idiocracy…

Iraq is in a state of turmoil…poverty…sectarianism…occupation…but at least the Iraqi Parliament has found time for a needed vacation. Ah, the important things in life…

 

Sheikh Ali al Timimi…

Subhanallah, it has already been two years…

 

 

Jumuah…

Just came back from the Masjid and it was … well … uhhhhhhh…..

What more can I say? At least I found parking this time. Yep. That’s about it. All I can honestly say that I enjoyed about going to Masjid for salat al Jumuah was the parking.

Parking.

you got Beef?

Beef?

No…not this kind..(way tooo rare!)

Nope. Not this kind either … still toooo rare …

 

Still … not completely done …

 

 

Yep. That’s more like it. “Beef” … kinda like this …

 

 

Beef – [beef] noun, plural beeves [beevz]

–noun

1.	the flesh of a cow, steer, or bull raised and killed for its meat.

2.	an adult cow, steer, or bull raised for its meat.

3.	Informal. a. brawn; muscular strength. b. strength; power. c. weight, as of a person. d. human flesh.

4.	Slang. a. a complaint. b. an argument or dispute.

–verb (used without object)

5.	Slang. to complain; grumble.

Beef? Beef? Who got Beef? Well it seems that a certain blogger, earlier this week, fired what may have been the opening salvo — if you will — in a tit-for-tat internet brawl that only the creators of Myspace and “Who Wants To Marry A Millionaire” could have have come up with. This is a “beef” … but not the kind that is for dinner … more like the kind that has the potential to result in internet jaw-jockeying and a whole lot of “he-said, he-said” nonsense. No, this isn’t an “East Coast / West Coast” thing. It isn’t a Biggie vs. Pac thing (actually if it was…Umar would have to be Tupac and I would have to be the Notorious BIG since I’m packin’ the pounds if you know what I saying).

Anyway, it seems that brother Umar Lee had a conniption earlier this week after reading a post that I had written in reference to the whole Lal Masjid fiasco in Pakistan. Well, wouldn’t you know, after reading the post (and focusing only upon a small portion toward the end) Brother Umar had to respond and…well…um…he GAVE-IT! He gave it FULL FORCE … without warning … without any hesitation … without any reservations whatsoever. He didn’t alert the townspeople of his assault. He didn’t bother giving the women and children time to disembark from the ship. He didn’t even allow the elderly & physically handicapped the time needed to don lifejackets and safely board lifeboats. No, instead he just GAVE IT! He literally gave it Godzilla style. Only in this case … he (Umar Lee) represents Bloggerzilla and I am merely the helpless nation of Japan trying to flee from impending doom.

Well Umar Lee, it seems that you’ve achieved your goal of doing what amounts to a digital drive-by (or an uppercut at the very least) … how ’bout I respond now that some of the hype (or something to that effect) has died down? Actually, I will simply be responding for the sake of clarification Inshallah, and not in the “in-your-face”/accusatory kind of manner, the way you did. There are two reasons for my taking a different approach: 1) I have no desire to be pulled down any further into the mud … as it appears that this is where you and a select cadre made up some of your most rabid supporters and fellow Muslim blog leaders seem to fester 2) I don’t want to add much more “noise” to a situation that could have otherwise (had you chosen) been handled much differently.

So, one might ask, what makes a leading Muslim blogger like Umar Lee with a Technorati ranking of 37,274 come all the way down (to create some mess) to the level of a novice like myself boasting a pathetic an atrocious/disgusting/offensive Technorati ranking of 218,155?

Could it be:

a) Anger

b) Revenge

c) Ignorance of the Islamic etiquette in dealing with others when one believes that he/she has been wronged

d) All of the above.

Allah (Azza wa’Jall) knows best, and I would rather not speculate, yet it may be that an online culture of shooting-off at the mouth (to personally attack and denigrate others) and ego may have a lot to do with it. In other words, perceived self-importance at its very worst, if you will. Nonetheless, I was called a number of names and personally attacked by brother Umar Lee, albeit in grade school fashion. I could have simply chosen to keep my mouth shut … allowed the accusations to stand … and just let the big-bad Muslim blog leader get away with it. But, why should I? Am I somehow bound not to respond according to the sacred Law of our Creator (AWJ)? If Umar Lee can hold opinions (and make them known in such a public manner) … why shouldn’t I be able to express my opinions or at least respond to such an attack? What to do? Oh, what to do?

