cannot control the weather is not accurate. Heh.

Ok, but I have a serious side too and on to some serious news. I finally corrected the link to American Dinosaur. It was on my to-do list for a couple of days, but the harassment made me put it off. No, Rick, it’s not just you.

Even though this is probably the last thing I should say on this site, because you never know who is reading, my step-sister is getting married this October which I do wish her the best of course. However, the wedding is not your traditional wedding and instead will be an Indian style wedding. Her fiance is not Indian so I really don’t know why this is to be the case. While there’s nothing wrong with this style of a wedding, my knowledge of what to do or how to act at one of these weddings is elementary at best. Anyone who knows me realizes I’ll be a fish out of water. The dress is casual, which for me means shorts and sandals, but for a wedding I assume that means just short of a coat a tie.

The dress code is of no problem to me as I do dress up on occassion, but there is a distinct difference between what a man calls wedding casual and what a woman calls wedding casual. For that matter there is a huge difference between male business casual and woman business casual. Women can get away with t-shirts at the office by calling them blouses but if a man pulled that charade, they would be sent home. If anyone can shed some light into why I’d be forever obliged.

On the topic of attire, Beth, the answer is no. Banning short skirts on women is a very bad idea. I think 90 percent of men agree with me on this point. Eh comrades?

I must admit I feel a little left out. My summer camps were never like this one. I don’t even recall learning songs, but then again I never sing unless I’m in my car with the windows rolled up. I try to spare those around me the best I can.

Radical Islamic sites are getting taken down on the web. MI5 seems to have a hand in it, but what about alert readers who understand that when jihadis sign up on free webhosting accounts they can and do alert the provider to take them down? I’ve done so and thus far I do not work for MI5. One of the more popular jihadi sympathiser forums was down for a while, but it’s back up now.

An interesting picture has been posted on a similar jihadi site. While I do not read Arabic, a picture can tell 1,000 words. This one though tells six words; ‘World domination is what we want.’ Hey, whoever knew the United States and Iran were cooperating in Iraq?

The Air America scam seems to be hitting new depths of depravity. You all know Air America from their five listeners. Well, it appears they have taken money from kids and put it into . . . Al Franken’s ego?

Speaking of strange reactions on the Left, does anyone know what President *shudders* Jimmy Carter thinks he is doing? Carter decries attrocities at Guantanamo. You know, those attrocities which have been debunked. Why? New Spew thinks he is senile. I don’t think he’s senile. I just think he’s Jimmy Carter and when he’s not certifying elections for dictators or building houses, he’s castigating the United States. He is an embarassment. I suspect we’ll see his mug on a new Al Qaida recruiting video soon.

Democratic Senator Chris Dodd says John Bolton is ‘damaged goods‘ if President Bush gives him a recess appointment. Well, here’s a brain twister. Why doesn’t Dodd tell his colleageues not to filibuster Bolton and then the Senate could vote on him? You see, that’s why I’m not a politician.

Andi asks where the outrage is concerning abuses in Iranian prisons. Andi, Andi, Andi. If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you 1,000 times. Iran is small potatoes to the United States. It makes better copy to talk about a Guantanamo Bay detainee ripping up the Koran and blaming it on a MP. There’s roughly 30 percent of Congress who support such stories so why would the MSM venture elsewhere?

Thus concludes the Round the Reader. As always, I cannot link every post or article I find interesting and I do encourage my readers to visit the other Round the Reader blogs (located on the right sidebar) for this segment daily. Thank you for reading and thank you for continuing to give me a place to ramble on.

