America to Pakistan: No, we’re not invading you.
And — sotto voce — we have no desire to ever do so.
Pakistanis, for some reason, suffer from delusions of grandeur, that powers want them, are after them. The usual suspects are America (and like entities such as Freemasons, Zionists, imperialists, Crusaders, Christians, Christian evangelists, Christian fundamentalists, Satan-worshiping sodomizers, et cetera) and Israel (and like entities such as Freemasons, Zionists, imperialists, Jews, and other Muslim-blood-sucking critters – with what else will they make their maztah bread?).
The fact is, if we had our way, we would wholely and utterly divorce ourselves from Pakistan. We want nothing from Pakistan; we want nothing to do with Pakistan. Pakistan, what with its internal instability, idiocy, corruption, hopeless future, and strife, is more a pain than any asset. The very existence of Pakistan moves our spinning blue planet hurtling towards entropy. Read the rest of this entry »
“Former Guantanamo inmate blows himself up in Pakistan”
Well, isn’t this interesting. This is so interesting I am posting this in its entirety (from Latest Stories for Tuesday, July 24, 2007, by Dawn, a Pakistani English newspaper; boldface added by me):
Former Guantanamo inmate blows himself up in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, July 24 (AFP) – A former Guantanamo Bay prisoner wanted for the 2004 kidnapping of two Chinese engineers in Pakistan blew himself up with a hand grenade to avoid capture by security forces on Tuesday. One-legged Abdullah Mehsud committed suicide after anti-terrorist personnel raided his hideout in Zhob (Balochistan) near the Afghan frontier, interior ministry spokesman Brigadier Javed Cheema said. Three of his accomplices were arrested, he added. Mehsud, 32, became the leader of Pakistani Taliban insurgents based in South Waziristan in 2004 and was one of the most wanted men by Pakistani forces. ‘Intelligence reports pointed out his presence at a house and security forces mounted the raid. He sneaked into Zhob from Waziristan,’ Cheema said. Abdullah Mehsud and his companions exchanged heavy gunfire with security forces for hours after the house was surrounded late Monday, police said. ‘When our forces finally entered before dawn this morning a man blew himself up to avoid being captured. He was identified later as Mehsud,’ Zhob police chief Atta Mohammad said. During Mehsud’s time on the run, his brother Baitullah had taken over from him as one of the top Taliban commanders in Pakistan’s tribal regions. Baitullah has been linked to a wave of suicide bombings this year in Pakistan. ‘It is a major breakthrough. Abdullah Mehsud was involved in heinous attacks,’ Religious Affairs Minister Ijaz-ul Haq told AFP. Intelligence officials have said they intercepted telephone calls during the siege of Lal Masjid between its rebel cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi and Baitullah Mehsud. The militant told Ghazi that ‘if he is killed his blood will not be wasted’, the officials said. Ghazi was shot dead in the raid on the mosque on July 10. (Posted @ 17:36 PST)
And how are we lectured to treat Camp X-Ray’s inmates? Why? Are these the people we’re supposed to respect and treat gently? How many more inmates, past and present, are blood-thirsty terrorist masterminds?
I say: Lock them up, interrogate them, and execute all who have conducted acts of terrorism. Otherwise they may return to their terroristic ways and spread mayhem.
And: I am proud The Administration has not kow-towed to the opposition and demands of idiots demanding the dismantling of the installation and the release of its inmates. Good on you, warriors of justice and defenders of liberty!
More on American operations in Pakistan
Wolf Pangloss said:
I think you got it right on the first guess. It’s spin.
On the main page of The News, a Pakistani newspaper in English, there were two stories that caught my eye. One was regarding the Pakistani military government’s statement regarding American attacks within Pakistan; the other was regarding two American senators who were cautioning The Administration to not do anything that would undermine Musharraf’s position and legitimacy, considering what a key ally he is. The second story I did not hear from any American news source, so I think it is doubly important that it is seen and talked about in Pakistan: going along with the rhetorical value of the Pakistani military government’s statement, the senators’ statement gives the impression that The United States’ armed services will likely not conduct operations in Pakistan.
But they will. Read the rest of this entry »
Pakistan to America: no, you may not attack us
Evidently, the Pakistani military government is more arrogant and stupid and proud and idiotic than I imagined.