The fact of the matter is that I do intend to respond, inshallah. And away we go…

Umar Lee writes:

“This is what I was thinking about before brother Abu Ameerah, someone who has been repeatedly critical of my writing and written in a pretentious way of the kind of religious “know it all guy” everyone hates to be around, tried to covertly attack Tariq Nelson and myself. In other words, more pompous than pious in his writing.”

“He did not mention either of us by name but anyone who has read what we have written knows who he is talking about and he should have been a man and showed a little courage and just came out and said it instead of doing what is the equivalent to punching a guy in the back and then running before he can turn around and that is the difference between Abu Ameerah and myself; I do not hide behind false pieties and I say what I mean and mean what I say and if I think something I come right out and say it.”

“There may be some truth in this that American-Muslims are often promoted to be a public face for Muslims in America; but more often than not you will find masjids in America ran by people who cannot clearly speak the English language, do not understand the society they live in, and have a whole host of cultural baggage they try and pass off as Islam.”

“There is a saying in English “attack the message not then messenger” and I think that is what Abu Ameerah is doing with Tariq and myself and what is the root of his anger? The root of this that this brother adheres to a “back home” mentality of ignoring problems and not speaking of them and hoping they will go away and if they cannot go away then making a conspiracy to explain them away and that is his cultural baggage. He is more than happy to point out the faluts in others but as soon as someone points a finger and those near to him he gets this mentality.”

“This was first on display when he, along with a few others, accused me of being a Sufi, with no evidence to the claim, during my Rise and Fall of the Salafi Dwah series, and then AA himself basically accused me of being a liar and saying I did not see what I did see but was too cowardly to come right out and say it and the root of his anger was that I was talking about things which he felt should have been ignored and not discussed. Well, sorry akh, I am not shutting up, and your little Internet rants do not impress me, and if you want to shut me up you will have to kill me and I think all of your homeboys who could do the killing are busy doing stupid stuff in Kashmir and blowing themselves up in Pakistan in order to overthrow the corrupt ruler of a falied state created more than a half-century ago by a British puppet.”

1. “…someone who has been repeatedly critical of my writing…“

Hmmm…let’s see. How many times have I been “critical” of your writing? You could probably count the number of times on one hand (likely minus the thumb) if you wanted. In terms of your actual style of writing (grammar & mechanics) … I don’t see much of a problem. However, I think it wouldn’t hurt you to use the spellchecker that wordpress offers.

2. “…written in a pretentious way of the kind of religious “know it all guy” everyone hates to be around…“

I, too, could think of quite a few…shall we say…colorful adjectives to describe you and your blog right about now akhi. Also, today is Yawm al-Jumuah so I’ll do my best to refrain, inshallah. A”religious know-it-all guy” … Moi? I have usually refrained from getting into religious debates with you or your supporters as this ultimately serves no purpose. Also, I think others that actually take your blog seriously have gotten into it with you much worse (in terms of religious matters) akhi.

3. “…tried to covertly attack Tariq Nelson and myself.“

Wow! “Covertly” huh? Was this some kind of CIA sponsored black-op akhi? Get your mind out of conspiracy theory land and try writing something of substance for once. Allow me to be clear on this: When I sat down to write the original post I had no idea what your opinion on the Lal Masjid situation was (and neither would I have cared frankly). I know it is hard akhi … but I want you to keep in mind that THE WORLD DOES NOT REVOLVE AROUND YOU! I realize that I have, unfortunately, commented on your blog in the past. Yet…both you and the blog are really of no consequence to the vast majority of Muslims who do not live for the “Jihad of Umar”. In other words…the world is full of so much more than simply your inane observations. Don’t take it too hard akhi…I tried to break it to you as gently as I could. Here’s a tissue.

4. “…more pompous than pious in his writing…“

My writing is “pompous” akhi? LOL… Have you taken a hard look at your own writing recently? Well, akhi, hate to break it to you … but … the overly opinionated and culturally chauvinistic tone that you have demonstrated in your writing is quite clearly on display and available for all of your many readers to see. The way in which you deal with (and obsess over) issues of race, ethnicity, nationality, and culture is rife with a sense of an “Us vs. Them” notion amongst fellow believers of all people. Well, I suppose that I would be a more pious individual if I did an analysis of The Sopranos … or if I wrote about the movie 300 … or if I made reference to a skanky model in my blog. Sound familiar? It’s that good ‘ole fashion moderate Muslim piety on display, right?! TASTY!

