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Archive for April, 2013

Brilliant Ball Of Fire ‘So Bright It Could Be Seen Across The Entire Country’ Lights Up Skies Above Spain

04/17/2013 1 comment

RT – “A brilliant ball of flame streaked across the sky above the Spanish capital Madrid, dazzling stargazers and astronomers alike. The celestial display was so bright it could be seen across the entire country.

The eye-popping moment was caught on camera by the Hita Observatory at the University of Huelva at around 11:45pm local time (2145 GMT). The object struck the atmosphere above the Villamuelas district in the province of Toledo, southwest of Madrid.

‘The impact was so abrupt that the object immediately caught fire, creating a ball of flame around 100 kilometers above the Earth,’ Jose Maria Madiedo of the University of Huelva told the Huffington Post. The meteor then shot towards Madrid at over 75,000 kilometers an hour before disintegrating completely at an altitude of 70 kilometers.

The Spanish Institution for the Study of Meteors and Meteorites, which tracked the fireball, classified the meteorite as a piece of a comet that was flying by Earth.

The explosion on impact was so bright that it could be viewed as far away as the southern Spanish cities of Seville, Granada and Murcia.

‘I was looking up at the sky when there was a flash that in a matter of seconds began to grow,’ astronomer Leonor Ana Hernandez said to the Huffington Post. ‘When the explosion happened, everything around us turned white for a few seconds,’ and several green and blue followed the initial explosion, she added.

The explosion as the fireball entered the atmosphere sparked comparisons with the 500-kiloton explosion caused by the meteorite that fell over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk in February.” Read more.

Categories: Cosmic Craziness

Egyptian Cleric: Boston Bombing Was Meant To Deliver A Message, More Bombings Can Be Expected Elsewhere

04/17/2013 2 comments

Oddly enough, the Al-Qaeda-loving Salafi cleric below claims that the Boston “pressure cooker” bombs could not have been done by Al-Qaeda because it was “amateurish” and not up to Al-Qaeda’s “standards.”  He apparently forgot to read Al-Qaeda’s 2010 issue of “Inspire” magazine encouraging that “pressurized cooker [bombs] be placed in crowded areas and left to blow up” and that “more than one of these could be planted to explode at the same time” …

Egyptian Salafi Cleric Sheik Murgan Salem, 4/16/2013: “In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Obviously, I do not know who carried out that operation, but if it was done by the mujahideen, it serves as a message to the America and the West: We are still alive. Contrary to what you say, we have not died. The (Americans) wanted to send a message to the entire world that they finished off the mujahideen – not just the mujahideen of Al-Qaeda, but the mujahideen all over the world… it was meant as a clear message to America and to the West… I do not know who did it, but they have managed to get the message across: We can reach you whenever and wherever we want.” Listen to more below.

Two New Jersey Men With Al Qaeda Links Sentenced To Prison

04/17/2013 Leave a comment

The New York Times – “NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) – Two New Jersey men were sentenced in federal court on Monday to spend at least two decades in prison for conspiring to join the al Qaeda-linked militant group al Shabaab and wage a holy war against non-Muslims.

Mohamed Alessa, 23, and Carlos Almonte, 27, were arrested in June 2010 at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport as they were trying to board flights to Egypt, authorities said.

The two men had traveled to Jordan in 2007 to inquire about joining the organization, saved thousands of dollars, practiced tactical maneuvers with paintball guns and acquired knives and night vision equipment, federal prosecutors said.

They bought airline tickets to Egypt, with the intent of traveling on to join the group in Somalia, prosecutors said.

The U.S. State Department considers al Shabaab a foreign terrorist organization.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation got a tip about the two men in 2006, and their conversations were secretly recorded the New York Police Department, prosecutors said.

They pleaded guilty to conspiring to murder persons outside the United States on behalf of al Shabaab. Almonte is from Elmwood Park, New Jersey, and Alessa is from North Bergen, New Jersey.