Gives a new meaning to “kill your television”…now its “jihad against your TV”…

CHARSADDA: Hundreds of followers of a local cleric on Saturday set ablaze dozens of TV sets following the cleric’s ruling that watching television was ‘haram’ (forbidden) in Islam. The men congregated in the Municipal Park after Friday prayers and piled up about 25 TV sets, doused them with fuel and set them on fire, said witnesses. “These people actually responded to the cleric’s call,” said a local police official. The cleric, Abdullah Shah, had said on radio that watching TV was a sin and declared a jihad against vulgarity and obscenity. The park echoed with shouts of “Allah-o-Akbar” (God is greatest) and “Islam zindabad” (long live Islam), while the emotional crowd also decried an ongoing crackdown on suspected extremists. A local journalist said that, days earlier, Abdullah Shah had decreed that TV was “not allowed in Islam” after followers had asked him to give an Islamic ruling.

Hat tip to Redstate’s REDHOT.

Gee, do ya think?

Hollywood producers of the black comedy American Dreamz are reconsidering the script after the London attacks because it involves suicide bombers attempting to assassinate the American president.

The film, starring Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid and Willem Dafoe, features a group of Pakistani terrorists, who target a mentally frail president played by Quaid. The spate of attacks on London by Islamic extremists have, however, rattled the film-makers, Paul and Chris Weitz.

Last night, a member of the film’s production team admitted that the storyline might be too sensitive for the film’s scheduled release in February 2006. He told The Sunday Telegraph: “Obviously we’re extremely concerned about the sensitivities everyone has towards terrorism, especially in London.”

[snip]

The lead terrorist is thought to be named Omar, an unfortunate choice in the light of Wednesday’s arrest of bombing suspect Yasin Hassan Omar. The 24-year-old Somalian is being questioned in relation to the failed blast at Warren Street Underground station on July 21.

While he was being held at Paddington Green station in London, however, the film-makers continued discussions about the plot’s direction.

They refused to say whether the terrorists would be edited out of the script entirely, or who had been lined up to play them. Insiders indicated, however, that as shooting on American Dreamz has only recently begun at the Universal Studios in Hollywood, making amendments to the script would be fairly straightforward.

Furthermore, could Hollywood be making a politcial statement with their president being “mentally frail”? They wouldn’t be taking a cheap shot at President Bush…would they? Nah…silly me.

The Sunday Times reports British authorities suspect a third group of suicide bombers, perhaps larger than the previous two, is loose and is planning attacks in London.

A THIRD Islamist terror cell is planning multiple suicide bomb attacks against Tube trains and other “soft” targets in central London, security sources have revealed.

Intelligence about a cell with access to explosives and plans to unleash a “third wave” of attacks was the trigger for last Thursday’s unprecedented security exercise. The operation saw 6,000 police, many armed, patrolling across London.

Senior police officers say that there was “specific” intelligence from several sources that an attack was planned for that day. The disclosure contradicts official statements by Scotland Yard that Thursday’s security exercise — the biggest since the second world war — was simply a precaution aimed at reassuring the public.

[snip]

Details of a “third wave” terror plot to carry out multiple suicide attacks were disclosed to senior police commanders at an emergency Special Branch conference held at Scotland Yard last Wednesday. All police leave was cancelled and hundreds of officers were instructed to book into central London hotel rooms.

Members of the third cell are said to be independent of the July 7 and July 21 terrorists but have “associations” with some of the suspects who have been arrested in connection with the July 21 attacks. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, head of the anti-terrorist branch, said that despite capturing the four suspected bombers and a fifth man linked to the cell “the threat remains and is very real”.

Another officer, a member of the Yard’s firearms unit, which captured three of the suspected suicide bombers in two raids in west London, said: “What we did on Friday was just the tip of the iceberg. There is some big stuff coming in the next few months. There’s a big network that’s got to be cracked.”

Truly alarming but hardly surprising. The more that is learned of a radical Islamic mass in England the more complex in nature the threat seems to be. To England’s credit though, intelligence seems to be on the ball and help from other nations including Pakistan is assuredly behind some of this intelligence learned.

The British, for the most part, seem to remain concerned but unbothered by the threat. This is good because while Brits are more aware of their surroundings, they are going about their daily lives which puts a spike in the heart of the cause to create terror as elaborated by Osman Hussein.