A spokeswoman of the Pakistani military government stated that the Pakistani military government would find any operation by foreign troops within its borders to be unacceptable. The Pakistani military will take care of matters in Pakistan, thank you very much. (From “Pakistan says any strike on its territory to hunt Al Qaeda ‘unacceptable'”; this article can also be found here if the URL becomes out of date.)
Either this is a bluff to reassure Pakistanis that the government is not giving up Pakistani sovereignty to the Americans, or the Pakistani military government is not cooperating as much as it should. The fact remains that as much as the military may want to, it is simply unable to do what needs to be done to eradicate terrorist enclaves within Pakistan.
There is, of course, the theory that Pakistan does not want the War against Terrorism to succeed in Pakistan, for if there are no terrorists, Pakistan will lose our interest and cooperation. Furthermore, if there are no terrorists, there will be no reason to allow a military general rule the country: there would renewed pressure to return Pakistan to civilian rule.
Eh. I don’t know any more. I’m going to go watch cartoons with my doggy.
Two important effects of the invasion of Iraq
The following facts are very important to understand the Iraq War, as it is called, and the effects thereof. These facts are also important to understand the greater strategery of The United States with regard to the Middle East, Arab states, and various opponents and opposing entities.
As I do not want to give away sources and/or methods, all I will say is that the following facts have been more or less provided by a man who is currently a very powerful crown prince of an Arab statelet (not Saudi Arabia), set to soon succeed his aging and ill father. (Please remember that as seen through the eyes of Arabs and their governments, The United States unilaterally invaded Iraq and overthrew Saddam Hussein and his regime.) Read the rest of this entry »
Regarding The State of Israel’s withdrawal from The Territory of Judea and Samaria
Now, in discussions regarding Israel and its borders, people will have no choice but to bring up a thorny issue: the Territories. This refers to what Israel calls “Judea and Samaria”, what is known more commonly as “The West Bank” (that is, area on and around the west bank of the River Jordan), and what many Muslims and others sympathetic to the Arab claimants thereof call the “Occupied Territories” (that is, the (Arab) territories occupied by Israel as a consequence of the Six Day War in 1967). Some mistakenly may call it “Palestine”. (See note 1 below.) Others use “the Territories” to include the Golan Heights in the north and the Gaza Strip on the west; hereinafter “The Territory” will refer solely to the Territories of Judea and Samaria. Although theories and ideas have been floated to the effect that The State of Israel should or would withdraw from The Territory, in effect an uneasy division has taken place wherein The State of Israel maintains control and hold over Israeli settlements, upon key resources, and upon roads and the like, while the Palestinian National Authority maintains control and hold over Palestinian enclaves, which are necessarily separate from Israeli enclaves (in some cases, physically so). Often, the Israeli enclaves (called “settlements”) are considered a major obstacle in any peace process by which Palestinians are granted exclusive control over The Territory. The existence and spread of these enclaves necessitate The State of Israel to maintain a large amount of oversight and control and influence over the entire Territory. The only solution — so it is said — whereby The State of Israel would be able to fully withdraw and grant sovereignty to the Palestinians over the entire Territory is the dismantling of these enclaves and the total withdrawal of all Israeli entities or interests from The Territory. But this oversimplifies the actual reality of the situation: Israeli enclaves do not constitute the sole reason The State of Israel retains a vested interest in The Territory. There are two other reasons why The State of Israel ought to retain control and influence over The Territory: resources and the anti-Israeli plank of the Palestinian platform. Read the rest of this entry »
The religious tendencies of Leftist issues
I puzzles me (and worries me, interestingly enough) to see the whole climate change issue become quasi-religious for the Left, what with Al Gore being proclaimed and treated like a prophet like the times of yore (“yore” in this case being Judaism before the Second Temple period).
Isn’t it interesting how Leftist movements take on very religious overtones: first Communism, then anti-war, now climate change?
The problem is that, like religious systems, the core beliefs and assumptions become infallible doctrines and, thus, cannot be questioned. Those who question them are heretics or idiots (or both): such arguments are never taken seriously, the faithful seek to shut up the heretics with the Words of Truth (repeating them like some sacred chant or mantra) or with ridicule (or anathematization).
And then they accuse us of being theologically and morally intolerant and rationally incapable.
The – gasp!- Catholic Pope!