U.S. District Judge Dickinson Debevoise in Newark sentenced Alessa to 22 years in federal prison and Almonte to 20 years in an all-day hearing in Newark.

At the sentencing, a woman sobbed and shouted, ‘It is not fair. No justice in this country.’

As court officials threatened to remove her, she shouted: ‘It’s not your son!'” Read more.

The Word Of Allah? How Seriously Should You Take A Book That Isn’t Arranged Chronologically, Yet Says To Ignore Earlier Verses?

04/16/2013 Leave a comment

So much for being a “timeless miracle“. The Word of Allah seems to be a wee bit confused. Tip of the hat to TROP

Ephesians 5:11, “… have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.”

Pieces of the earliest Korans known to exist were very clearly written over even earlier, washed-off versions, suggesting an evolving text rather than simply the Word of Allah as revealed in its entirety to Muhammad

Pieces of the earliest Qur’ans known to exist were clearly written over even earlier, washed-off versions, suggesting an evolving text rather than simply the Word of Allah as revealed in its entirety to Muhammad – Click for more.

Related: How Can Any Rational, Normal Person Believe In Islam? – “Islam certainly has all sorts of rational, normal teachings. For example, its self-proclaimed ‘prophet’ ascended into heaven on a horse-like creature with the head of a woman and the tail of a peacock. This never-before-seen animal must be proof that Mohammed was really a ‘prophet’, right? So if you come down with the flu and the heat of hell is giving you a fever, do what the greatest man to ever walk the earth says and drink a cold glass of camel urine. But if you’re suffering from cancer, hepatitis or kidney infections because of any peace treaty with Israel, perhaps a few verses of the Qur’an will cure you. Then again, the hell-bound  descendants of apes and pigs may have figured out a way to somehow inhibit the Qur’an’s healing powers. Which is probably why killing Jews is divine, though killing frogs is sinful. What a interesting flat world we live in. Rational, normal thinking indeed — for the irrational, brainwashed mind …” Read more.

Iran Threatens West With ‘A Chain Of Violence That May Lead To World War III’ If It Attacks Iranian Nuke Sites

04/16/2013 1 comment

By Reza Kahlili, WND – “Iran ratcheted up its vitriol against Israel and the United States over the weekend, warning that an attack on the Islamic regime’s nuclear facilities could lead to global war.

The rhetoric eerily matched that currently coming out of North Korea against its perceived enemies.

‘Iran will not stand by in the face of such aggression,’ Ali Ahani, Iran’s ambassador to France, said Sunday, according to the Islamic regime’s PressTV. ‘This can entail a chain of violence that may lead to World war III. A potential Israeli attack against Iran with an objective of destroying its scientific and nuclear facilities is sheer madness. Its consequences are disastrous and uncontrollable.”

The deputy chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, Brig. Gen Masoud Jazayeri, warned the United States on Saturday that Iran would continue its nuclear program.

‘We would not trade off our rights,’ he said, adding that Iran would stand with North Korea in its faceoff with America.

According to Mehr News, Jazayeri blamed the tension on the Korean Peninsula on the U.S. presence in the region.

‘Whenever necessary, we would stop the U.S. excessive demands,’ he said. ‘The Islamic Revolution will never leave its past and present friends. The U.S. and its allies will suffer great losses if a war breaks out in this region.’

The commander of the Islamic regime’s ground forces, Brig. Gen. Ahmad Reza Poordastan, in his speech at Friday Prayers, also warned ‘the enemies’ that the country’s army has its finger on the trigger and that any attack on the country will make the ‘enemy’ regret its actions.

All enemy activities at Iran’s borders and in the region are being monitored by the country’s intelligence analysts, and Iran’s armed forces are prepared for any scenario, he said.

The regime’s PressTV ran an op-ed analysis on Saturday with a headline ‘Iran deals deathblow to U.S. global hegemony.’ The analysis, by Finian Cunningham, an Irishman whom the outlet calls ‘a prominent expert in international affairs,’ blames America for much of the world’s problems and warns of its Read more…

Al-Qaeda Propagandist Called For Attacks On American Sports Events ‘To Inflict Maximum Human Losses’

04/16/2013 3 comments

Tabari 9:69, “Killing Unbelievers is a small matter to us” – The Words of Muhammad, Prophet of Islam.

