extremists

Image via WikipediaHere in the American bible belt, it is fairly common for meetings to begin with a prayer. This bizarre practice can even be found happening at public universities and state governmental institutions. Is it legal? The answer seems to depend greatly on who one asks.According to an October 28, 2008, press release issued by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the 11

Meet Sarah Palin’s radical right-wing pals — Extremists Mark Chryson and Steve Stoll helped launch Palin’s political career in Alaska, and in return had influence over policy. “Her door was open,” says Chryson — and still is. By: Max Blumenthal and David Neiwert Meet Sarah Palin’s radical right-wing pals Interview with former Alaskan Independence Party chairman Mark Chryson Oct

London's Gibson Square, publisher of the new novel about Mohammed's child bride, was firebombed yesterday and three men and one woman have been detained for questioning about the crime according to London's Telegraph. The blaze yesterday, which led to people being evacuated from the house, may have been started by a petrol bomb pushed through the letter box. Initially, three men, aged 22, 30

Barnbrook-Missed the boat! A weekend gathering in Cologne of far-right European extremists ended in farce when the main rally was cancelled as the organisers fled for their own safety.Pro-Cologne, a group counting some of Europe's most prominent hardliners in its ranks, had intended to campaign against the construction of Germany's largest mosque, due to be completed in 2010 in the Ehrenfeld

The Bush administration has shored up President Pervez Musharraf "for far too long", an influential American daily on Friday said, underlining the need for the US to work with the ruling alliance in Islamabad "to regain control" over the Pakistan Army and the Inter Services Intelligence that seem "far more loyal to the extremists than their own government."The New York Times said the US has made a

The Telegraph (via Jihad Watch) gives the following news about Britain's increasing Muslim problem: Increasing numbers have become so alienated from mainstream society that they could even lend their support to jihadi terrorism, the study claims. While most reject violence, many distrust police and are reluctant to inform on extremists. The report was commissioned by the Association of Chief

At campaign function in Detroit on Monday, Barack Obama campaign volunteers apparently tried to hide two Hijab-clad Muslim women-Shimaa Abdelfadeel and Hebba Aref-from camera view by denying them seats near the Senator.“I was coming to support him, and I felt like I was discriminated against by the very person who was supposed to be bringing this change, who I could really relate to,” said Heb

Most American Christians have no idea what is happening in India.In many areas of India, Christians who try to preach the gospel are regularly attacked by Hindu extremists.The following is a recent example that was just emailed to me by Voice Of The Martyrs:On April 25, Pastor Mohan Babu and two other believers were severely beaten by 35 Hindu extremists for holding a Vacation Bible School (VBS) n

According to the Center for Inquiry, Christian extremists are claiming success in intimidating college professors who have the nerve to expect their students to learn reality-based information. The right-wing American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) is bragging that they intervened to prevent a Christian student at Suffolk County Community College from receiving a failing grade from a professor

Germany's right-wing extremist National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) has long found some measure of success in the voting booths of eastern Germany. In Sunday municipal elections in the state of Saxony, the run of success continued. With the state's 2.9 million voters choosing new county and municipal councils, the neo-Nazi NPD pulled in some 5.1 percent of the vote across the state and

It is bad enough that there is public funding of political groupings in the EU parliament in the first place. It is intolerable that there are already controls on who will be allowed public money depending on the size of the groupings within the parliament, thus forcing political parties to join with groups with which they fundamentally disagree on many issues. Corbett's measure only increases th

The Indonesian government is under strong pressure to act against Islamist extremists after fanatics threatened war against a minority sect and attacked a rally for religious tolerance.Police have failed to make a single arrest following Sunday's violence, when hundreds of stick-wielding Islamists stormed the peaceful rally in central Jakarta and severely beat dozens of people.Victims of the unpro

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday urged authorities to take firm action against hardline Muslims who attacked a rally for religious tolerance at the weekend."I am deeply concerned with what happened yesterday afternoon. I condemn strongly the attackers that caused injury to our people," Yudhoyono told reporters."Our country is bound by the law and constitution and is not a co

A number of people have observed the similarities between George Bush and Osama bin Laden's rhetoric. Bruce Lincoln puts it succinctly: Both men construct a Manichaean struggle, where Sons of Light confront Sons of Darkness, and all must enlist on one side or another, without possibility of neutrality, hesitation, or middle ground. That trend continued recently as Bush and bin Laden both issued st

A Jordanian military court has convicted 3 wannabe terrorists and sent them to jail. Let’s hope their criminal justice system is better than Yemen’s. Jordan convicts 3 of plotting to kill Bush AMMAN, Jordan - Jordan’s military court convicted three militants Wednesday of plotting to assassinate President Bush during a 2006 visit to the kingdom and [...]

