A New Jersey man has finally returned home after his active participation in violent jihad to help the African Taliban set up an Islamic state in Somalia. But don't worry, the New York Times is all over the Amir Mohamed Meshal case. Not to expose him as the threat he poses to his neighbors, but to expose the wrongdoings he received at the hands of three foreign nations that had detained him for questioning.

A violent jihadi.....trying to set up a Taliban-like state in Africa....and the New York Times is worried about Meshal's "ordeal". Nuance. I've highlighted what I think are the important nuance words.

A 24-year-old New Jersey man who traveled to Somalia to help establish an Islamic state there but was instead imprisoned by three different nations, was released Friday and returned home yesterday, his father said.

“Everything is fine,” said Mohamed Meshal, the father of Amir Mohamed Meshal....

During his four-month odyssey, Mr. Meshal was imprisoned in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia.

“It’s been quite an ordeal,” Jonathan Hafetz, Mr. Meshal’s attorney, said yesterday.

Mr. Hafetz, a lawyer at the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, said he did not know why Mr. Meshal had been released.

“The Meshal family is thrilled that their son Amir is free after four months of detention without due process,” the family said in a statement. “They look forward to spending time with their son, who they love very much.”

Meshal is not being currently detained because the FBI has determinned that he violated no law when he went to Somalia to help the African Taliban. Gee, I feel much better now........

We have a name for people who support the enemies of the United States: traitor.

Hat tip: Marked Manner

Posted by: Rusty at 11:27 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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(BUMPED ONCE - MUST READ)

Here's some red meat for your Memorial Day.

A blogger is being ordered by a Cease and Desist notice to take down a posting on his website that an offended Muslim. Pam at Atlas Shrugs has the lowdown, including a reproduction of the post from the offending website. For the original post, scroll down here to the story entitled "Tampa Used Car Dealer Tied to Islamic Jihad / US Federal Court Order."

The story is this (as reported by the blogger, who is a private investigator named Bill Warner):

The owner of a Tampa car dealership, Mr. Abdul Dabus, has allegedly been laundering money through the international sale of automobiles from his dealership (shipped to and sold in the Middle East) to support Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Mr. Dabus was for years an instructor at the Islamic Academy of Florida (IAF), which was barred from receiving taxpayer funded vouchers in 2003 after being named in a 50-count indictment as an American base of support for terrorist activities in the Middle East (particularly by PIJ). According to a 2005 court document, Mr. Dabus (who has a strangely suspicious working knowledge of terrorist leadership in the Palestinian territories) was called to testify in a trial against convicted terror supporter and IAF leader Sami Al-Arian. Al-Arian pled guilty in March 2006 to a count of supporting terrorism. He is currently serving a 57-month sentence and will be deported from the United States.

The Tampa Tribune published an article in October of 2005 with this interesting passage:

Dabus said he and Al-Arian had been friends for years but grew closer after he moved to Tampa in 1999 and took a job at a private school run by Al-Arian. He spoke succinctly and said he did not want to be in court. He said he was not a member of the Islamic Jihad but, as a Palestinian, supported those who fought Israeli occupation.

"This trial should be in Tel Aviv," he said, "not here."

Still, Dabus verified a number of code words prosecutors have said the defendants used in their conversations. Among them, "the guys" is a reference to Islamic Jihad members, "the interior" means the occupied territories and "Moussa's group" refers to rival terrorist group Hamas.

In order for defamation to stick, the allegations must be untrue and must be intentionally published with knowledge of their falsity. Should the 'defamatory statement' (not specified by Mr. Dabus, presenting a weakness in his case) be false, he in his capacity as a private individual would only have to prove negligence of the blogger to collect compensatory damages (punitive damages don't apply here, being that the information is not malicious or recklessly published with knowledge of falsity). There are also many defenses against a charge of defamation: truth, fair comment, opinion, privilege, good faith statements (made with reasonable expectation of their truth by the defendant, etc.)

In America, the burden of proof generally lies with the plaintiff, since that pesky little thing called the First Amendment has to be protected and outweighs a alleged terror supporter's right not to be offended by citing public documents showing his support for Islamic terrorism.

While Pam is correct to point out that this is an important case to watch for anti-Jihad bloggers, I think that Dabus is fighting an uphill battle here. Not only is he trying to silence a blogger via legal intimidation (which more often than not goes spectacularly bad for the censor), but the facts and history that are readily available to those who are willing to look for it are simply not on his side. Fweh. We'll see.

Keep your ears and eyes open for more stories like this, as this is likely going to be another test case for legal jihad against critics of terrorism.

If we're really lucky, we'll get a Cease and Desist order at the Jawa Report. We're not usually that lucky, but you never know.

Cross-posted at Mein BlogoVault.

Posted by: Good Lt. at 08:47 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Via Candian Free Press:

Venturing into the complex last summer, Douglas Hagmann, an intrepid investigator and director of the Northeast Intelligence Service, came upon a military training area at the eastern perimeter of the property. The area was equipped with ropes hanging from tall trees, wooden fences for scaling, a make-shift obstacle course, and a firing range. Hagmann said that the range appeared to have been in regular use.