5. “…he should have been a man and showed a little courage and just came out and said it…“

I won’t attack your manhood akhi … but if attacking others and lacking adab in dealing with believers is in any way the mark of a man … then YOU DA’ MAN akhi! YOU DA’ MAN! Allow me to make mention, once again, that the original post was NOT directed toward you! I was merely recalling my own dealings with Muslims in organizations that I have been a part of. Also, as we will see later on … you accuse me of calling you are Sufi. How could I have the courage to do that (which I did not) and yet I would not have the courage to call you out on my own blog? Makes no sense if you ask me.

6. “I do not hide behind false pieties and I say what I mean and mean what I say and if I think something I come right out and say it.”

Nope! No sir! You don’t “hide”. You just rudely go on the attack without giving a brother the benefit of the doubt. I mean … you could have simply dropped me an email. However, I suppose that wouldn’t have garnered the attention and smack-down controversy you were looking for. I mean, if it is your intention to be the Don Imus of the Muslim blogosphere … then go ahead be my guest!

Hey Umar, am I hiding now?

7. “…I think that is what Abu Ameerah is doing with Tariq and myself and what is the root of his anger?”

Again…I go back to the point. How did you know that I was attacking either you or Br. Tariq Nelson? I suppose, you know what is in the hearts of the believers? How can you be sure that I was attacking you? If there was a doubt … couldn’t you have emailed me … or left a comment (in the Lal Masjid posting) for me to respond to?

8. “…this brother adheres to a “back home” mentality of ignoring problems and not speaking of them and hoping they will go away and if they cannot go away then making a conspiracy to explain them away and that is his cultural baggage.”

You have beaten the “back home mentality” point to death akhi. You seem to use it quite often. Particularly, when brothers/sisters disagree with you on a point or simply with the way in which you dealt with a particular issue. I don’t think this tactic works with me akhi. I hold the same citizenship and nationality as you akhi. My skin tone (and that of my parents) may differ from yours … but that doesn’t mean that I ascribe to some kind of convoluted “back home” mentality as you have asserted. See, akhi, my “back home” is right here … just like you … I have nowhere else to go at the moment. My point, akhi, is that as Muslims we should use hikmah in dealing with situations … rather than resorting to a Jerry Springer style airing of the dirty the laundry so to speak.

Since we are on the topic of “cultural baggage” akhi, I think that you should also deal with your baggage. Unfortunately your baggage seems to permeate nearly every post you write about issues related to Muslims (either foreign or native born).

9. “He is more than happy to point out the faluts in others but as soon as someone points a finger and those near to him he gets this mentality.”

I was thinking the same about you akhi. Small world isn’t it?! LOL

10. “…accused me of being a Sufi, with no evidence to the claim, during my Rise and Fall of the Salafi Dwah series…“

When did I ever (directly) accuse of you of being, or refer to you as, a Sufi? I thought the “Rise and Fall…” series was somewhat of a joke … but beyond that I never recall having called you a Sufi. What would be wrong if someone were to call you a Sufi anyway? Do you have something against Sufis? Try to be more clear akhi.

11. “…and then AA himself basically accused me of being a liar…“

Don’t give me “basically” … that nonsense. Did I actually refer to you as a liar? If I did … the bring the proof akhi. I do recall disagreeing with you that you were a regular attendee of The Center for Islamic Information and Education (Dar al Arqam). I know that you attended the dars a number of times as I would often see you there. Once in particular you were telling a group of us brothers sitting on the floor (including Shiekh Ali), after Salat al Isha, about your travels to Israel. I specifically remember that you made mention of the fact that the Israeli authorities did not harass you while you on the actual trip.

12. “…the root of his anger was that I was talking about things which he felt should have been ignored and not discussed.”

Uhhh…No. I have simply disagreed with the central argument that you made in “The Rise and Fall…” series, akhi. That in no way means that I’m in favor of sweeping critical matters (that impact Muslim) beneath the rug — no matter how many times you say to the contrary.

13. “…I am not shutting up, and your little Internet rants do not impress me…“

No one has told you to shut up…even though it seems we’re getting close to that point. Also, what do you call your post about me? If not a “rant” … then was it some kind of UN fact finding mission report? Furthermore, nothing you do or have done up to this point has impressed me “akh” … and I could care less what newspaper you rant write for or what radio show you go on.