Now we officially know the answer - the U.S. Government states that America is definitely not fighting "jihadists", based on new guidelines directing federal agencies not to even use the term "jihadist" . So who is America fighting? Defense Secretary Robert Gates tells us: "the enemy is extremism". A. National Counter Terrorism Center Memo and DHS Report on Terminology Associated Press reported today that the Extremist Messaging Branch at the National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC) prepared a memorandum...(read more)

A radical Russian nationalist group has published a so-called "revenge list" on the internet. It contains personal information on dozens of anti-fascist campaigners and experts working on race and hate crimes in Russia. The list, which includes judges, prosecutors, human rights activists, academics and experts, who track xenophobia and hate crimes in the country.The Russian Prosecutor General's Office has launched a probe over the appearance of the ‘revenge list’, also called "The List of Foes of The Russian People", on the Internet."Such a check is underway, because the Prosecutor General's Office website received an inquiry, with a reference to a similar site that published approximately the same list”, Tatiana Chernyshova, Prosecutor General's Office spokesperson, said.Moscow

So. Of course I have to talk about it. Montreal Canadiens. They Won their first series against Boston… Woohoo! I had no faith after the 6th match I’ll admit. But they manage to win 5 - 0 and it was an incredible game too. Props to Boston who really gave them a run for the win. After [...]

To avoid charges of Racism, Bigotry and Islamophobia, many commentators when criticising Islam try to ameliorate the sting of their remarks by closing their arguments with the meaningless phrase, "Of course not all Muslims are terrorists," as if one can easily look into the heart and soul of our Muslim guests and immigrants and easily distinguish one from the other....

Questions continue to be raised regarding Ron Paul’s relationship to white supremacist organizations. Paul has been unable to avoid allegations of racism due to a combination of racist writings in his newsletter under his byline (which he says were written by someone else) and his refusal to return a contribution from Stormfront founder Don Black. While Stormfront has endorsed Paul, there have been conflicting regarding Paul’s relationship to the group. Little Green Footballs has posted a photograph of Paul posing with Don Black (above) at the Values Voters Presidential Debate in Fort Lauderdale on September 17, 2007. This is hardly conclusive as we don’t even know if Paul even knew who he was posing with. My suspicion is that if Paul knew who it was he naively would have still have posed with Black, along with any other supporters requesting a photograph, without this proving any further relationship. Yesterday’s report that Bill White, “Commander&rdquo

Pastors Unite To Counter Religious FanaticsForcing Their Religious Doctrine Of MarriageNote: Leftist religious extremists have been trying to force their religious views and dogmas on others concerning same-sex marriage for years. Such zealots have twisted definitions, perverting the meaning and understanding of the institution of marriage that has been universal since humanity immemorial. These fanatics have attempted to equate and attach themselves to the civil rights movement for racial equality, offending many people of color...Some Iowa clergy are joining forces to fight what they call a "campaign to undermine marriage and silence the church."Reverend Keith Ratliff spoke today at a press conference at his Missionary Baptist Church in Des Moines. He was joined by other local pastors.Ratliff said, "We exhort all of our fellow pastors and church leaders to join us in this spiritual, moral, and legal battle." The pastors are planning to lobby state lawmakers. Ratliff says they'll wor

Great article from the New York Times:"I have this problem. Whenever I try to explain what's happening in American politics-I mean, what's really happening-I wind up sounding a bit like an unhinged conspiracy theorist. But honestly, I'm not. My politics are actually quite moderate. (Most real lefties, in fact, think I'm a Washington establishment sellout.)"read more | digg story

Our nation's children are in danger. A combination of Christian extremism and government officials afraid to enforce the rule of law threatens their education. This in turn jeopardizes America's future ability to compete in a global economy. I realize that this is probably not anything new for my regular readers, but even you may be surprised by the latest assault on our public schools.Proclaiming "a revival of faith and grace" at America's public schools, Christian extremist groups are organizing three nationwide efforts to force their ridiculous religion into our schools. In a press release issued by the Scriptures in Schools Project and publicized by Christian Newswire, we can learn about the following events planned for September 23-29:"See You At The Pole" 9/26"Scriptures in Schools Week" 9/23-9/29"Adopt-A-School-for-Christ" Campus Challenge 9/23The organizers expect that, "Millions of Christian students, along with teachers/staff, parents, and clergy, will participate at Publi