The title for the new video by az-Zawahiri (which features bin Ladin): “Bush, the Catholic Pope, and Darfur: The Crusader’s Wars” (emphasis added).
*snicker*
Yes, we wouldn’t want to blame the Presbyterian Pope, now would we?
Farfour and Nahoul: demonstrations of various points
The whole deal with Farfour the Mickey Mouse look-alike and now Nahoul the Bee (Türkçe’de: Farfur Sıçanı ve Nahul Bal Arısı) may demonstrate some reasons why I have little pity or compassion for many Palestinians.
Such hatred — being taught to children, no less! — is simply unacceptable and is quite vile.
Such characters — or, rather, the tendency to use such characters to teach hatred to Arab children — also demonstrate some reasons why there will never be peace in that region: every generation is raised to hate (for example: the Arabs) or fear (for example: the Israelis).
If there is any vicious cycle, here it is. And the fault lies squarely on the Arabs: if they did not teach so much hatred, they would be able to co-exist with the Israelis.
So don’t shove that “co-exist” dreck down my throat: convince the spontaneously explosive Arabs first.
Of Pakistan and its terrorism woes
The recent operation of the Pakistani military government against the Red Mosque (لال مسجد, lāl masjid; Türkçe’de: Kızıl Cami) was a fantastic move. Although there were a lot of deaths — some of which was due to the military’s restraint — the fact remains that one den of terrorists has been flushed. And this den in heart of the capital of Pakistan, to boot.
What annoys me is the utter stupidity and idiocy of a variety of Pakistani entities. The Supreme Court of Pakistan condemned the campaign; the Pakistan Bar Council has called for an investigation; a key opposition leader has announced he will resign in protest; the expected riots and protests have swept through Pakistan.
Can someone explain to me how anyone can be opposed to the destruction of a den of terrorists? I am shocked that anyone would be so stupid as to support the Red Mosque and/or its militants and leaders.
The opposition leader — Qazi Hussain Ahmed (قاضى حسين احمد, qāzī husseyn ahmed; Türkçe’de: Kazi Hüseyn Ahmet), head of the Muttahida Majlis-e Amal (متحده مجلس عمل, muttahidah majlis-e amal; Türkçe’de: Müttahida Meclisi Amal veya Hareket Birleşik Meclisi), the pan-Islamist party — said he will resign during the next session of Parliament in protest of the military government’s actions against the Red Mosque. I say: Good riddance! Frankly, I think the entire MMA should be banned and its members arrested for disturbing the peace. Each and every one of these men have been responsible for fanning the flames of radicalism and militancy in Pakistan, which is a threat to Pakistan’s stability and security. Of course, they see their actions as part of a campaign to purify Pakistan of infidel influences. Well, someone should tell them that Zia-ul-Haqq (Türkçe’de: Ziaül Hak, Pakistan İslam Cumhuriyeti’n önceki cumhurbaşkanı) has been dead for a long time now, so the era of an Islamist Pakistan is over!
The usual players will undoubtedly come out and exploit this opportunity to erode the people’s support for Musharraf (Türkçe’de: Pervez Müşerref, Pakistan İslam Cumhuriyeti’n cumhurbaşkanı), playing along the usual like that Musharraf is the West’s faithful dog, doing its bidding, attacking innocent worshipers and students out of bloodlust.
See, the people are so blinded by Islamist propaganda and conspiracy theories that they have no idea what the actual situation is in Pakistan. I find it sad that we in The United States have a clearer picture of what is going on in Pakistan than those in Pakistan itself. All the time Islamist entities accuse the military government of planting evidence against them — such as ammunition and bombs and missiles and the like — in an attempt to eradicate “true Muslims”, which the West is trying to do. There is no Usama bin Ladin, nor did he ever exist. He’s a puppet created by the evil West. There is no Islamist terrorism: it’s all acts by the West to frame Muslims so the West can kill them. Or, if a Muslim were involved, he or she was undoubtedly paid by the West (or by Jews or by Israelis or by Zionists or by imperialists or by Christians or by Crusaders or by Freemasons…the list can go on and on and on) to do it so that Muslims can be framed.
Honestly, Pakistan is full of idiots.