Al-Qaeda Magazine - How To Kill Non-Muslim Populations

Al-Qaeda Magazine – How To Kill Non-Muslim Populations

By Patrick Goodenough, CNS News – “Although no group has claimed responsibility for Monday’s deadly bomb blasts at the Boston Marathon, a leading al-Qaeda ideologue last year recommended that jihadists in America include sporting events in their list of prospective terror targets.

Writing in the online magazine of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Inspire, the terrorist known as Abu Musab al-Suri listed what he called ‘the most important enemy targets.’

Al-Suri contended that civilians should be targeted ‘when responding to a brutal practice carried out by America and her allied forces.’

‘This is done by targeting human crowds in order to inflict maximum human losses,’ he wrote. ‘This is very easy since there are numerous such targets such as crowded sports arenas, annual social events, large international exhibitions, crowded market-places, skyscrapers, crowded buildings … etc.’

‘It is possible for ordinary Resistance fighters among the Muslims residing in America and the allied Western countries to target them, in order to participate in the jihad and the Resistance, and to stretch out a helping hand to the mujahidun [Islamic warriors].’

The U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist Web sites, drew attention Monday to the Inspire article.

Any short list of terrorist groups dedicated to carrying out attacks against U.S. targets would include AQAP, the al-Qaeda affiliate active in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.” Read more.

Flashback: Al-Qaeda Magazine Includes Assassination Hit List, Torching Terror Tips – “Al Qaeda has released the latest edition of its English-language propaganda magazine advising would-be militants on how to torch parked cars and cause traffic accidents… In a section entitled ‘open source jihad’, the magazine gives tips on how to set fire to parked cars, including advice such as ‘don’t get petrol on yourself’, and suggests spilling oil on road bends to cause crashes… ‘The West should taste some burning. They should pay for bombarding and burning our Muslim brothers and sisters’ homes and our Holy (Koran).'” Read more.

Flashback: Al-Qaeda Magazine Calls Upon American Muslims To Launch A ‘Firebomb’ Campaign Inside The US – “The men who launched al Qaeda’s English-language magazine may have died in a U.S. missile strike last fall, but ‘Inspire’ magazine lives on without them — and continues to promote jihadi attacks on Western targets, offering detailed advice on how to start huge forest fires in America with timed explosives and how to build remote-controlled bombs.” Read more.

Turkey – One Of The Worst Religious Freedom Offenders In The World – Lectures Europe On Tolerance

04/16/2013 Leave a comment

In case anybody was wondering, no, this is not a draft of next week’s Saturday Night Live skit …

Hurriyet Daily News – “European countries will face new humanitarian tragedies leading to mass killings of people if they continue in their failure to embrace tolerance toward different cultures and religions, President Abdullah Gül has warned.

‘Islam and migrants have been a reality in Europe for centuries. As long as the continent of Europe doesn’t approach segments which are different from the majority with tolerance, particularly in regards to religion, an occurrence of new inquisitions and Holocausts, as well as incidents evoking Srebrenica, are probable,’ Gül said yesterday.

His strongly worded remarks came as he delivered a keynote speech at the opening of a two-day international symposium on ‘Migration, Islam and Multiculturality in Europe’ arranged by Hacettepe University’s Migration and Politics Research Center.

Racism and a lack of tolerance of different cultures and lifestyles are some of the chronic diseases in Western societies, Gül said, drawing attention to the increase in support for political parties which portray migrants as the main reason for societal problems in European countries such as safety, unemployment, crime and poverty.

‘When politics begins ‘otherizing’ a segment, then we see the alienation of migrants and minorities from the country in which they live and from the society in which they live as an inevitable consequence.'” Read more.