The Patriot Act has come under fire since it was enacted following 9/11. There are some provisions in the act that I do not agree with, however overall I see this as needed for national security. Some provisions are to help erase a wall between intelligence agencies constructed during the 1990s and in my view this deconstruction is past due.

In a case in California between supporters of two Department of State designated terrorist groups, Kurdistan Workers Party and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the Patriot Act took center stage as supporters wanted to send these two groups aid for the tsunami but did not want to be prosecuted. Ruling in favor of the Patriot Act on most fronts, the judge in the case did however say one provision is “unconstitutionally vague.”

U.S. District Judge Audrey B. Collins found language in the 2001 law — making it illegal to give “expert advice” or “training” to foreign terrorist organizations — is impermissibly imprecise. The Los Angeles Times reported Saturday the judge’s order was made public Friday.

The judge ruled in favor of the government by upholding a provision of the law making it illegal to give “material support” to terrorist organizations, the newspaper said. Collins said her order — enjoining the U.S. Justice Department from enforcing unconstitutional features of the law — applies only to plaintiffs in the legal challenge her court is considering.

This is a big win for the Patriot Act and in my view, the correct decision. The parts of the Patriot Act which I have read at times are vague and should be more specific, however the larger bill is to ensure safety of Americans which is the primary function of government.

I give France a lot of guff for several reasons, though I imagine if Jacques Chirac was not the nation’s leader I might have a different opinion. France though has remained fairly tough on their home front in terms of preventing terrorist attacks and prosecuting those who are planning attacks. Needless to say I hope this continues.

Evidence of how France has and continues to combat radical Islam on French soil is abundant, however the latest piece of evidence is the extradition of a radical Islamic cleric to Algeria.

French authorities sent Reda Ameuroud, 35, back to Algeria on a ship from Marseille. The BBC reported the French interior ministry planned to expel 10 more radical Islamists in August.

Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy had told the daily Le Parisien Friday that a man of Algerian descent who had spoken “heinous words” against France was about to be expelled. Ameuroud is believed to be a member of the radical Salafist movement, the BBC said.

The French crackdown on extremists who advocate violence is a result of the July 7 bombing in London.

Sarkozy said France did not have to tolerate radical preaching that “calls for hate and murder,” even if it is delivered in a place of worship.

“Those who persist in this way will systematically be the object of an expulsion procedure,” he said.

While France may take harsher measures after 7/7, the nation has in the past acted in similar fashion. Personally I’d rather these types of preachers of hate be locked up, but of course there is always a statue of limitations to constrict such imprisonment. This cleric will be on watch lists in many nations now as a result of this extradition which in itself is a good step in combating radical Islam.

There’s an interesting editorial in the Middle East Times written by Youssef M. Ibrahim concerning how radical Muslims have picked the wrong people to mess with (via Austin Bay). The premise is good however I’m not exactly sure the West is where Ibrahim says it is . . . yet.

Do the cowardly jihadis who recruit suicide bombers really think that they will force the US Army and British troops out of Iraq by killing hundreds of innocent Iraqis? US troops now have bases and operate in Iraq but also from Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman.

The only accomplishment of jihadis is that now they have aroused the great “Western Tiger”. There was a time when the United States and Europe welcomed Arab and Muslim immigrants, visitors and students, with open arms. London even allowed all dissidents escaping their countries to preach against those countries under the guise of political refugees.

Well, that is all over now. Time has become for the big Western vengeance.

Visas for Arab and Muslim young men will be impossible to get for the United States and Western Europe. Those working there will be expelled if they are illegal, and harassed even if their papers are in order.

Airlines will have to right to refuse boarding to passengers if their names even resemble names on a prohibited list on all flights heading to Europe and the United States.

What is more important to remember is this: When the West did unite after World War II to beat communism, the long Cold War began without pity. They took no prisoners. They all stood together, from the United States to Norway, from Britain to Spain, from Belgium to Switzerland. And they did bring down the biggest empire. Communism collapsed.

I fear those naïve Muslims who think that they are beating the West have now achieved their worst crime of all. The West is now going to war against not only Muslims, but also, sadly, Islam as a religion.