The only way to save Pakistan from terrorism is to stamp it out. Every terrorist enclave should be flushed out. Close all the madrassas. Ban weapons in mosques and other places of worship. Ban the use of sermons to inflame hatred, extremism, or radicalism. Shut down their training camps, their publishing houses, their video production and distribution facilities, their ammunition depots. Ban all forms of terrorism and radicalism, and enforce this ban vigorously. Arrest and execute all clerics who defy this ban. Arrest and execute all politicians who defy this ban.
These militants are trained not to surrender. Expect major casualties. But then fight smart. Don’t shoot them: flatten them. Raze their buildings; fire missiles and rockets at their establishments.
This may sound drastic, but such is the situation. It’s quite dire, and I remain pessimistic. Even though the military might have the resolve and even though Musharraf may have his military’s support, the people — especially the opposition politicians and the militants and the Islamists — will not permit such a campaign to succeed. The people prefer to not see the threat right before them. And there is nothing we can do to make them see.
One good thing from the recent campaign is that an agreement may be effectuated between Pakistan and The United States’ Armed Services for the latter to go and destroy terrorist enclaves across the border in Pakistan. It will be unofficial of course, but we have the capability to strike at the terrorists in the northwest region of Pakistan; Pakistan’s military does not have the capability.
Of semantics and more on liturgical reform
Also, there are significant differences between “the Latin Mass” and the Mass of Blessed Pope John XXIII (often called “the Tridentine Mass”). Let us discuss some semantics. Read the rest of this entry »
Vatican II did – NO IT DID NOT!
In order to understand the fallacy of blaming the Second Vatican Council for the current ills affecting the Catholic Church (that is, to understand why doing so is wrong), it is important to understand what the Second Vatican Council actually was. Read the rest of this entry »
Pre-Vatican II Masses – approved!
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI issued today (Saturday, July 7, 2007) a motu proprio — entitled Summorum Pontificum — permitting the universal celebration of pre-Vatican II Mass, also known as the Tridentine Mass. (“Tridentine” is the adjective form of “Trent” and the Mass is so called because it was promulgated by the Council of Trent.)
This is seen as a major triumph by Catholic conservatives/traditionalists and those who love the pomp and ceremony of Tridentine Masses.
More commentary after I read the document. (For more information now, I encourage one to visit the blog Whispers in the Loggia.)
Abdul – the imposter
Contrary to popular perception, “Abdul” is not a word or name in Arabic. In Arabic, “Abdul” is completely nonsensical.
Now, there is a word (عبد; ‛abd; “servant” or, more precisely, “slave”). This is a very common element in Muslim names, where one would use “‛abd” paired with one of the Islamic names of God, if not “God” itself. The most common of such names is (عبدالله; ‛abdullāh; slave of Allāh/God).
Now, a little explanation on how such names are formed so as to explain where “Abdul” comes from and why it is wrong (in the opposite order). Read the rest of this entry »
“Dört” is pronouced like the English “dirt”
I stand corrected: in Turkish, “dört” is “four”, not “üç”, which is “three”.
Ooops.
So, to all: a belated İyi dört Temmuz günü!
Why Turkish?
S. Weasel asks:
Turkish seems an odd sort of language to learn. It’s difficult (I count any language with a specialized alphabet especially difficult) and essentially only applicable to Turkey, yes? Do you have a specific reason for choosing Turkish, or are you simply a language junkie?
Although Turkish (“Türkçe”) is used mainly in Turkey and by its people (who have a significant diaspora in Europe), Turkish is one of a number of Turkic languages – which include Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek, among others – which exists in a large swath from the Bosphorus in the west to China and Mongolia in the east. Although each Turkic language is different (that is, different and separate languages rather than dialects of one language), each shares a lot in common with the others; some are such that the user of one Turkic language might be able to understand another Turkic language. So, Turkish takes its place in the large area of Turkic languages.
Turkic languages are also related to Mongol languages (two examples of which are Mongol and Uighur). Indeed, both types belong to the same family: Altaic languages (named after the Altai mountains, which are the birthplace of Turkic and Mongol peoples), which has two main branches: namely, Turkic languages and Mongol languages.
So, in actuality, Turkish is not so isolated.
But it cannot be denied that Turkish is still a language of little consequence. Turkey may have a large rôle to play – larger than that of any other Altaic state, Mongolia included – yet certainly not one that is readily perceptible. There are no dreams of reestablishing the Ottoman Empire, nor of creating a Türkistan. So I cannot be interested in Turkish for strategic reasons. (Languages to learn for strategic reasons would be Mandarin, Russian, Arabic, Pashto, or Spanish.)