It was not long ago that American journalists were expected to approach stories with some measure of objectivity. Editors wielded great power behind the scenes, and their bias could creep in as they decided what was newsworthy, however, news columns were clearly separated from opinion columns, and anchors were clearly distinguished from pundits. Anchors and print columnist were generally expected to use a tone of objectivity without their personal opinions shaping the content they were responsible for reporting.Times have changed to the point where we now tolerate neo-conservative propaganda masquerading as news while Anderson Cooper is praised for his emotional expressions while reporting on Hurricane Katrina. This is not an encouraging trend, and I am increasingly disturbed by a progressive erosion in the factual content of the information American citizens receive. When information is replaced with propaganda, our very democracy is threatened.With these concerns in mind, it should b

slamic extremists told a court Thursday that Indonesia's anti-terror squad should be disbanded, saying the U.S.-trained police were violating human rights in making arrests and garnering confessions. Among those who attended the hearing was Abu Bakar Bashir, who was found guilty of giving his blessing to the 2002 attacks on Bali island that killed 202 people. His conviction was overturned after he spent more than three years in jail. The anti-terror squad, known as Densus 88, "must be disbanded because it damages the interests of Islam by arbitrarily arresting Muslims and labeling them as terrorists," Bashir told reporters at the South Jakarta District court.

When I fist saw this headline appearing on several atheist blogs, I figured that the Christian extremists involved were probably senators. As it turns out, they were members of Operation Save America, a Christian extremist group. This is a fascinating tale of hypocrisy, as the Religious Right defends regular Christian prayer in the Senate by playing the "religious tolerance" card. It appears that tolerance is only supposed to extend as far as their particular religion. Still, I think that there is a far more important story here which should not be neglected.The U.S. Senate opens every day with a prayer - I'll come back to that. However, this was the first time a Hindu chaplain was invited to give the prayer. Needless to say, this did not go over well with a trio of Christian extremists in attendance. You can see what happened here.From the coverage I've seen so far, the story appears to be the hypocrisy in how the Religious Right defends the Senate's daily (almost always Christian

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is a Christian extremist's wet dream. Not only is he a social conservative who rejects evolution, but he is actually a Baptist pastor. It is hard to imagine that American fundamentalists could find a better candidate. And yet, there appears to be trouble in the Huckabee camp.According to The New York Times, Huckabee is worried about being defined by his anti-science worldview. At the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, he attempted to shift the subject from his fundamentalist beliefs to various domestic issues.“Tonight, all over America, there are families sitting down to have dinner, and I doubt that any of them said, ‘I wonder what the next president will think about evolution?’” said Huckabee...I'm not so sure about that, Mr. Huckabee. Personally, I find it quite relevant that someone who wants to lead America rejects the core tenet of modern biology. I have a hard time imagining that such a leader could make informed an

Pakistani Christians living in a town beset by pro-Taliban militants sought government protection on Wednesday, a day before the expiry of an ultimatum warning them to convert.About 500 Christians in Charsadda, a town in North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan, received threatening letters earlier this month telling them to shutter their churches and convert to Islam by May 17 or face "bomb explosions."Community leaders say several Christians — a tiny minority in predominantly Muslim Pakistan — have fled the town and that others are living in fear.Chaudhry Salim, a Christian leader in Charsadda, said police had not taken the threat seriously."Police say someone is joking with us by writing these letters," Salim said at a news conference in the capital. "They have deployed only two policemen at our churches ... this is the kind of security we are getting now."More

NEW DELHI, April 25 (Compass Direct News) – Hindu extremists in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh have brought the incidence of Christian persecution to an unprecedented high, including a slander campaign against the state’s chief minister, Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, a Christian. Sam Paul, public affairs secretary of the All India Christian Council, said at least one anti-Christian incident

Coalition forces killed and captured several extremists in Afghanistan over the past few days, U.S. military officials reported. Coalition forces detained an extremist and discovered makeshift bomb-making material in a compound in Afghanistan's Paktika province today. The compound consisted of multiple safe houses that use natural terrain to facilitate the movement of fighters from Pakistan. The bomb-making materials were destroyed in place. No shots were fired and no one was injured during the operation, officials said. Meanwhile, Afghan National Army and coalition troops operating in Afghanistan's Helmand province received rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire from an unknown number of Taliban fighters yesterday. Afghan and coalition troops returned fire and maneuvered to the enemy observation site. After pinning down the Taliban fighters, coalition close-air support was requested and destroyed the enemy observation site. Six Taliban fighters were killed, and there were no A