14. “…if you want to shut me up you will have to kill me…“

You have also used this line in one of your blog postings before. Only then, you seemed to want terrorists or Iraqis with “sharp knives” and bombs to kill you. Is it me or does someone have a death wish? The fact of the matter is that nobody is trying to kill you akhi. Well, I don’t know how many people you’ve managed to irritate in St. Louis or NYC … so I’ll just say that I doubt anyone is trying to kill you. Relax akhi. Lighten’ up! Either you are stressed out or the “kill me” reference has something to do a soap opera audition. I know that such dramatic statements bring more readers to your blog akhi … but I really don’t care for it.

15. “…all of your homeboys who could do the killing are busy doing stupid stuff in Kashmir and blowing themselves up in Pakistan in order to overthrow the corrupt ruler…“

What the … ? It’s “brothers” like you… making such asinine allegations that helped McNulty and Kromberg secure (bogus) convictions in the case of the “Virginia 11″ including the like Sheikh Ali al Timimi or Br. Sabri ben Kahla or the rest of the “Virginia 11″ (May Allah Azza Wa’Jall free them from the hands of the tawagheet, ameen!)

Also, I think your reference to Kashmir and the militancy in that particular region of conflict is a bit of a red herring, in and of itself. You tend to do this whenever you lack a cohesive argument or when you just want to bring negative attention upon someone. Therefore, anyone who differs with you on a particular matter can easily be linked to “terrorists” … or militant groups … or whatever you feel like. Kashmir had nothing to do with my Lal Masjid post and yet you felt like bringing that in. I find that interesting and pathetic at the same time.

Ultimately, akhi, you still likely would have remained the brave man that your are — had you simply emailed me in the first place. The choice was yours to make.

***UPDATE***

When you lack a response…this is what you do…a halfhearted attempt, at best, by the Blogger Currently Known as Umar Lee. I will continue to stand by my original post on the Lal Masjid as well as the above clarification and response to Lee’s attack. Umar Lee has offered no proof to defend his accusations … until then I will continue to regard them as nothing more than exaggerated speech.  Furthermore, I doubt if he even read the entire post.

So, in closing, when you lack a response … do as Umar Lee does … simply reassert your original point or argument (even if it is incorrect). To be quite honest, I expected more from such an acclaimed and well-known Muslim blogger.

interesting…

I would recommend any serious student of history (and even Political Science) to watch this video. The video details the rise to power and eventual murder of Patrice Lumumba, the first Prime Minister of the Congo.

 

Old news footage of a detained Lumumba, shortly before his murder…

 

ISNA “Unplugged”…

Why I don’t attend ISNA Conferences…

Reason #12,847

Disclaimer: I apologize for the following…

 

1. This use of instrumentation during this mini ISNA concert program.
2. The poor use of instruments during this mini ISNA concert program.
3. The inability of the lead singer to actually…well…sing. Didn’t this guy attend Choir in high school like the rest of us?
4. The waste of time you probably experienced while watching this video.
5. The noise pollutions that this band (and the video of this band) has caused.

 

irritated…

Came back from Salat al Jummah not too long ago. The whole experience was rather unpleasant. I suppose that I have to get used to this … now that I am no longer near a normal Muslim community. Anyway, I arrived at the Masjid late (the Khateeb was also late) and parked in the muddy field area. Actually that wasn’t so bad. Alhamdulillah, I was able to leave the Masjid much faster after the Khutbah was over — leaving the Masjid is pretty much my only highlight for Jummah these days.

So I enter the masjid and….. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh! Allah Paak Parwardegar-e-Alam!!!! The Khateeb for today is a well known innovator! Actually, he has been our Guest-Khateeb before … but it has been a while since he last gave a Khutbah and I just hoped that community (and its ever so ignorant leadership) simply forgot about this guy. Despite my hopes, unfortunately, this wasn’t to be the case. I should have known something was up since this guy has been coming to the Masjid for the last 3 Fridays.

GREAT! I think to myself. That’s just freakin’ Great!