Islamberg is not as benign as a Buddhist monastery or a Carmelite convent. Nearly every weekend, neighbors hear sounds of gunfire. Some, including a combat veteran of the Vietnam War, have heard the bang of small explosives. None of the neighbors wished to be identified for fear of "retaliation." "We don't even dare to slow down when we drive by," one resident said. "They own the mountain and they know it and there is nothing we can do about it but move, and we can't even do that. Who wants to buy a property near that?"

Posted by: Howie at 10:44 AM | Comments (14) | Add Comment
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The Circuit City clerk who reported a jihadi video that the accused Fort Dix terrorists wanted transferred to DVD may need Congressional action to protect him from being sued:

"The events in Fort Dix are just another reminder of the need for this legislation," said Rep. Steve Pearce, New Mexico Republican and author of legislation to protect "John Doe" passengers being sued by a group of Muslim imams for reporting their suspicious behavior.

"We owe a debt of gratitude to this individual for alerting authorities to this potential terrorist attack and thwarting what could have been a terrible disaster. I can only imagine how grateful the men and women at Fort Dix and their families are for the courage of this person to take action when he saw something suspicious," Mr. Pearce said.

Next time a Fort Dix-type conspiracy is discovered, authorities should wait until the terrorists begin their attack, then blow them away.

Posted by: Bluto at 09:52 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Update by Jane: Yes, here I am, somewhat cranky I must say. Five of the suspects lived in Cherry Hill and all are Albanian, the Asbury Park Press reported. They had also considered attacking Fort Monmouth (which I pass on my way to the beach) before settling on Fort Dix. Apparently the feds were up on the group for some time:

The Star-Ledger of Newark reported on its Web site that the men had agreed to buy AK-47 assault rifles from an arms dealer who was secretly cooperating with the FBI. The Star-Ledger report cited a law enforcement source granted anonymity because the source was not authorized to speak about the arrest.

It is a war of ideas, viewpoints, definitions, and explanations. That these six planned to attack US soldiers on US soil, and kill anyone who got in their way, demonstrates the ability of hard core Salafi ideology to impact every American's life and invade every town, even Cherry Hill. The essential component of the terrorist threat is the ideology not the network.

Posted by: JaneNovak at 08:39 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Breaking news! Six men were arrested last night for a terror plot to kill soldiers at Ft. Dix, New Jersey.

From NBC10.com:

Investigators said the men planned to use AK-47s to storm Fort Dix and open fire on soldiers and civilians stationed at the New Jersey base, noting that other military locations were scouted by the terrorist cell.

Three of the unnamed suspects are brothers who are all believed to be Islamic radicals, according to sources. Some of the six arrested men were also born in Albania and the former Yugoslavia, but have spent a significant amount of time living and training in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, according to authorities.

All six men were expected to face terror conspiracy charges Tuesday in federal court in Camden, N.J.

Update by Rusty: Newark Star Ledger, via Allahpundit:

The men - several of whom were in the same family - had videotaped their practice sessions in the Poconos, the source said. That videotape, in which they railed against America, led to their arrests.

The men made the mistake of bringing it to a retail store seeking to get a copy burned to a DVD, according to one of the sources. A store employee who later watched the tape called the FBI who began immediately investigating.

The article also notes the six practiced by using paintball guns. Hmmmm, sounds familiar.

Allah seems to think that these guys aren't al Qaeda. But I think that misses the point of al Qaeda 3.0. Anyone can be "al Qaeda" now just by claiming to be, that's the nature of a non-hierarchical network.

Besides that, focusing on whether or not a particular terrorist cell is being directed by Ayman al-Zawahiri unintentionally misleads the public into thinking our only global enemy is "al Qaeda". It's not. It's the global jihad network.

Anyway, hopefully we'll get a comment of two from our own Jane, who blogs from New Jersey.

UPDATE II by Rusty: Confederate Yankee has a media roundup.

UPDATE III by Rusty: Jane is having computer problems this morning, but chimes in here.

UPDATE IV by Rusty: Michelle Malkin notes that a) 3 of the plotters are illegal alilens and b) that Fort Dix had been used extensively Ethnically Albanian refugees from Kosavo which is stunning.

UPDATE V by Mike: The six men under arrest are identified as Dritan Duka, Eljvir Duka, Shain Duka, Serdar Tatar, Agron Abdullahu and Mohamad Shnewer. According to reports, one is from Jordan, one is from Turkey and the rest are ethnic Albanians.

Posted by: Mike Pechar at 06:24 AM | Comments (20) | Add Comment
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Looking through the blogroll of the European face of al Qaeda, the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF), I happened to notice this link.

Islamic Thinkers Society

Importance? The Islamic Thinkers Society are the New York followers of Omar Bakri Mohammed dedicated to "peacefully" bringing about the same things that Osama bin Laden wants.

No, being on the blogroll of an al Qaeda propaganda outlet doesn't prove you support al Qaeda. But it sure doesn't hurt the case against you, either.

Oh, and here's a picture of one of their demonstrations on the streets of New York.