To be honest, I want to become familiar with Turkish because, as you said, I’m a language junkie: and Turkish is entirely different from any other language I have come across (although certain elements remind me of German). I think it is a fascinating language. And certainly it is easier to get material on and in Turkish than in, say, Mongolian.
Did you know that the first Moghul emperors of South Asia spoke Turkish (specifically, Chaghatai Turkish)? Later, as they become more immersed in that region and began assimilating, losing their Turkic elements, they began using Persian as the imperial tongue. Emperor Babar, who essentially established the South Asian Moghul dynasty, claimed descent from Timur-Lenk on one side and Genghis Khan (Jingez Khan) on the other. “Moghul” is actually a corruption of “Mongol” (and exists as “Moğol” in Turkish, which is used to refer to both Moghuls and Mongols), revealing the Moghul dynasty’s Altaic (actually, Turkic) origins.
Also, “ordu”, from which the language Urdu gets its name, means “army” in Turkish. The same word means “army camp” in Persian. The Persians probably borrowed the word from the Turks and used it with a modified meaning, and is an excellent choice for the name of the language that arose from the army camps, being a mish-mash of languages.
So, em, did that sort of answer your question?
Let us learn Turkish!
İyi üç Temmuz günü!
İyi istiklâl günü!
İyi – means “good”
Üç – means “four”
Temmuz – the Turkish name for the month known in English as “July”
Günü – “gün” means “day”; “ü” is, here, the third person singular possessive suffix, attributing “gün” to “üç Temmuz” and “istiklâl” where applicable: the suffix is “i” following the rules for i-vowel harmony (and so may be “i”, “ı”, “ü”, or “u” depending on the last vowel of the word)
İstiklâl – means “independence”; this word is from Arabic. Another word, from Turkish origins, is “bağımsızlık”. Another word, also from Arabic origins, is “hürriyet”.
Amerika Birleşik Devletleri – is the Turkish translation for the “United States of America”
Birleşik – means “united”
Devlet – “devlet” means “state”; “ler” is the plural suffix, which follows a/e-vowel harmony (and so may be “lar” or “ler” depending on the last vowel of the word); “i” is the third person singular possessive suffix following i-vowel harmony.
(A Fourth of July gift for my language-loving readers, especially S. Weasel.)
İyi İstiklâl Günü!
Bugün üç Temmuz.
Bugün amerikalı istiklâl günü. (ABD’in istiklâlı.)
Bugün istiklâl ve özgürlük günü, Amerikanın ve Batının istiklâlı ve özgürlükü; Amerikalının ve Batılıların istiklâlı ve özgürlükü.
İyi İstiklâl Günü!
May all my readers have a safe and happy and joyous Fourth of July!
Civil Rights
People pretending to warn us of the danger of our own acts harp on the extinguishment of civil rights if there is a major attack on us.
No such thing will happen.
American people are too protective of their actual rights to let the federal government clamp down on essential civil rights. That being said, there is no guarantee that We the People will stop the federal government from overstepping its bounds to some degree. But no matter: nothing will remove essential civil rights.
And for that matter, plotting against The Republic is not a right. It is treason, and deserves death. And so when the time comes that the federal government will clamp down on treasonous and dangerous plottings, we will have to remind our friends in hysterics what are and are not the rights we have enshrined in The Constitution.
A fallacy: we are tolerant
I believe a fallacy exists among the peoples of the world that Westerners are tolerant and permissive peoples. This is not true. We are quite a proud and intolerant people; so much so that rather than waste our indignation on others, we ignore them. Sure, we have our fringe elements that call the others out, but for the most part we are wont to ignore the others.
The progressives and so-called “liberals” do not represent The West’s people.
To the others who are malevolently disposed to us: Push us far enough — make us have to take notice of you — and we will utterly destroy you like we did the Japanese. Our hearts can harden enough that we will not shed a tear for your suffering.
I submit that the great sleeping giant has not awoken. The stinging bites of the Islamist insects have made the giant instinctively jerk and swat, but it has yet to awake.
If history has taught the world a lesson, it is that in the end The West is invincible.
Muslihoon 