So I quickly (and ever so frantically — like a deer in headlights) look to find a place to sit and situate myself … and what do I see … I notice our “dear” sisters sitting in their appointed SISTERS AREA … looking like a bunch of colorful butterflies as they swooooon away at the words of our Innovator Deviant Khateeb. The Sisters Area is another point of contention that I have with this Masjid … they literally sit right behind the brothers. I kid you not … right FREAKIN’ behind. No partition (because that would certainly be a “wahabi” thing) … no modesty … no distance … nothing. Why not just pray right next to me? How about that? That way… instead of focusing on the Khutbah … the brothers (who aren’t married) can think about suitable candidates for marriage. Sound good huh? TASTY. I just wanna eat that idea up…

So I find a place. I thought it was as far as I could possibly be from our “dear” sisters and damned if I wasn’t wrong. I could have managed to squeeze my rather large frame over to the verrrrrrry verrrrry right hand side of the Masjid — however I thought that area was full. Well….boo-hoo for me. I suppose I’m just that dumb.

I won’t get into all of the nonsense that the Khateeb spoke of (and tried to use as his Daleel) … as this would lead to another post in and of itself. However, for the purpose of clarification, I’ll just mention that the Khateeb used (as his first point) a quote from Abdul Qadir Jilani. WHAT THE ….. ?

Please don’t come to the defense of Jilani … there is no point. I am not some angry teenager who feels the need to attack scholars … but I do know a coded reference when I see one. As a well known (extreme) Sufi the Khateeb could have used references from soooooo many great scholars in Islamic history — but he chose Jilani. And, since I am not a complete fool, Alhamdulillah, I know what that means. ; ) Wink Wink.

Anyway, the Khateeb finishes his rant of a Khutbah. I leave ASAP. See brothers and sisters milling about in the lobby. Who cares about that, right? So I basically jet. I see no point dealing with these folks or making “suggestions” or giving advice as my father says. Many people, much better than I, have made suggestions and given advice to these people only to get completely shot down. So, let’s be honest, what is the point of a Wahabi-Salafist-Extreme-Militant-Radical-Nutter like myself going to say to these folks to change their minds?

What bothers me is not that there are people lack knowledge …

What bothers me is the Arrogance of those who lack knowledge.

 

a “spy” with local links…

I just came across this and found it somewhat interesting. Actually, it probably isn’t news to anyone who is a current student at George Mason University — particularly PolySci or GVIP students. It seems that the wife of famed Robinson Professor Shaul Bakhash is being held by the Iranian Government on charges that she allegedly spied on behalf of the United States. Apparently she has confessed on Iranian State television to some kind of covert plan to “undermine” the Iranian Government.

Continue Reading: http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/07/18/iran.detainees/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

Now, I am no fan of Prof. Bakhash…but I wouldn’t want anyone to find their family in a similar predicament. As a student of Government I often came across lectures, discussions, or courses held by Prof. Bakhash. BTW, he is actually kinda short when you meet him in person. Anyway, I would occassionally listen to part of his lectures or read one of his scholarly articles. I never took any of his classes though, alhamdulillah. What bothered me about Bakhash was his approach of analysis at affairs not only in Iran…but more importantly in the broader middle east. While I am sure that he is well versed in Middle Eastern & Iranian history (in particular), and is more than capable of important critical analysis, I simply did not like him.

What I found most difficult to stomach was his commentary or analysis of Islam … or at least … Islam as a part of the sociopolitical (and geopolitical) framework of the broader Middle East. I never felt that he was fair with his analysis in that regard and I never took him as a serious Western scholar of the Middle East or of Islam, for that matter. How does one analyze the Middle East, or a specific country in the Middle East, when one hasn’t been there in decades? How do you analyze an entire region if you don’t speak the language, associate with its people, or frequently travel there?

So, at GMU, Prof Bakhash is treated like royalty. After all, he is a Robinson Professor you know?! That essentially means that he can say whatever he feels like about Iran, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, issues related to the broader Middle East, and Islam of course — and get away with it. All the while not being able to speak Arabic, not having been to the region in decades, and not being Muslim. I guess that probably doesn’t matter to GMU and most other universities. As we all know…people of Jewish ancestry/hertitage should never even be questioned for their (perceived) biases in teaching such courses. However, Muslims — most emphatically — should.

Here is one class that Prof. Bakhash teaches. I can’t help but think of it as a joke. Ever heard of “Political Judaism 290″ or “Political Christianity 300″? Yep. I didn’t think so. To be quite honest courses like “Political Islam” are a complete waste of time on so many levels. Their design seems to do more with enrollment numbers — rather than the actual promotion of learning and dialogue…

HNRS 240: Reading the Past: Political Islam.
The destruction of the twin towers at the World Trade Center in New York on 9/11, the U. S. government’s “war on terror,” and America’s war in Iraq have focused considerable attention on the Islamic world and on what is often termed “political Islam” or “Islamic radicalism.” This course is designed to help students place these developments in an historical context. It examines the relationship of politics and religion in the Islamic world in the past, competing interpretations of politics in the Islamic world today, the organization and various uses of terror for political purposes, intellectual and political attempts at democratic reform in the Islamic world, and the different ways in which Western scholars and commentators have defined and understood “political Islam.” (TR 3:00-4:15 p.m.)