Christian extremists protesting at the funeral services of slain American military personnel is nothing new, but it has lost no power to enrage me. Now it is in the news again following a federal court's ruling to restrict the protests. Of course, the group doing the protesting claims that they have no intention of ending their protests.In case you missed out on hearing about this travesty when it was making headlines previously, the short version is that members of Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church have been picketing the funerals of American soldiers killed in Iraq. Why? According to the Mansfield News Journal, members of this church actually believe that "the deaths are God's punishment for the country's tolerance of homosexuals."The recent ruling, directed at Westboro Baptist, upheld a state law which restricts protesters from being within 300 feet of cemeteries around the burial service. Some view this as a free speech issue and argue that church members should have the righ

John Dvorak’s block had this story: As a Valentine’s Day card smoldered, more than 100 members of the Hindu extremist group Shiv Sena chanted “Death to Valentine’s Day” and “People who celebrate Valentine’s Day should be pelted with shoes!” Valentine’s Day has in the past two decades made strong inroads in India as the country has slowly [...]

Another installment from CENTCOM of What Extremists are Saying. Jihadist Website: Al-Zawahiri Urges Somalis, Muslims To Fight Ethiopian ForcesA jihadist website is observed on 5 January to post several links to 5-minute and 30-second audio message by Al-Qa'ida's second-in-command Ayman...

Another insatllment of What the Extremists Are Saying NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 Website Posts Latest Video of Al-Zawahiri, English Text On 23 December, a poster...

Her is another installment of What the Extremists are Saying. Via CENTCOM Ansar al-Sunnah Group Claims Operations in Kirkuk, Mosul, Baghdad, Hadithah, Al-Haqlaniyah On 12 December, a jihadist website posted 10 statements issued by the Ansar al-Sunnah Group in which...

Michael Moore: The responsibility to end this war now falls upon the Democrats. Congress controls the purse strings and the Constitution says only Congress can declare war. Mr. Reid and Ms. Pelosi now hold the power to put an end to this madness. Failure to do so will bring the wrath of the voters. We aren't kidding around, Democrats, and if you don't believe us, just go ahead and continue this war another month. We will fight you harder than we did the Republicans. Yep, you heard him. The nutroots are going to fight the Democrats even harder than they fought the Republicans if they don't stand for every radical leftist cause the nutroots support. Considering that a former Democrat President sat next to Michael Moore at the Democratic convention in 2004, it's fair to say that Moore and his nutroots have a great deal of influence in the Democratic Party. And apparently Moore and his ilk want the Democrats for sock puppets. This is exactly what the right warned about when Lamon

The headline of a recent story on ChristianNewsWire caught my attention: "No-Spanking Bill is an Abuse of Parental Rights." It turns out that Christian extremists in California are up in arms over a bill brought by a California Democrat to prevent parents from spanking their children.In today's America, thoroughly fractured by Christian extremism, the Democrat who authored this bill is being cast as anti-family.Parents who love their children and want to train them to respect authority are rising up against a proposed bill in the California Legislature that would criminalize parents who spank their children during the "terrible twos," even if the spanking was a one-time occurrence or infrequently done.To understand what is going on here, one must understand that Christian extremists have a very different view of family than rational folks do. Preventing parents from hitting their children is in fact anti-family if we construe "family" exclusively in the Christian extremist sense. To u

Michael Freund is spot on with The straightforward arithmetic of jihad (h/t LGF).It's time we open our eyes and confront reality. Ever since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the media has sought to reassure us that only a tiny minority of Muslims actually support the use of violence against Israel and the West. It's just a small fringe, a marginal few at best, they tell us, so don't worry about it all too much. One percent or three percent - who cares? Just sit back, enjoy your morning eggs and coffee and have a nice day. But a look at the numbers tells a very different story. The extent of support for global jihad is frightening in its proportions, and the numbers are anything but insignificant. Consider, for example, the following statistics regarding support for suicide bombings and other types of terror attacks. In a poll conducted five months ago, and broadcast on Britain's Channel 4 TV, nearly 25% of British Muslims