BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — The U.S. military said Tuesday it has seized a letter from Iraqi insurgents believed to be intended for Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi complaining about low morale among followers and weakening support for the insurgency.
This is an exchange between a reader in New York and the editor of the Federalist Patriot newsletter.
“In your article ‘The Gun Problem,’ (No. 05-13) you quote the Second Amendment, sort of. You and many other people conveniently omit the first half of the amendment, which refers to a militia. Our soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan, South Korea, etc., are militias. Our National reserves, National Guard are militias. I am not a militia, you are not a militia. This amendment refers to militias only. People like you need to quit omitting the first half of the amendment.” –New York, New York
Editor’s Reply: Open a history book and read up on who comprised the ready “militia” in 1787, and you will find it was the citizenry, not a standing army or organized reserve army. It is clear in the writings of our Founders that “well regulated militia” meant “a vigilant and prepared citizenry.” Our founders universally detested standing armies, as, historically, they had been used by monarchies to oppress the will of the people. Thus, our Founders wisely determined that the best provision for the preservation of liberty was that the people be armed. Accordingly, Justice Joseph Story, appointed to the Supreme Court by the author of our Constitution, James Madison, noted, “The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered as the palladium of the liberties of a republic…” Indeed, historians have long confirmed this understanding, and more than a few court cases have cited it. For the record, “people like you need to quit omitting” the Historic context of the word “militia.”
Its about time. Finally Muslims are organizing against terror and for human rights. Claiming to be “Taking our religion back one Muslim at a time” FreeMuslims.org is a nonprofit organization made up of American Muslims and American Arabs of all backgrounds who feel that “religious violence and terrorism have not been fully rejected by the Muslim community in the post 9-11 era”. Its a big step in the right direction for Muslim Americans. Check them out.
The Salem-Keizer School District in Oregon refused to allow high school freshman Shea Riecke to use a photo of her brother, a US Marine, in her class project. You get one guess why. It was part of an assignment showing McKay High School graduates at work. Her brother, Cpl. Bill Riecke, was stationed in Iraq at the time of the photo. Read more on the Marine Corps Moms blog.
Riecke’s mom: “I don’t think our school policies are meant to rewrite history. It doesn’t make any sense to me,” Connie Riecke said. “Are they going to go through every textbook and take out pictures of the Civil War that have soldiers carrying guns? Are they going to go through the library and take out all the Time magazines that feature soldiers with guns? I don’t think so.”
The school eventually caved and allowed this photo showing her brother demonstrating to young Iraqis how to perform a body cavity search on suspected terrorists.
The BBC has reported that after an election in Kyrgyzstan, which the people believe was rigged, protestors overran the Capital and forced the current government out.
Then the current government named an interim leader while they sort the situation out.
Warning to all corrupt leaders and dictators: Your time is almost up. The people will be heard.
I’m not totally sure if this is the first blog from Afghanistan, but that is what it claims.
From Guardian Unlimited
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) – With shouts of “Syria out!,” more than 25,000 flag-waving protesters massed outside Parliament on Monday in a dramatic display of defiance that swept out Lebanon’s pro-Syrian government two weeks after the assassination of a former prime minister.
Cheering broke out among the demonstrators in Martyrs’ Square when they heard Prime Minister Omar Karami’s announcement on loudspeakers that the government was stepping down. Throughout the day, protesters handed out red roses to soldiers and police.
There were reports that Baghdad saw the lowest of voter turnout for the election, but this picture tells a different story.
From: Newsday.com
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
February 9, 2005, 5:05 PM EST
VIENNA, Austria — Iran has contracted to buy hundreds of high-powered rifles from an Austrian firm, the company’s owner said Wednesday. The sale drew an indirect rebuke from the United States, but Austrian government ministries said no laws were broken.
Wolfgang Fuerlinger, head of Steyr Mannlicher GmbH, confirmed the deal between his company and Iranian authorities and said U.S. Embassy officials had expressed concerns the arms could make their way to Iraq for use against American troops.
He said he could not confirm Austrian media reports that part of the order — 800 long-range semiautomatic rifles that can penetrate thick metal, along with high-tech snipers’ scopes — was flown to Iran last month.
The United States has strict embargoes in place against Iran on sales of weapons or technology or materials that could be used to make weapons.
President Bush last year named Iran, along with prewar Iraq and North Korea, as a member of “the axis of evil,” for its alleged ties to terrorist groups and purported attempts to develop nuclear arms.