Flashback: Turkey: Muslims Subjecting More Christians to Discrimination and Attacks, Followers of Christ Vilified in Media, Textbooks – “The only way to remove the root of intolerance in Turkey is to remove Islam, but this isn’t humanly possible with a population that is at least 96% Muslim.  Fortunately, there is Someone who can make a difference. And He’s coming soon …” Read more.

Flashback: Turkey, Key US Ally, Added to List of Worst Religious Freedom Offenders – “Yes, you’ve read that right.  The country that has become ‘a useful model for new Arab regimes‘ has now been added to the list of worst religious freedom offenders in the world. Alongside Egypt who now vows to one day kill all Jews, this is a nation that the Obama Administration is now actively arming, a nation that now makes verbal attacks against Israel ‘a central feature‘ of its political discourse. Welcome to the ‘new’ face of ‘moderate Islam’ …” Read more.

Flashback: Turkey: 40% Of Turks Do Not Want To Live Next To Christians, 58% Do Not Want A Jewish Neighbour – “‘The social inquiries in Turkey show that 40% of the population does not want to live with [a] Christian neighbor. And 58% of [the population] does not want to live with [a Jewish] neighbor’, Simavoryan noted. Expert also noted that [the] Armenian community is on the eve of vanishing in Turkey as a result of [Christian intolerance]. According to him [the] media is very active in this issue. ‘Every action by the Christian Church is presented as [a] negative action. Even the churches are presented as terrorist organizations’.” Read more.

Flashback: Turkey: Secular Opposition Laments the Rise of Islamism in Turkish Government and Society, Christians Under Increasing Pressure – “In a Turkey with a secular constitution and a government and population of the Muslim faith, the social-democrat opposition has denounced an attack by the government and the presidency on the tradition of Ataturk festivities, symbol of the state’s secular nature. The alarm has come on a day in which a daily paper provided details on a report by the Association of Protestant Christian Churches noting numerous ‘attacks’ on Christian communities.” Read more.

Islamists Hope Boston Bombings Are Acts Of Jihadi Terrorism, Pray For More Bombings To Follow

04/16/2013 1 comment

For peaceful purposes …

Qur’an Sura 8:39, “And fight with them until there is no more fitna [disorder, unbelief] and religion should be only for Allah”

Site – “Amidst ongoing media reports of two explosions in the American city of Boston, Massachusetts, near the finish line of the marathon race on April 15, 2013, jihadists expressed their joy and hoped the blasts are acts of jihadi terrorism.

One forum member noted that over a week ago, a jihadist announced his desire to plan bombings in the United States, but was chastised by others for revealing such a plot publicly. He is referring to a posting on the Ansar al-Mujahideen forum on April 1 in which a jihadist tried to recruit members for an attack similar in impact to al-Qaeda’s 9/11 strikes, but seemed focused on the attack being a suicide bombing. In other posts responding to the explosions, on the Ansar al-Mujahideen, al-Fida’ and Shumukh al-Islam forums, jihadists gave pictures circulated in the media of the aftermath, showing injured people and a bloody sidewalk, and some hoped more bombings will follow.

Administrators of Shumukh al-Islam, a top-tier jihadist forum and primary source for official messages from al-Qaeda, placed a two scrolling messages atop the forum, the first stating: “Urgent // Casualties and Injuries in an Explosion that Shook the US State of Boston, and a State of Panic and Chaos Spreads Across America in General,” and the second giving an oft-repeated statement from former al-Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden: ‘I swear by Allah the Great, who raised the sky without pillars, that America and those who live in America will not dream of security until we live it as a reality in Palestine and until all the disbelieving armies are expelled from the land of Muhammad, Allah’s peace and prayer be upon him.’

Following is a translation of a sampling of the postings:

{Shumukh al-Islam forum}

Urgent // Casualties and Injuries in an Explosion that Shook the US State of Boston, and a State of Panic and Chaos Spreads Across America in General

—————

[Ibn Talha al-Muhajir]

Allah is Great, praise be to Allah.

America is ruined.