Ligers and Tigons, Oh My!

This is what happens when man tinkers with the creation of Allah (AWJ)…

 

http://www.lairweb.org.nz/tiger/tigons.html

 

 

Haven’t they ever watched Animal Planet before?

Here’s a conspiracy (theory) I bet you never saw coming. I mean, there are conspiracies and then there are conspiracies. I have no idea what to make of this one. Well, it seems that local residents in the southern Iraqi city of Basra have recently accused the British military of releasing a number of badgers among the populace in order to “sow panic.” The residents, it seems, have chosen to ignore the 4+ year old military occupation of their country…chosen to ignore the daily death and destruction that has been visited upon their nation…and have chosen to ignore the many infrastructural failures that plauge Iraq.

Instead the residents of Basra have chosen to target Mellivora capensis, also known as the honey badger. The honey badger, as it is commonly known, does indeed have a reputation for being a ferocious albeit little predator — and it is even known to kill (large) python and venemous snakes. However, dear readers, I find it unlikely that the honey badger is the newest weapon in the British military arsenal. C’mon…think about it for a moment…the Queen’s Army supposedly raising a super vicious breed of badger to terrorize the people of Iraq. Who needs a bagder anyway, when we already had a “poodle” like former PM Tony Blair to do plenty-ah-terrorizin’ in Iraq.

I also doubt that the British are using these wild beasts to provoke tension with Muqtada al Sadr and his Mahdi Army (Jaish al Mahdi). The likelihood of the honey badger being part of some broader military strategy on the part of the British is about as probable as ME being the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from Oxford in the field of Neuropsychopharmacology.

I have no clue as to what the Shia of Basra were thinking with this conspiracy theory. Perhaps this was some kind of ill-conceived ploy at defending al Sadr and his thugs. Perhaps, the reason we haven’t seen or heard much from al Sadr recently is due to this wild outbreak of feral beast. Perhaps al Sadr is trying to negociate some kind of political resolution vis-a-vis elements of the Sunni insurgency and the Supreme Council for The Honey Badger Political Revolution In Iraq (SCHBPRII)? Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

Or, is it possible that the mighty Mahdi Army has simply been routed from the field of battle by these curious little creatures? I mean, would they really stand a chance in a one-on-one battle against this worthy foe? I think not! (lol) I can just picture Mahdi militia types running through the streets of Basra, having dropped their Iranian made RPG’s, shouting — “The Badgers are coming! THE BADGERS ARE COMING!”

Continue reading: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6295138.stm

More on Honey Badgers:

http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0409/feature6/index.html?fs=www7.nationalgeographic.com

 

“Ay you! Yeah, YOU! You talkin’ tah me? I mean…I saw you over there lookin’ at me. You wanna piece ah me? You want somma dis? Alright…it’s freakin’ GO TIME PAL!”

more priest abuse in the news…

Let’s see how Catholics try to explain yet another Priest abuse scandal. I don’t think church officials have many options at this point…but who knows what they could pull out from underneath their ecclesiastical hats. Here are a few possibilities:

1. Blame al Qaeda…the Taliban…OBL…whatever rolls off the tongue easier or any other “terrorist” d’joure.
2. Blame the entire religion of Islam — in that cool Pope “whatever his name is” kinda way.
3. Deflect attention by attacking those who are in favor of stem cell research.
4. Have former Senator Rick Santorum come out of hiding (or whatever it is that former Senators like him do) and take a job as official Spokesman/Media Relations for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, or “Let’s Get Physical, Physical” church as I like to call it. He could deflect media attention by throwing out some other cause like Darfur. “I know that priest abuse isn’t the best thing in the world…but have you seen what those EVIL, disgusting, hairy-scary-Arab-Mozzlem-monsters are doing to Black babies in Darfur?”
5. If all esle fails…see #1.

 

THE Roman Catholic Church in Los Angeles has apologised to hundreds of people sexually abused by its priests after agreeing to a record $US660 million ($758 million) settlement, the biggest in US history.