U.S. Embassy spokesman Bill Wandlund declined direct comment on the sale but said that in general, “the U.S. opposes all arms transfers to state sponsors of terrorism, including Iran.”
Police Maj. Rudolf Gollia, spokesman for the Austrian Interior Ministry, said his ministry, in consultation with the foreign ministry, approved the sales in November. He said Iran had provided written documentation that “the end destination of the weapons is Iran and that they would be used to fight drug-related criminality and to secure the borders of Iran.”
Fuehrlinger told The Associated Press that U.S. Embassy officials who recently contacted him expressed concern that at least some of the weapons could end up in Iraq for use by insurgents against American troops and their Iraqi allies.
He described the 12.7 x 99 mm “Steyr 50 HS” as a high-power weapon able to penetrate metal as thick as a man’s thumb.
The gun is about 4 feet long, weighs more than 20 pounds and counts as an anti-armor weapon among experts because of the high punch of its projectile, Fuehrlinger said.
He said that U.S. Embassy personnel asked him to stop such sales not only to Iran but to potential customers in other Middle East countries — something he said he was prepared to consider only if Washington in return lifts restrictions that prevent his company from selling certain high-tech weapons in the United States.
He said he refused requests from the three Embassy officials to discuss details of the sale with Iran. He described the conversation as “very friendly,” and said the officials said they would be in contact again soon.
Gollia said the interior and foreign ministries were currently discussing the sale of more such weapons from the same Austrian company to Iran, adding a decision was expected “within the next half year.”
He said he had no information on previous shipments from Steyr-Mannlicher, a world-renowned manufacturer of quality precision handguns and rifles.
The opposition Social Democratic party announced it would push for a parliamentary inquiry.
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From: The Case For Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror
“The two most important things that can be done to promote democracy in the world is first, to bring moral clarity back to world affairs and second, to link international policies to the advance of democracy around the globe. When we are unwilling to draw clear moral lines between free societies and fear societies, when we are unwilling to call the former good and the latter evil, we will not be able to advance the cause of peace because peace cannot be disconnected from freedom. By not understanding why freedom is so important to peace, we run the risk of trying to find ‘our dictator’ in the hopes that he will provide security. In the end, we are likely to find ourselves supporting regimes that repress their own people and endanger us. When Ronald Reagan called the USSR an evil empire he was fiercely criticized by many in the West who saw him as a dangerous warmonger. But when we in the Gulag heard of Reagan’s statement, we were ecstatic. We knew that once there was no moral confusion between the two types of societies, once good and evil were kept separate, the Soviet Union’s days were numbered. Soon, the most fearsome totalitarian empire in human history collapsed without a shot being fired and the cause of peace and security was advanced. I have no doubt that moral clarity will have the same effect today and equally serve the cause of peace, stability and security around the world.” –Natan Sharansky
A letter I sent To Panera Bread.
To: Panera Bakery
I was very excited when a brand new Panera Bakery opened up near my home; you have fantastic baked goods and very good sandwiches too. In fact I’m still at your cafe, outside on the patio enjoying a beautiful Texas evening, my bagel and a cup of coffee.
I develop websites so I was especially happy to learn this location has WiFi web access. However, as I was checking on one of my sites I made a startling discovery. You see, Tac Pro Shooting Center is a client of mine. It is a training facility for military, police, and civilians, run by a very nice British ex-pat couple, Bill and Alice Davison. The discovery which you have no doubt figured out by now is that Panera’s proxy server is blocking my access to their website because it discusses “weapons.†Somewhat surprised by this I though I would check to see if other websites that have weapons on them are also blocked. The first one that came to mind was Aljazeera.com. I don’t know why, it just popped into my head. If you haven’t heard, this is the news service that reports merciless terrorist demands, rants, and anti-American propaganda. Anyway, I know that they have pictures of folks getting their heads cut off on that website, presumably with weapons. I suppose they could have used kitchen knives, but the images are kind of grainy and I couldn’t really tell. Besides even if it was a kitchen knife before, afterwards I think even a San Francisco federal judge would have to concede that if you can separate someone’s skull from the rest of their body with it, it’s a deadly weapon. So I typed in www.aljazeera.com and voilà there was the website. It was not blocked by Panera’s proxy server and right there on the front page was a horrific photo of a dead American, his twisted body charred black and hanging out of a military vehicle. I didn’t bother to search for the beheading images. I didn’t need to, I’d seen enough.