Posted by: Rusty at 03:41 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Earlier today Jeff Quinton sent me this photo of a flyer posted at The University of Maryland, Baltimore County, asking me what to make of it. It claims to be from The Popular Democratic Party for the Liberation of Jerusalem and was posted on campus a few weeks ago. Both the date and the message on the flyer seems to indicate that it was posted because of the upcoming Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel's Independence Day, which is celebrated on May 3rd.

What's so very odd about the flyer is the name of the organization which claims to have posted it. I've never heard of The Popular Democratic Party for the Liberation of Jerusalem and neither has Google. But I've passed around the photos to several people who have experience tracking Palestinian groups and a general consensus has emerged. One of three possibilities:

a) Front for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a specially designated terrorist organization.

b) Front for the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), once designated "terrorists" but have since been removed from the list by the State Department. The group is composed of Marxist-Leninist-Maoists.

c) Wannabes with sympathies to one of the two above groups.

So, assuming that each of the three above scenarios is equally likely given the large numbers of 1) terror sympathizers on campus; 2) Marxists on campus; 3) aging liberal hippie douche wannabes on campus; then there is a 1/3 chance that a front group for terrorists is operating on the campus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County! Just great.....

Jeff also wonders whether the flyer below is somehow connected to other flyers found on campus which put the school into alert mode because they were "hateful and threatening". Click it for larger version.

Okay, to be honest, it's probably far more likely that some leftist wannabe douche posted the flyer. But still, dontcha just love how they turn the Palestinian imperitive to drive the Jew into the sea on it's head?

UPDATE: Here is Jeff's post about the flyers. He clarifies one thing in it: as far as he knows there is no connection to the threatening flyers.

UPDATE II: Dan Riehl reminds us that "liberating Jersusalem" is not a new idea.

Posted by: Rusty at 03:54 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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Religion of Pece alert! The president of the Pittsburgh's Johnstown Islamic Center, Imam Fouad ElBayly, believes an ex-Muslim critic of Islam deserves the death sentence:

Imam Fouad ElBayly, president of the Johnstown Islamic Center, was among those who objected to Hirsi Ali’s appearance.

“She has been identified as one who has defamed the faith. If you come into the faith, you must abide by the laws, and when you decide to defame it deliberately, the sentence is death,” said ElBayly, who came to the U.S. from Egypt in 1976. ...

Although ElBayly believes a death sentence is warranted for Hirsi Ali, he stressed that America is not the jurisdiction where such a crime should be punished. Instead, Hirsi Ali should be judged in a Muslim country after being given a trial, he added. [Source]

As Charles Johnson notes, "they made it clear that if they had the power, and US law were written according to shari’a, Hirsi Ali would not simply be prohibited from speaking.....she’d be dead."

And where would they possibly get the idea that an apostate should die? Muhammed, in one of the hadiths [sayings] deemed most authoritative, is reported to have said:

"If someone changes his deen [Islamic way of life] - strike his neck!" [Malik's Muwatta Book 36, Number 36.18.15]

"The blood of a Muslim who confesses that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that I am His Apostle, cannot be shed except in three cases: In Qisas for murder, a married person who commits illegal sexual intercourse and the one who reverts from Islam (apostate) and leaves the Muslims." [Sahih Bukhari Volume 9, Book 83, Number 17]

Here's a first for me: hat tip Charles Johnson for the e-mail.

Posted by: Rusty at 04:46 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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An FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force raided a travel agency located in the back of a Somalian grocery store as part of the search for Ruben Shumpert, aka "Amir Abdul Muhaimin". Shumpert, who converted to Islam in jail, is thought to have fled to Somalia from firarm and counterfeiting charges brought against him as part of an investigation into a ring of Seattle area jihad supporters.

Shumpert was out on bail when he is thought to have fled the country. He actually called the FBI agent in charge of the investigation and told him he was in Somalia. He'd seen too many movies, I guess......

Seattle Times:

The search for Shumpert led investigators to Samala Travel, one of several Somali-owned businesses at the intersection of 146th Avenue South and International Boulevard....

"We are obviously interested in locating and apprehending Mr. Ruben Shumpert," Gutt said. "The investigation took us to that address." Gutt did not elaborate on what led them to Samala Travel.

Hat tip: Fred Fry

Posted by: Rusty at 03:36 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Thanks to allahakchew for finding this disgusting post at a most disgusting website. It's an English language blog by a Sunni Salafi who openly supports al Qaeda in all its manifestations. In regards to the Virginia Tech massacre:

And whatever strikes you of disaster - it is for what your hands have earned… (ash-Shura: 30)

In other words, whatever sins you have committed O Americans, then expect “Tragedies” upon “Tragedies” from both internally and externally. This University shooting was an example of an internal tragedy as well as the Columbine shooting a few years ago. I, as a Muslim, don’t feel any sorrow over what tragedies occur to the Americans, whether internally or externally, whether gargantuan or minute, because the Americans simply deserve a punch in the nose for their internal evils as well as the evils they exported and also because Allah Ta’aala says: And grieve not over them nor be in distress from what they conspire. (an-Naml: 70)

these kuffaar would face the sword.