[Istakhbarat Dawlat al-Islam]

New York raises its alerts to the highest level.

O Allah, make it by the hands of the mujahideen.

Allah is Great, Allah is Read more…

Five Earthquakes Rattle Central Oklahoma, Nerves Tuesday Morning

04/16/2013 2 comments

By Rusty Surette, News 9 – “Several earthquakes shook central Oklahoma in the early morning hours of Tuesday, including one that hit while News 9 was on the air.

News 9 received hundreds of phone calls, emails, Facebook and Twitter messages soon after the first earthquake hit.

The first quake was reported around 1:45 a.m. about three miles west of Chandler. The United State Geological Survey says it had a magnitude of 3.0.

Fifteen minutes later, the strongest earthquake of the morning hit the Oklahoma City metro area. The 4.3 quake was centered near Luther, 29 miles east and northeast of Oklahoma City. This earthquake awakened many residents and shook buildings from Oklahoma City to Stillwater.

The USGS reported a third quake at 2:15 a.m. near Boley, Oklahoma. This one had a magnitude of 2.8. One minute later, a fourth early-morning quake shook the area of Luther and Choctaw. The USGS says this one had a magnitude of 3.3.

At 5:16 a.m., a fifth earthquake measuring 4.2 was recorded four miles east northeast of Luther. This one struck while News 9 Meteorologist Jed Castles was on the air sharing the forecast, but he was so focused Stan Miller and Bobbie Miller had to interrupt him and point out the lights in the studio were swinging because of the latest earthquake.

There have been some reports of minor damage from Tuesday morning’s earthquakes, but no reports of injuries.” Source – News 9.

Categories: Earthquakes

Powerful 7.8 Earthquake Felt Across Middle East And Western Asia Strikes Iran, Hundreds Feared Dead

04/16/2013 Leave a comment

By Jason Burke and Saeed Kamali Dehghan, The Guardian – “A huge earthquake has hit the border regions between Iran and Pakistan, with reports of casualties currently confused.

Communications to the region around the epicentre, in a remote corner of the south-east of Iran, appear to be cut off.

Tremors were felt across the Gulf region, across Pakistan and well into north-west India on Tuesday, when the earthquake struck at 10.44am GMT.

The US Geological Survey said it had measured the earthquake at magnitude 7.8 and gave its location at 50 miles east-south-east of the town of Khash, in Iran. It is the biggest earthquake to strike Iran for 40 years.

Though the area is largely desert and mountains, there are several major cities, including Zahedan, only 125 miles away, which has more than half a million inhabitants.

One Iranian told The Guardian that the small town of Hiduj, which had a population of around 1,000 according to a national census conducted in 2006, had been badly damaged.

The Iranian semi-official news agency Fars quoted Tehran University’s geophysics centre as saying the quake had hit the south-eastern city of Saravan in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan province, at 3.14pm local time and reported that it had killed at least 40 people, according to some of their sources. At least seven villages near Saravan had been affected, the agency said.

But Fars also quoted Fariborz Rashedi, the head of medical emergencies for Sistan and Baluchistan province as saying the situation in his province was ‘normal’, with only three people injured.

On the Pakistan side, the situation seemed just as confused.” Read more.

Hundreds Feared Dead – “Iran has been hit by its most powerful earthquake for nearly 40 years and there is confusion over the number of casualities. Iranian crisis centre official Morteza Akbarpour told the ISNA news agency that the earthquake had so far,’not caused any fatalities’. ‘The epicentre of the quake was located in the desert and population centres do not surround it. There were no fatalities in the towns around the epicentre,’ he said. However, another official was quoted by a news agency as saying he feared hundreds had died.” Read more.

Categories: Earthquakes

Jordanian Islamist Praises Boston Bombing, Is ‘Happy To See The Horror In America’

04/15/2013 1 comment

It was only a matter of time. And these demented sentiments are undoubtedly being echoed by Islamists all across the Muslim world today …

By JAMAL HALABY, Huffington Post – “The head of an extremist Jordanian Muslim Salafi group said early Tuesday that he was ‘happy to see the horror in America’ after the explosions in Boston.