This is very interesting isn’t it? On the one hand you block access to a website where law abiding American citizens, police, and military personnel can learn skills that will help them defend themselves and others, sometimes against terrorists. (TPSC alums are on the ground in Iraq right now.) And on the other hand you don’t block a website where anyone can see actual murders of innocent civilians and the burned and mutilated bodies of American servicemen. I’ve heard that Panera tries to be a socially responsible company, so I hope the irony of this situation is not lost on your executives and shareholders.
Now, I happen to believe very, very strongly in the U.S. Constitution and all of its amendments, especially the first one, commonly referred to as The First Amendment. If you aren’t familiar with it you should look it up. At any rate, since your company chooses to restrict people’s First Amendment rights in order to promote what I suppose is your view of the Second Amendment (inferred by the block), I’m going to leave this place and will never return. But I’m going to go one step further. I’m going to forward this email to everyone I know (a lot of people) and then I’m going to post it on every forum I can think of (read by an astronomical number of people). I would bet by this time tomorrow, five to ten thousand people will have read it. And by next week who knows. Isn’t the Internet great?
Gary M
Political Activist and former Panera Bread Customer.
“Of all the so-called natural human rights that have ever been invented, liberty is least likely to be cheap and is never free of cost.” —Robert Heinlein
While most of the media and many Democrats/liberals are not putting much importance on the election in Iraq, it is a big deal to the people of that country and Iraqi expatriates around the world. Don’t take my word for though, check out these blogs from the people: the Mesopotamian, Democracy in Iraq, Live from Dallas.
On the cover of the latest issue of America’s 1st Freedom is the following question: Can Britain Be Saved? This is referring to the fight that has just been started by a major newspaper in England and top law enforcment personnell in England to given Britains back their right to self-defense using a firearm. What does it say about gun control if the pioneer countries are starting to look back?
How can this type of struggle be won against a government who says the people are safe when “a 93-year-old woman who put up barbed wire around her home after repeated burglaries has been ordered to take it down because it could injure intruders?” (America’s 1st Freedom, February 2005, pg. 42)
I for one am doubtful that any such salvation will ever be achieved but I’m proud of those fighting for their rights.
I guess a country’s first democratic election isn’t such a big deal.
Good News from Afghanistan, Jan 10/05
Note: Also available at the “Opinion Journal” and Chrenkoff. Thanks to James Taranto and Joe Katzman for their support for this project, and thanks to readers and bloggers who have done so much to publicize the series and make it better.
Stephen Hayes from “The Weekly Standard”, who has traveled to Afghanistan to witness the inauguration of President Hamid Karzai, quotes from the speech by the country’s first democratically elected leader:
Whatever we have achieved in Afghanistan–the peace, the election, the reconstruction, the life that the Afghans are living today in peace, the children going to school, the businesses, the fact that Afghanistan is again a respected member of the international community–is from the help that the United States of America gave us. Without that help Afghanistan would be in the hands of terrorists–destroyed, poverty-stricken, and without its children going to school or getting an education. We are very, very grateful, to put it in the simple words that we know, to the people of the United States of America for bringing us this day.
Sounds familiar? It shouldn’t. As Hayes writes, “Sadly, most Americans never heard these words. Gratitude, it seems, is not terribly newsworthy. Neither is democracy. The Washington Post played Karzai’s inauguration on page A-13, a placement that suggested it was relatively less important than Eliot Spitzer’s decision to run for governor of New York or the decision of the U.S. government to import flu vaccine from Germany.” As columnist Charles Krauthammer commented on the mainstream media’s reaction to the inauguration, “Miracle begets yawn.”
Yet, ironically, one of the most comprehensive and most optimistic overviews of the tremendous progress achieved in Afghanistan over the past three years comes, of all places, from an official Chinese press agency Xinhua (just consider the surreal picture of Chinese newsmen celebrating democratic election and defeat of “anti-US” Taliban). If you want to read the “good news from Afghanistan” in one short, sharp piece, go Xinhua; if you are after more detail about all the positive – and under-reported, yawn-inducing – developments in Afghanistan over the past month, read on.
* Society
* Reconstruction
* Humanitarian Aid
* The Coalition troops
* Security
Posted by Winds of Change at January 10, 2005 12:13 PM | TrackBack
This is from the Command Post blog which I check regularly.