So do not grieve over what happened to the Americans on September 11th, nor grieve over what happened to them with Katrina. These disbelievers deserve for their nation to be lifted up in the air, turned upside down, and smashed down into the face of the earth – the way it was done to the evil nation of Prophet Loot [Lot, ie, Sodom and Gomorah].

Posted by: Rusty at 06:43 PM | Comments (30) | Add Comment
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It appears that Cho Seung-hui used a Glock 19 9mm semi-auto pistol as at least one of his weapons in his rampage. Other than having a reputation for reliability and quality, and the fact that it uses more polymers in its construction than more conventional designs, the Glock 19 is a fairly conventional handgun. I note this because there's nothing particularly lethal about the Glock 19 above and beyond the fact that it's a firearm. While it's bigger than a .22, the 9mm cartridge is on the "lighter" side even among handgun calibers. Shot-for-shot, the .45 Colt or the .357 Magnum are considerably more hairy. A 15-round magazine isn't even a particularly "high capacity" unit. A semi-auto pistol doesn't fire any faster than an old-fashioned double-action revolver.

In other words, Cho Seung-hui killed a lot of people because he had a gun and they didn't. Despite what some anti-gun journalists would like for the public to think, it wasn't because Cho had a "Glock" or because he had a "high-tech, high-capacity military-type gun" or some other nonsense. Cho had a gun and faced unarmed victims. That was all, and that was enough.

Cross-posted at The Arsenal.

Posted by: Ragnar at 01:05 PM | Comments (19) | Add Comment
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Democrats have been turning away from gun control ever since Al Gore's run for the presidency. . . In the wake of Gore's loss, many Democrats blamed the defeat on previous pro-gun control positions Gore had taken, and pulled the party further back from where it had been on the issue.

Today, a substantial portion of the party's new standard-bearers are pro-gun, or at least anti-gun control. Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor who now heads the Democratic National Committee and is the favorite of the new party power base emerging from the Internet, has long been an opponent of gun control. So has Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., the man whose squeaker victory in November gave Democrats control of the Senate and who was selected to give the party's response to President Bush's State of the Union address this year. Last month, one of Webb's aides was arrested on his way in to a Senate building with one of Webb's guns in his possession. Webb responded with a spirited defense of his right and need to bear arms. Even Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the new Senate majority leader, is pro-gun.

Posted by: Ragnar at 01:01 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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1 I'm having a hard time understanding why the media is so focused on
what kind of magazine the kid carried more than his mental state. 
As if by pressing for laws controlling how many rounds a clip can hold
would make this any better.  I can hear them telling the parents
of the dead now, "Thanks to our laws, your child was one of only a few who died.  There could have been more."



Outlawing larger clips will not prevent them from appearing on the
black market or stop them from being manufactured elsewhere - and then
no background checks will be done on ANY of the buyers.

Posted by: Oyster at April 19, 2007 01:26 PM (8/O8V)

2 Cho demonstrated the folly of gun control in more ways than one.  The one gun a month law just caused him to spend more time planning and seething while waiting to buy the 2nd gun.
 
And anyone who reads Salon is ghey.
 

Posted by: John Galt at April 19, 2007 02:01 PM (Q5fOm)

3 "The second sentence is speculation combined with completely wrong facts."...I have to disagree with this statement, it wasn't "wrong facts"....it's an out and out lie. This is so very typical of the msm when discussing any aspect of firearms in this country. Facts are irrelevent, fabrication is the order of the day.

Posted by: Edward Lunny at April 19, 2007 02:43 PM (QkaPP)

4 Can we please use the correct terminology.  The device that attaches to a rifle or pistol that holds and delivers the ammunition to the chamber is called a detachable magazine.  A stripper clip is a device used with some military rifles to rapidly load the magazine.  This talk about clips when discussing semi-auto pistols is incorrect.  I expect inaccuracy from the MSM, but not from my favorite blog.

Posted by: Ralph Hatcher at April 19, 2007 06:46 PM (loE3F)

5 Come on Ralph. It's like overlooking my spelling. They get the gist of it and we know what they are talking about.

Posted by: greyrooster at April 19, 2007 07:39 PM (NgtYK)

6 Ralph, you are correct. Unfortunately, as the word 'gay' used to mean happy, now the word 'clip' gets tossed around as being equivelent to 'detachable magazine' and like typical zombies we fall into the pattern. If you could say 'detachable magazine' as compactly as you say 'clip' it would help matters. I guess I don't mind the usage myself, because 'rifle' and 'gun' get the same treatment in casual conversation. And I'm a civilian, so I'm pretty useless                        USA, all the way!

Posted by: Michael Weaver at April 20, 2007 03:18 AM (2OHpj)

7 Of course they'll only pretend to support the Constitution as long as they need to buy votes for '08, then it's confiscation time. God speed the Revolution.

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at April 20, 2007 10:32 AM (jQsc/)

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Today marks the twelve year anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. One of the worst terrorist attacks in US history, 168 people lost their lives on that day, and the following video is presented in their memory.

To this day, there are still many unanswered questions about this terrible event, and credible information exists to suggest there were more people involved than just the two convicted co-conspirators, Timothy McVeigh and Mike Nichols.
This evidence raises many questions not only about the perpetrators, but also about the quality of the FBI's investigation.