‘American blood isn’t more precious than Muslim blood,’ said Mohammad al-Chalabi, who was convicted in an al-Qaida-linked plot to attack U.S. and other Western diplomatic missions in Jordan in 2003.

‘Let the Americans feel the pain we endured by their armies occupying Iraq and Afghanistan and killing our people there,’ he said early Tuesday.

Al-Chalabi served seven years in prison for his part in the foiled attack. His group is outlawed in Jordan.

A Mideast counterterrorism official based in Jordan said the blasts ‘carry the hallmark of an organized terrorist group, like al-Qaida.’ He did not give actual evidence linking al-Qaida to the bombing.

‘From the little information available, one can say it was a well-coordinated, well-targeted and near-simultaneous attack,’ he said. ‘Luckily, the amount of explosives used is small, judging from the casualty figure and explosion area.’

A Jordanian security official said security was beefed up around the U.S. Embassy in Amman after the bombing in Boston.

‘As the unfortunate news unfolded, we immediately stationed more police patrols around the embassy,’ he said. He declined to disclose any details, citing the sensitive nature of the information.

Both officials insisted on anonymity, as they were not authorized to brief reporters on security matters.” Source – Huffington Post.

Related: Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah Celebrate Boston Terror Attack

Flashback: Obama Administration: The War On Terror Is ‘Over’ – “… a senior State Department official has announced, ‘The war on terror is over.’ ‘Now that we have killed most of al Qaida … people have come to see legitimate means of expression, people who once might have gone into al Qaida see an opportunity for a legitimate Islamism.’ The article itself describes the Obama administration’s new vision of foreign policy, which admits no enemies. Everyone, in this view, is a friend. Islamism, says the Obama administration, is just fine, so long as it does not openly support terrorism. This, of course, is utter foolishness. Islamism is a religious ideological movement that brooks no real alternatives – so while the State Department proclaims ‘a legitimate Islamism,’ it fails to acknowledge that Islamism, ‘legitimate’ or not, is deeply intolerant of any other modes of expression. Not only that, but Islamism works hand-in-glove with terror groups around the world.” Read more.

 

Categories: Radical Islam

‘Stay Home … Don’t Congregate In Large Crowds’: Third Explosion Confirmed At JFK Library, President To Address Nation Tonight

04/15/2013 3 comments

No absolute confirmation that this incident is related to the Boston Marathon explosions, but the timing is highly suspicious …

By Dave Wedge and Joe Dwinell, The Boston Herald – “A third explosion occurred just after 3 this afternoon at John F. Kennedy library in what is now being called another confirmed attack.

Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis said ‘a third incident — explosion — was at the JFK Library’ on Columbia Point.

‘This is very much an ongoing event,’ Davis said. ‘Stay home … don’t congregate in large crowds.’

Shortly around 3 p.m. alarms went off at the library and black smoke poured from the historic building, filling the sky over the harbor.

The fire broke out as emergency crews were responding to two deadly explosions at the Marathon finish line.

JFK library director Tom Putnam was aware of the damage to the building, but said no injuries were reported.

Boston ladder trucks rushed to the scene and firefighters could be seen on the roof.

A large group gathered at the entrance to the library which is completely torched and covered in black soot.

John Boutin of Raynham was walking along the Harborwalk when he saw the smoke.

‘All of a sudden I heard the alarms go off and looked up and saw thick black smoke. It was very thick and it was very black.'” Source – The Boston Herald.

President to address nation after Boston explosions – “President Obama scheduled a press conference to address the nation after a pair of explosions killed two and injured dozens at the Boston Marathon today. The president is scheduled to speak at 5:10 Central Time, according to the White House. Obama was briefed on Monday’s explosions by FBI Director Robert Mueller and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. The White House said the president also spoke with Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino and pledged to provide whatever federal support was needed in responding to the incident.” Read more.