Ibrahim hits the nail on the head right at the start of this excerpt because while the war in Iraq may not be popular, depending on which poll you choose to believe and how the questions are worded of course, the jihadis really stand no chance in forcing the Coalition to leave. Some Coalition nations are leaving however most of those withdrawals were planned long ago and the soldiers are replaced with more Coalition soldiers and/or Iraqi National Guard. The ING will be responsible for much of Iraq’s security soon and has already stepped up to the plate which leaves the Jihadis fighting Muslims, which based upon radical Islamic terror groups targeting innocent Muslims this may have been their intended target all along.

I’m not certain this is the time where the West has come together. On some aspects, of which Ibrahim listed, the West has, but on other aspect the West has not. Without question it is more difficult for Arabs to receive visas into the United States (I presume England shortly) which is quite a change from years past. Many Arabs, including many high-ranking jihadis, attended American universities, however these numbers are sure to dwindle because of the threat of radical Islam.

Much like World War II, there are some similarities. Increased intelligence sharing among nations is prevalent and many nations are confronting radical Islam. Much like WW II, Spain remains placid on the ground, but the nation has not aided the enemy this time around. The differences of course remain that there are many nations confronting the same common enemy. Nations which were WW II enemies or nuetral have joined forces in this front. It is not the West unless this word has new meaning to include nations such as Russia, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Fiji, etc.

The old alliances of WW II have come back around with several new additions, however the jihadis are far from the Nazis or the Japanese under empirical rule. They do not fight under a flag other than the flag of Islam which leaves nations combatting them without a good clue as to where they might sleep in their midst.

Ibrahim is correct in that this war against radical Islam may very well turn into a war against Islam, however if Islamic leaders can rise and give a face to modern Islam which is against the radicalization of Islam and against the radical Islamic ideology, it will not have to be this way. In fact I suspect this is what most Western nations would prefer. It is not there yet, but it may be soon if a strong Islamic leader does not rise up.

Many in nations targeted by radical Islam, which is almost every nation sans Iran at the present moment, are getting tired of having to wait days for local Muslim groups to rise up and issue a fatwa against radical Islam following a terrorist attack. Furthermore these fatwas often carry little to no weight as the disgust by the average citizen of these countries continues to grow.

As I’ve written before, we are in a religious war. It is not a war against Islam or any other religion, but it is a religious war nonetheless when the enemy of freedom carries nothing else than a religious doctrine and suicide bomb belt. We are a patient people, but just like World War II, we’ve learned our lesson from being too paitent.

Osman Hussein, one of the four terrorists who attempted to bomb London transit on 7/21 and who was arrested in Italy, has confessed to the plot. Hussein though claims the attacks were not meant to hurt anyone.

Osman Hussain told interrogators he wasn’t carrying enough explosives even to “harm people nearby,” the expert told The Associated Press. The expert spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the ongoing investigation, which under Italian law must remain secret.

[snip]

Hussain was calm and coherent at a hearing in a Rome prison Saturday, but doesn’t consider himself a terrorist and may be gearing up to fight his extradition to Britain, his court-court appointed lawyer, Antonietta Sonnessa, said.

Grilled by a pair of Italy’s top anti-terrorism prosecutors, Hussain said that months ago in London, his chief - who he identified as “Muktar” - taught him how to assemble explosives using fertilizers and stuff explosives and timers into backpacks, the Rome daily La Repubblica said.

Hussain was referring to Muktar Said Ibrahim, 27, one of the other bombing suspects captured Friday in a London raid, the newspaper said. Ibrahim is suspected of planting explosives on a London bus on July 21.

“Muktar urged us to be careful” La Repubblica quoted Hussain as telling his interrogators. “We didn’t want to kill, just sow terror.”

Right. If the Muktar, the alleged bombmaker, knew what he was doing the bombs though would have killed people, but Hussein just wanted to frighten people. Sorry, I don’t buy it and hopefully neither will the English courts.