Some months ago Doug Hagmann, director of The Northeast Intelligence Network, conducted an interview with Ms. Jayna Davis, investigative journalist and author of the book 'The Third Terrorist'.
The interview is just under an hour in length, and it presents compelling information to suggest there is a middle east connection to the bombing of the Murrah building in Oklahoma city.
I urge each of you to listen to the evidence Ms. Davis presents, and to draw your own conclusions.

The interview with Ms. Davis and Mr. Hagmann can be found here.
Click Read More to view the memorial video. more...

Posted by: Kafir at 09:53 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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NASHVILLE — In a surprise move, a House panel voted today to repeal a state law that forbids the carrying of handguns on property and buildings owned by state, county and city governments — including parks and playgrounds.

"I think the recent Virginia disaster — or catastrophe or nightmare or whatever you want to call it — has woken up a lot of people to the need for having guns available to law-abiding citizens," said Rep. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains. "I hope that is what this vote reflects."

Posted by: Ragnar at 10:15 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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The name on the return address was A. Ishmael. Via MSNBC:

Among the materials was a DVD with 27 QuickTime video files, totaling about 10 minutes, showing Cho talking directly to the camera. He does not name anyone specifically, but he mentions “hedonism” and Christianity, and he talks at length about his hatred of the wealthy.

I didn’t have to do this. I could have left. I could have fled. But no, I will no longer run. It’s not for me. For my children, for my brothers and sisters that you f---, I did it for them,”

Thanks to you, I die like Jesus Christ

Do you know what it feels like to have throat slashed from ear to ear? Do you know what it feels like to be torched alive?

Your Mercedes wasn’t enough, you brats. Your golden necklaces weren’t enough, you snobs. Your trust fund wasn’t enough. Your vodka and Cognac weren’t enough. All your debaucheries weren’t enough. Those weren’t enough to fulfill your hedonistic needs.

Hat Tip : Captain’s Quarters.

Posted by: Howie at 09:12 PM | Comments (23) | Add Comment
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If you've been reading the papers and you have spotty knowledge of history, you might be forgiven for thinking that the shootings this week were the "worst mass murder in U.S. history." If you're a journalist with a lot on your plate, you may have forgotten the mass murder of September 11, 2001, which left over 3,000 dead. Then again, that was nearly six years ago & all.

The Savannah Morning News is pushing the "worst mass murder" line:

Little is known about the shooter who killed 31 people and apparently wounded another 29 in the worst mass murder in U.S. history.

The San Jose Mercury News is selling the same story:

When I awoke the next morning, the name of the perpetrator of the nation's worst mass murder was all over the news, and I had another reaction: Oh, no. He's Asian.

The Bradenton Herald:

...the father, also named Juan Ramon Ortiz, learned hours later that his son was one of the 32 people gunned down in the worst mass murder in US history.

Canada Free Press:

Seemingly within minutes of Cho Seung-Hui killing himself and bringing the worst mass murder in U.S. history to an end, Virginia Tech president Charles Steger and Police Chief Wendell Flinchum came under a barrage of criticism for not locking down the campus after the first double murder two hours before the main shooting spree began.

The Trentonian:

Andrew Williams of West Windsor walked out of the building at Virginia Tech minutes before the killer showed up and started shooting, committing the worst mass murder in U.S. history.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer blog is closer to the mark, but not by much:

Virginia Tech's students are in horrific shock after the second-worst mass murder in American history. No doubt CNN has a wide range of highly respected authorities to call upon, people could lend some perspective, wisdom and the appropriate solemnity to the day's news.

Truth is, the Virginia Tech shooting rampage, while tragic, was not "the worst mass murder in U.S. history." It wasn't the "second worst mass murder in U.S. history," or even the third, or the fourth.

The 9/11 attacks (2,998 deaths), the Oklahoma City bombing (168 deaths), the HappyLand arson (87 deaths) and the Bath, Michigan bombing (45 deaths) all claimed more victims than the Virginia Tech shootings (32 deaths).

But, as Vinnie noted yesterday, those events don't fit neatly into the anti-gun political agenda, so they need to go down the memory hole, thereby leaving the Virginia Tech shootings as "the worst mass murder in U.S. history," with Charles Whitman's shooting rampage taking a close second.

Cross-posted to TheArsenal.

Posted by: Ragnar at 01:30 PM | Comments (16) | Add Comment
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The Plains Feeder has an interesting point here:

The media is noting that the Virginia Tech massacre on Monday is the very worst school killing ever in America since Charles Whitman went nuts on the Texas Tower. The media bias against the Second Amendment shows clearly in this assertion. The fact is, the 1927 Bath, Michigan school killings had a death toll of 45 with 58 injured. So why doesn't Andrew Kehoe, the Bath killer, get any mention? Kehoe didn't use a firearm! He blew up the school with a bomb. No gun control mileage here. Into the wastebasket of history goes the Bath School tragedy. No useful purpose.

The truth is making the rounds. The worst mass murders in our history were committed by people wielding boxcutters, pocketknives, fertilizer, and fuel oil.