Lawyers for the Los Angeles archdiocese and 508 victims of abuse dating back to the 1940s thrashed out the massive settlement on the eve of a potentially explosive court case due to open tomorrow.

Archdiocese head Cardinal Roger Mahony – who has been accused by angry victims of attempting to cover up paedophilia cases during his reign – said today that the cases should never have happened.

“This long journey has now come to an end, and a new chapter of that journey is beginning,” Cardinal Mahony said.

“Once again I apologise to anyone who has been offended, who’s been abused by priests, by deacons, by religious men and women or by lay people … It should not have happened and should not ever happen again.”

Cardinal Mahony said he was haunted by the fact that victims would never be able to reclaim their innocence.

“It is the one part of the settlement process I find so frustrating, because the one thing I wish I could give the victims, I cannot,” he said.

Ray Boucher, the lead lawyer for the victims, said the settlement was “long overdue”.

“Some of the victims have waited more than five decades for a chance at reconciliation and resolution,” Mr Boucher said. “This is a down payment on that debt long overdue.”

Lawyers for both sides will appear in Los Angeles Superior Court tomorrow to file the settlement, which must be approved by a judge.

The deal will be the largest settlement by any Roman Catholic archdiocese to sex abuse victims in the United States.

Abuse cases across the country have cost Roman Catholic churches around $US2.1 billion ($2.43 billion) to date. Several priests have been convicted and at least four dioceses have gone bankrupt paying civil penalties.

The Los Angeles church is expected to sell off assets from its estimated $US4 billion ($4.62 billion) real estate holdings to pay for the settlement.

The church had already settled 46 cases in December for $US60 million ($69.34 million).

John Manly, a lawyer who represented around 50 victims who now stand to receive payouts of $US1.2 ($1.39) to $US1.3 million ($1.5 million) dollars each, said the archdiocese had settled to avoid the embarrassment of a court case.

Mr Manly said the release of internal documents as part of the settlement would raise questions over the leadership of Cardinal Mahony.

“I think when people see the documents and see what he knew and what he did they will be stunned,” Mr Manly said.

Victims accuse Cardinal Mahony of allegedly covering up evidence child molestation by transferring priests to other churches and for trying to keep the abuse reports secret.

“Cardinal Mahony paying out money is great, but where is the accountability from the hierarchy of the church?” Mr Manly said. “They will continue their lives as normal; the victims still have to deal with a lifetime of problems.”

Barbara Blaine, the leader of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), a nationwide victims support group, meanwhile called the settlement “wonderful news for all the victims”.

She praised the “brave victims, compassionate lawmakers and victims’ attorneys, who took hard, uncertain cases and overcame seemingly endless hardball tactics by bishops” to win the case.

Ms Blaine said she believed the church had settled not out of compassion, but to avoid disclosing “under oath, in open court, how much the church’s corporate officials knew about and how little they did about pedophile priests, nuns, brothers and seminarians”.

Ms Blaine said she hoped the church documents detailing the abuse cases would expose the truth.

 

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22081398-5005961,00.html

Related facts:

- The diocese of Spokane, Washington, recently emerged from bankruptcy after agreeing to pay $US48 million to settle about 150 claims.

- The Orange diocese, in California, paid out $US100 million in 2004 to settle 90 claims.

Even though I’m a robber…I still need hugs.

Robber demands cash — but settles for a glass of wine and a group hug

WASHINGTON: A would-be robber was disarmed by hospitable hosts who offered him a glass of wine and sent him off with a group hug but no cash.

A group of friends was finishing a dinner of marinated steaks and jumbo shrimp on the back patio of a Washington, D.C. home when a hooded man slid through an open gate and pointed a handgun at the head of a 14-year-old girl.

“Give me your money, or I’ll start shooting,” the intruder said, according to Washington, D.C., police and witnesses. Everyone froze, including the girl’s parents. Then one guest spoke up.

“We were just finishing dinner,” Cristina “Cha Cha” Rowan, 43, told the man. “Why don’t you have a glass of wine with us?”

The intruder had a sip of their Chateau Malescot St-Exupery and said, “Damn, that’s good wine.”

Read on: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/13/america/NA-ODD-US-Robber-Group-Hug.php

 

 

Lal Masjid: Cleanup or Cover-up?