According to the AP, the four said anger of the war in Iraq was cause for the attack. Again, I don’t buy it. The twisted form of Islam where people think it’s their duty to kill infidels while killing theirselves is the reason for the attack, Iraq is the excuse. We all know about excuses too; everyone has one.

It appears British authorities targeted the correct four and their plot will soon be unraveled. The bigger question though is if there is a deep connection with 7/7 or if there are more terrorists in England plotting to wage another attack.

Update:
More has been released of what Hussein has told interrogators including this statement which I find interesting.

“Religion had nothing to do with this. We watched films. We were shown videos with images of the war in Iraq. We were told we must do something big. That’s why we met.”

Assuming this is accurate, which I tend to believe it is a slight misdirection on the part of Hussein, it is a direct contradiction to what the killer of Theo Van Gogh said. I’ve seen some of the film spread by terrorist groups operating out of Iraq and some footage of suicide bombings which have targeted and killed children are shown in these videos with overlays stating this was the work of U.S. soldiers. These videos are prevelant, or at least were at some time, in certain areas of England.

If we are to believe Hussein acted not from his religion but only because of the war in Iraq, he was used by those who led him this direction. He was shown propoganda which influenced his decision making process. The alleged leader of this group is believed to be a high-ranking member of Al Qaida. No one can reasonably argue Al Qaida does not act based upon their religion and only lashes out because of the war in Iraq.

Hussein and other four were either duped or Hussein is simply lying. Perhaps a combination of the two.

In the ‘That’s a Shame’ category, Saddam Hussein’s lawyers claim their client was attacked during a recent court appearence. Of course the Iraqi tribunal denies any such attack.

A man burst out from those gathered in the courtroom Thursday and tried to hit Saddam as the ousted leader was leaving the courtroom after a 45-minute hearing, Saddam’s legal team said in a statement.

“There was an exchange of blows between the man and the president,” the statement said, also claiming the judge overseeing the hearing did nothing to stop the assault.

Judge Raid Juhi of the Iraqi Special Tribunal denied Saturday any incident involving Saddam occurred and said the hearing was conducted in a calm and low-key atmosphere. Juhi, however, did not attend the hearing, which was presided over by different judge.

Saddam received no injuries in the alleged altercation. If Saddam was indeed attacked, it just might be for his actions while he was the leader of Iraq. You know, he wasn’t exactly the most gracious dictator.

One of the biggest fears of some people concerning aid to the tsunami was that the funds would end up in the hands of the wrong people. Everyone, including myself, who donated money to the tsunami areas intended the money to go to those who needed it the most. According to The Scotsman however, some of the money given appears to have ended up in the hands of Al Qaida linked Jemaah Islamiya.*

CHARITABLE donations to help people affected by the Asian tsunami disaster are falling into the hands of radical Islamic groups linked to terrorists in Indonesia, a leading expert on the global al-Qaeda network warned yesterday.

Relief money had become the “primary source” of income for two militant groups, including one founded by a Muslim cleric [ed. Abu Bakar Bashir] serving a prison sentence in connection with the Bali bombing in 2002 in which more than 200 people were killed.

Without question giving aid to those affected by the tsunami was needed, but I am a long-time advocate of personal donations versus government-funded donations. As with any charity, there are charities which have tight restrictions to what the money goes for and charities who do not. Did a government-funded donation end up in the hands of a radical Islamic terrorist group?

The only reason I ask the above question is because I would rather know that personal donations were led astray by either giving to the wrong charity or a mismanagement of funds than funds directly from a government. It is far easier for me understand people would not do their research into a specific charity rather than a government. Then again, it would not shock me completely if some of the money given by the United States, Brazil, France, etc. might end up in the wrong hands on error.

* The article mentions two radical Islamic groups, Mujahideen Kompak and Majelis Mujahideen Indonesia (MMI), that might have received funds however those two groups are more political in nature (if there can be such a thing). There is a link to Jemaah Islamiya which is regarded as the militant side to radical Islam in the area.