That would be 9/11 and the Oklahoma City bombings, respectively.

And don't get me started on the effectiveness of gun control on people such as Ted Bundy.

Steadily eroding the ways for which people can defend themselves from human predators won't solve anything.

You can't ban teeth and fingernails, after all.

Posted by: Vinnie at 12:08 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Was Virginia Tech mass-murderer Seung Hui Cho a Muslim? Steve from Islam Threat e-mailed me about the connection so I did a quick Google News search. He apparently had "Ismail Ax" written in red ink on the inside of one of his arms.

Seems like a stretch, but as Steve notes "Ismail" is the Arabic form of Ishmael, Abraham's son who is believed by Muslims (and Jews and Christians) to be the patriarch of the Arab race.

My gut feeling is that the "Ismail Ax" reference is not ample evidence that Cho Seung-Hui was a Muslim. I get almost no hits for that phrase as a Google search, and if it were some kind of new found identity as a Muslim, wouldn't it be "Ismail X" or "Ismail's axe" or something?

UPDATE: The James Fenimore Cooper theory (scroll down)? Uh, even more farfetched and not even close to being 'compelling'. That would be Ishmael.

'Ismail' is definitely an Arabic reference. The question is what does it mean. It could have meaning only to the demented mind that wrote it.

UPDATE II: I must have a dozen e-mails telling me that "Ismail's ax" is a reference to either:

a) Ibrahim's (Abraham) near sacrifice of Ismail (Ishmael) in the Islamic tradition, where he may have used an "ax" (more commonly "knife")
b) Ibrahim's destruction of idols with an "ax" (more commonly "club")

Okay, granted. As I said, Ismail can only be interpretted as an Arabic reference to Ishmael. Unless I am missing something here, there is no other possibillity. But that still doesn't mean Cho was a Muslim or that he was motivated by jihad.

Posted by: Rusty at 10:21 AM | Comments (83) | Add Comment
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Let the name of Professor Liviu Librescu be known for all time as a hero. Dr. Librescu survived the Holocaust and the Soviet labor camps. God spared his life from the two greatest evils of the 20th century, but chose to call him home at the hands of another evil. His sacrifice should never be forgotten.

Be prepared for tears.........

JPost:

Professor Liviu Librescu, 76, threw himself in front of the shooter when the man attempted to enter his classroom. The Israeli mechanics and engineering lecturer was shot to death, "but all the students lived - because of him," Virginia Tech student Asael Arad - also an Israeli - told Army Radio.

Several of Librescu's other students sent e-mails to his wife, Marlena, telling of how he blocked the gunman's way and saved their lives, said Librescu's son, Joe.

"My father blocked the doorway with his body and asked the students to flee," Joe Librescu said in a telephone interview from his home outside of Tel Aviv. "Students started opening windows and jumping out."

I suspect that as the horrifying events at Virginia Tech become clearer, that we will learn of many similar heroic acts.

Hat tip: Aramy

Posted by: Rusty at 09:21 AM | Comments (14) | Add Comment
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An internet rumor has started that the Virginia Tech killer is a blogger named Wayne Chiang. I'm trying to dispell the rumor, but Wayne hasn't responded to my e-mail yet. Here's his livejournal blog and his facebook photo album. The fact that Wayne Chiang is

a) Asian
b) goes to Virginia Tech
c) has tons of pics of guns
d) seems depressed about a girlfriend

Isn't helping.

The fact that he's an Ann Coulter fan also isn't helping the Leftists either. Because, aren't all Ann Coulter fans just one bad day away from losing it?

But just because you're Asian, doesn't make you from Hong Kong update: better make that Korea. Interesting little known fact about the real man behind "Rusty Shackleford": nearly half of the people he grew up with in his hometown in suburban Southern California were Asian. Nearly all of them born here.

And doesn't the fact that you have a girlfriend, by definition, kind of mean there will be bad days?

The fact that he posted earlier this afternoon saying thanks to the Something Awful Forum for linking him and then taking down that post (or so I am told)--apparently enjoying his ten minutes of fame--is pretty conclusive. Or, at least, it is to me.

I almost fell victim to the rumor. Who saved me? Allahpundit, who else? It was Allahpundit who saw the earlier posting from Wayne, just before "someone" took it down. Allahpundit tells me he will probably post on this soon, but I have to go to the airport.

So, just in case you were wondering if this was the face of the killer--

--it's not.

Seriously, I was seconds away froma post that would have added fuel to the Wayne Chiang as the Virginia Tech killer fire. Thanks for the save Allahpundit who should have more details soon! Update: Allahpundit posts here.

The original image for this post was taken down. Credit Gateway Pundit for having a copy.

UPDATE 4/17: Wayne has posted, again:

I made drudge. Amazing. Shout out to South Park, the best show out there. Maybe they will make a reference...

Coming out. I am not the shooter.

Dan Riehl finds that Wayne has been a victim more than once.

Posted by: Rusty at 07:18 PM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
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ATLANTA (Reuters) - The killings at Virginia Tech university on Monday will stir fresh U.S. debate over gun control and what drives people to go on shooting rampages through schools and colleges. . . .