The Government of Pakistan, on the offensive over the last few days, has denied any (and all) allegations of abuse or cover-up with the Lal Masjid fiasco. The early decision (at the very beginning of the Lal Masjid seige) to keep out media, independent observers, family members, and anyone else for that matter hasn’t helped the Pakistani government’s case much. Here is my 1 cent (as opposed to 2 cents since I’m broke) on the whole Lal Masjid fiasco:

1. Now that the cleanup cover-up stage of the Lal Masjid operation massacre is completed: Will there be an independent public inquiry into exactly what went wrong throughout the entire Lal Masjid ordeal? Likely answer, NO.
2. Where were the foreign fighters that the Pak government informed us about?
3. Where were all of the well trained militants that we were informed of? If they were so well trained…shouldn’t they have put up more of a fight?
4. Why didn’t the militants students use the “heavy” weapons that they supposedly had? Ans: Because they only had 14 or 15 Ak-47 assault rifles. Could it be that the government of Pervez Busharraf planted weapons at the site? Never!
5. Where were the suicide bombers?
6. Where were the hostages that were supposedly being held in the school and used by the “terrorists” as human-shields?
7. Why did the so-called Islamic Republic of Pakistan (a damn near laughable title) bring war upon a Masjid of all places?
8. This operation massacre reminds of me of Waco (1993). Except for the fact that the US Government gave Xtian cult leader David Koresh 51 days of negotiation to end the standoff — despite the fact that his followers were admittedly well armed and had already killed (and wounded) two FBI agents.
9. If the school was indeed surrouned by the Pak military…why not just wait out the remaining holdouts inside the compound in order to fully exhaust all means of peaceful resolution?  Ans: It’s just easier to kill the “terrorists.”
10. The coverage & response from the Muslim blogosphere has been pathetic! Suddenly, everyone became a Sheikh or an on-sight reporter and just “knew” about everything going on throughout the entire crisis.  Accusations of “terrorists” … “lunatics” … and “extremists” were made by the usual crowd (our “moderate” brothers and sisters in Islam) and others couldn’t get off the whole “burqa” issue. I wonder what the response would be if a Pakistani blogger sitting in Islamabad were to make generalizations about a particular subset of Muslims living in West, for example.  As an American Muslim…I find myself becoming more and more irritated by the sheer arrogance and judgemental nature of Muslims living in the West (convert or otherwise) — particularly Americans. I realize that this kind of nonsense is only furthered by a lack of religious knowledge…however it can be quite frustrating to deal with. The problem is that these kinds of folks (with their cultural baggage and perpetuating jahiliyyah) are ALWAYS given positions of authority and a bully pulpit from which to speak. This includes everything from your local Masjid to national Muslim Organizations and even Muslim schools.  Since I find myself getting annoyed — just writing about this issue — I think I’ll have to expand upon the topic in a future post, inshallah.  Anyway, check out the article below:

Pakistan quick to clean the blood from Red Mosque

By Andrew Buncombe in Islamabad

Published: 13 July 2007

Shattered minarets, smouldering buildings and bullet-scarred walls reveal the bitter battle waged between Pakistani troops and armed militant students for Islamabad’s Red Mosque.

As Pakistan’s military authorities finally granted access to the ruined complex, known locally as Lal Masjid, it became immediately clear they had done everything they could to sanitise this battle scene in the heart of the nation’s capital in which at least 108 people were killed. For all the blackened walls, for all the hundreds of spent cartridge cases heaped together in a pile, there was not a glimmer of the human cost of the battle. In the time since the authorities captured the mosque they had been able to ensure that the public would not see one drop of blood, not a scrap of tissue.

“It has been cleared of bodies and we have cleaned the blood. We have cleaned it out,” said Major-General Waheed Arshad, the army’s spokesman, as he led the way through the sometimes choking rooms. “We did not want to show grisly things.”

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article2765582.ece

The Politics of Public Health Policy…

Former Surgeon General, Richard H. Carmona, had the following to say before the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform:

“The vetting was done by political appointees who were specifically there to be able to spin, if you will, my words in such a way that would be preferable to a political or an ideologically preconceived notion that had nothing to do with science. . . .

Read on: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/11/AR2007071102026.html

Just politics as usual for Bush & Co.

What a Stallion…

By Shailagh Murray

Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 10, 2007; Page A03

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) apologized last night after his telephone number appeared in the phone records of the woman dubbed the “D.C. Madam,” making him the first member of Congress to become ensnared in the high-profile case.

Read the rest: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/09/AR2007070902030.html

 

Do I hear the word Hypocrisy?