"What have we done as a nation in the 8 years since Columbine about this problem? We compound the trade of the day by our failure to deal with the proliferation of guns in our country," said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Helmke said that since Columbine, which happened eight years ago this week, there had been no new legislation on control of guns and he said a ban on assault weapons was allowed to expire in September 2004.

Posted by: Ragnar at 02:05 PM | Comments (30) | Add Comment
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From MSNBC:

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A federal grand jury indicted a U.S. citizen on charges of joining al-Qaida and conspiring to bomb European tourist resorts and U.S. government facilities and military bases overseas.

The investigation of Christopher Paul, 43, of Columbus, spanned four years, three continents and at least eight countries, FBI agent Tim Murphy said Thursday.

Posted by: Bluto at 12:22 PM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
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Thoughts about the post 9/11 Anthrax attack.

Via Ace.

Posted by: Vinnie at 08:40 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Okay, you may have noticed that I have avoided posting on all of the alleged 'terrorist dry runs' that we hear about. But this is just spooky. If this wasn't a 'dry run' or a 'casing' then I have no explanation other than that they were trying to get noticed so that they then could cry 'prejudice' and 'profiling'.

I'd say that the next step would be a press conference from CAIR, but it looks like even they are avoiding this one because of the apparent insanity. It's civil rights litigation 101: look for sympathetic clients. Kimberly "Asma" Al-Homsi is no Rosa Parks.

She has already been convicted of an unrelated bomb hoax. Oh, and she likes to practice her sniping skills down at the local gun range. Wearing full Islamic garb.

This is doubly troublesome for me because I fly Southwest Airlines. A lot. And at least half of the flights I take go through Love Field.

Crazy is bad enough on its own. Extremist ideologues are bad enough on their own. But: crazy + extremist ideology = dead people. Just ask John F. Kennedy. Oswald was both crazy and a Commie. How crazy? Crazy enough that even the Soviets and Castro sympathizers didn't want him hanging around.

You really need to read this whole article from The Dallas Morning News. I'm having a hard time trying to figure out which parts to excerpt. The whole thing is equal parts bizarre, crazy, and terrifying. more...

Posted by: Rusty at 10:52 AM | Comments (16) | Add Comment
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1 _{Mr. Rodgers said. "We have people who make up stories. ... She was always pretty quiet, though."}

Isn't that what they said about Dahmer, Oswald, Gacy, Chapman, Bundy, Gein, and Sirhan?

Posted by: Kafir at April 06, 2007 11:06 AM (HsmTD)

2 I went to the Alpine Shooting Range website (www.alpinerange.com) and here's something from it-

Says here- "Whether you're a beginning Islamo Facist shooter or an experienced terrorist hunter, you'll enjoy every trip to Alpine and look forward to your next visit even before you leave."

It also says- "WE TAKE PRIDE IN KNOWING OUR CUSTOMERS AND THEIR PARTICULAR NEEDS."

Just like at the 747 Flying Schools of Florida...money talks!

Posted by: JihadGene at April 06, 2007 11:18 AM (FTAjp)

3 If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and talks like a duck, there a pretty good chance that it's a ...

Posted by: Bert at April 06, 2007 11:28 AM (0FGKd)

4 I like the line "we get weirder people than her out here" Mr Rodgers said.
We have about 15-18000 murders each year in the USA, when some significant portion are committed by muslim fanatics then I will become alarmed. But at this point I worry more about the even "weirder" people that Mr Rodgers has at his firing range.

Posted by: John Ryan at April 06, 2007 11:40 AM (TcoRJ)

5 Dude, wierd is one thing.  Wierd plus bomb threat conviction is another thing.  Now add a hijab and plane spotting and then, well, if you don't think that's alarming then I just don't know what the hell to say to you.

Posted by: Rusty at April 06, 2007 11:52 AM (JQjhA)

6 she sure looks like a weirdo.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/wfaa/12-05/1220alhornsi.jpg
It would seem to me the Police were negligent in not impounding their vehicle until a search warrant could be obtained. If you've ever been down to Deep Ellum on Friday night, you'll see all sort of teenagers bent over their hood while officers rummage through their car after the night clubs turn out.

Posted by: davec at April 06, 2007 12:32 PM (9DUEl)

7 John Ryan:
Has the thought occurred to you that in a single day in 2001 Muslim fanatics murdered 3000 people? that apparently is an insignificant number for you.
Hey John, what if the people at the firing range where Christians with a history of voting Republican, you'd probably be calling for the ATF to burn them down WACO style!
I think you should offer Rosie O'Donald a lick of your mangina, you're made for each other.

Posted by: davec at April 06, 2007 12:40 PM (9DUEl)

8 Come on davec. John doesn't give a shit about the victims of 9/11. Hell...it was just those chickens coming home to roost. Dallas has some radical Muslims in it but I was just surprised that leftist rag of a paper didn't make her out to be a victim.

Posted by: Randman at April 06, 2007 12:50 PM (Sal3J)

9 Thanks Rusty!

Yeah, my jaw fell to the desk when I saw the WFAA report. (the video is up, under top news, but you have to subscribe) they did mention her road rage incident, and thats what made me pay more attention.

The reporter stated all the facts, but then let them have the last word, pretty much the quotes that end the Morning News article. I'll give them this, they ran it as the 2nd or 3rd story last night, so they thought it was important.

I hope you can pull that video, its amazing to see how these 'ladys' play down their actions, in this case and the other road rage incident. Speaking of which, I clearly remember that (seared in my brain!) and had hoped  she would get jail time for it. Ya'd think driving down I-75 waving a grenade at the rush hour traffic WOULD. Does anyone know if staking out an airport violates her probation in any way?

Later, Jaret

Posted by: JarvisW at April 06, 2007 02:23 PM (faim5)

10 oops, thats at www.wfaa.com btw

Posted by: JarvisW at April 06, 2007 02:24 PM (faim5)

11 I know this is off-topic but you  brought the name up and I don't get a chance to present my theory to a larger audience that Oswald was a patsy. 
 
Zapruder film:  JFK's head snaps violently backwards on the head shot.  Laws of physics say this shot came from the front. Force and inertia of a shot from the back would cause the opposite effect.
 
Autopsy:  small wound in forehead.  Back half of skull missing.  Laws of ballastics (a subset of physics) say the exit wound is always larger than the entry wound due to the force and mass enlarging (exploding basically) as it makes contact, i.e.  shot came from the front.
 
Prove me wrong.  I've never heard a satisfactory rebuttal to this.  As I have seen both the autopsy photos and the film, I would be interested in hearing a plausible explanation.
 
I return you to your program.

Posted by: slug at April 06, 2007 05:02 PM (KnAf0)

12 Ahh, slug, I used to love being a Kennedy Conspiracy Fanatic.  It was lots of fun.  However, over the years I have actually studied the Warren Commission report, and all the other data, and I am a firm believer that LHO was, in fact, the "lone gunman" they say he was.
 
The Head Shot - JFK had just been hit in the upper back (the first shot missed behind the limo), and was slightly raised up, his elbows almost even with his shoulders, and his head was forward, almost chin-to-chest.  This is important, as his head could not go forward any further.  Then, the 6.5mm slug to the back center of his head.  As his head could not go forward any further, the "jet effect" of the slug, and JFK's skull contents shooting out the right side of his head cause his head to snap back violently.  X-Rays showed the frontal sections of his skull contained many small bullet fragments.
 
One thing most "conspiracists" hang on is the "snap back" appearance from the film.  They most likely also think that someone shot in the chest with a shotgun fly backwards 5 or 6 feet into the nearest plate glass window.  That does not happen; the target usually drops, in their tracks, right there.
 
I've spent lots of time in Dealey Plaza, and at the 6th floor.  My first impression was "this is the perfect ambush spot - Hell, I could have hit JFK in the head with a freaking handgun from that spot (It is amazingly smaller when you see it in person).  My personal take on it is that LHO was rushed, and almost didn't get into position for the shots he did take.  I would have waited for the limo to slow as it took the extremely sharp turn onto Elm street, and caught him right between the eyes.
 
The simplest answer to a complex puzzle is most often the correct one...
 
Of course, your mileage may vary...

Posted by: TXEric at April 06, 2007 06:18 PM (ye7l6)

13 UPDATE! They lead tonights news with this!
(simi liveblog)

WFAA says one of the 'ladys' said they got fired!

They are going more in depth, and saying Hamad got suspended from "Outsource Partners International" (about to google that)

"religious, racial profiling, is what its called" Hamad
"Guilt by association" she continues.

"They deny any links to terrorist groups" Reporter.

BUT...

Asma (the Syrian Sniper and explosive expert) knows Al-Hagg (sp?), convicted in the bombings of 2 embassy in east Africa. ALSO former secretary to Osama!

"I have no comment on that, I wasnt there,... But I support my brother and sister 110%" Asma

"Police say comments like that are why they are interested in the two women" Reporter (Well DUH!! I'd HOPE so!)

OH< HERE WE GO>>>


"They plan to contact the ACLU, they say their civil rights are being violated."Reporter  (PHULEESE)

Reporter was Rebeca Lopez, channel 8, WFAA.

Wow, I'm glad they seem to be taking this a bit more seriously. Glad to see it. I wonder if they also know the recent sudden jihadist that went to the Richardson Moquse, and/or the Imam that just opened the State senate?

They should have this video up tonight too. But I refuse to sign in and give any of my info to BELO, so I can't watch it again

Later!

Posted by: JarvisW at April 06, 2007 06:18 PM (faim5)

14 Slug: I'm so far behind that I'm still trying to figure out what happened to Mary Joe Kopeckni. (spelling).

Posted by: greyrooster at April 06, 2007 07:36 PM (NU+M0)

15 Dahmer, Gacy and the Canadian fucktard John. Birds of a feather. All three of them after the same thing.

Posted by: greyrooster at April 06, 2007 07:38 PM (NU+M0)

16 John Lyin: You simple minded little prick. If we went after those that are committing the murders in America, assholes like you would start crying RACISM!

Posted by: greyrooster at April 07, 2007 04:40 AM (NU+M0)

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