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Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Islamic extremists target Christians on Paltalk.
Islamic extremists target Christians on Paltalk.
There has been a lot of talk about a New Jersey family being massacred a couple of weeks ago, possibly by jiihadists.
I didn't pay serious attention to it until I read this on Little Green Footballs today. From the New York Sun via The Counterterrorism blog:
A radical Islamic Web site systematically tracks Christians on PalTalk.com, an Internet chat service on which a New Jersey man received a death threat two months before he and his family were murdered. The password protected Arabic Web site, at the address www.barsomyat.com, features pictures and information about Christians who have been particularly active in debating Muslims on PalTalk.
One page from barsomyat.com features a group of photographs of a Syrian Christian, "Joseph," who now lives in Canada. Barsomyat.com's users have posted personal information about Joseph, including his brother's parole status, and make clear that they are actively trying to track down his current address.
Subscribers also post explicit warnings to Joseph. One comment states, "Know, oh Christian, that you are not far from us and you are under our watchful eyes!" Another user remarks, "Laugh, oh Chrisitan, and soon you will see a big hit."
I am a member of Paltalk, and have personally visited those chatrooms. In fact, a friend of mine in Texas was an administrator in what is probably the most anti-Islamic chatroom on Paltalk: America and Allies United Against Terror. It's possible that I've even heard this guy speak in the chatroom before, since they are all voice-oriented. I really don't frequent those chatrooms as much anymore, but I know the rhetoric is very thick and the sparks automatically fly that one as well as other chatrooms on Paltalk. I can almost guarantee you that the regulars in that chatroom are probably being targeted by these people.
I wish I could say this sort of thing surprises me, but it doesn't. People can get very personal and it can get nasty in those chatrooms, and not just the political ones. You have to be very careful when dealing with people on Paltalk.
The blog JihadWatch has been all over the murders from the get-go. He had one of his contacts explain how this family was butchered:
A close friend of Hossam Armanious and relatives of the family murdered in New Jersey have revealed the following:
Shortly after the murders, members of the Egyptian consulate went to visit the family to encourage them to keep quiet. And many family members have obeyed, saying nothing to reporters or anyone else. However, two family members and another Copt viewed the bodies at the funeral home. One of these eyewitnesses said that he clearly saw that the family members had not suffered “stab wounds to the throat,” as the prosecutor’s report states, but rather the following:
A. Both adults, Hossam and Amal, had a horizontal slit across the throat. Below the slit, on the left, right and middle of the throat were three holes, big enough so that one could place a finger in each hole. According to the eyewitness, it was as if the assailant(s) took a knife and turned it repeatedly in a circular fashion, as if to screw holes into the victims’ necks.
B. The two young girls, Sylvia (15) and Monica (8), also had a horizontal slits in their throats, along with two holes bored below the slits, one on the right and one on the left sides of their necks. The holes were similar to those on their parents’ necks.
C. The eyewitness said although the bodies of the victims were all covered, he was able to see the arms of the little girl Monica. Although the tattoo of the cross inside Monica’s wrist was not defaced, he saw that her wrists were cut. He was not able to see the wrists of the other victims to see if the crosses on their wrists were defaced.
D. Though the family wants to reserve judgment until the results of the case are released, they did say that the way the four family members were bound and gagged and the way their throats were slit with holes carved is similar to executions that are shown on al-Jazeera. The American public is not aware of this because the details of the executions are not often described in news accounts.
Amal Garas’s father said that (contrary to many news reports and CAIR’s press release) none of the family’s jewelry was taken, and that Amal owned some quite expensive pieces that were not touched. At the time of her murder, Amal was wearing a ring worth $3,500 that was not taken. This wasn't some routine burglary/homicide. There's no question in my mind that someone wanted this guy dead in the worst way.
In fact, JihadWatch translates what was posted after the family was massacred:
Bibo 117: This is a picture of the filthy dog, curser of Muhammad (Hissam Armanios) and a photo of his filthy wife, curser of Muhammad (Amal Jaras). They got what they deserved for their actions in America. They were slaughtered along with their children as a punishment from the heavens to those who curse the most divine of all who were created.
Exception one: Allah bless you all! I read about this incident on the news websites, but how do you know they were cursers of Muhammad and that they were murdered by Muslims? Why were the children killed as well? I never thought this was the act of Muslims -- maybe there had been another reason for their murder? Oh well, Allah knows! Had they indeed been cursers of Muhammad this was a powerful punishment from Allah. We should ask Allah to let all their dog brothers who curse Muhammad and harm him to join their fate!
Mostafahamed: Beware brothers of the plot attempting to blame Muslims for the incident, or maybe attempting to worsen their situation in America and Europe even more. We don’t need to speculate assumptions that may infer that we Muslims are behind it.
Bibo 117: (is asked to elaborate on his sources) My beloved sister FTAT UAE, I don’t know anything about the subject other than what has been published in the NYPOST. The above excerpt from the paper points out that he (Hissam) was one of the most prominent participants in the Christian chat rooms of the Middle East section of paltalk. As to he killed him and what were his motives that I don’t know till this very day. What I said in the message I posted was that there is a punishment from Allah to all who offend Muhammad!Here is a image of the page from the website showing a picture of the slain couple. It's a crying shame that this story is reduced to only a few news articles within the mainstream press. More attention needs to be drawn to this danger before these maggots strike again.
Posted at 02:04 am by Expertise
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Monday, January 31, 2005
Rush has no sense.
"I'm sure she got dizzy by that 180 degree turn she did on abortion last week. Hey; if you did a 180 that quick, you'd get dizzy too."
- Rush Limbaugh, after finding out Hillary was fine and going to make a speech this afternoon after collasping. (paraphrasing)
Posted at 01:45 pm by Expertise
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Cosby admits affair
Wow.
From the Winnipeg Sun:
Entertainer Bill Cosby admits to having "consensual" sexual contact with a Pickering woman who claims the TV star drugged and molested her, according to ABC News.
"A source close to the investigation told ABC News that Cosby's version of what happened between him and the woman and his accuser's story are similar in many ways.
Well, I talked about this when the allegations were originally made public, and I found it peculiar that Cosby would cancel his public appearances immediately. Maybe Cosby was telling us then that there was something to this whole situation?
Folks, I am a huge believer in fate. The self-righteousness that you try to radiate on others has a way of biting you in the behind tenfold. And there isn't a bigger example of poetic justice for a man who has stepped up to mics and trashed poor people for the mistakes they made in life that he's making while being rich.
I don't wish any hardship on Cosby. I hope he didn't force himself on the woman, and that the criminal charges aren't true. However, I hope he sits down and take into account all of the things that he's said and done over the past year or so to adjust his message and make him into a more effective speaker and advocate. That is, once the embarrassment of this incident wears off.
Posted at 01:19 pm by Expertise
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Sunday, January 30, 2005
Journalists as they are vs. Journalists as they want you to see them.
Journalists as they are vs. Journalists as they want you to see them.
Early this morning, I was awake watching this weekend's edition of "America's Black Forum" (it airs at 5:30 on Sunday mornings in Raleigh) and they were talking about Armstrong Williams (again).
Around the tail end of the show, Juan Williams, who was hosting in the place of JB, asked Deborah Mathis about the connections and opportunities certain journalists receive by the people they cover in accordance to how they report on them or certain issues. Of course, it's well known that politicians cherrypick reporters on television, radio, and print in order to get the one that won't be too hostile towards them and will pitch the softballs they want in order to knock out of the park.
It's quite interesting that he posed this question to Mathis, who is a native of Little Rock, Arkansas and has been covering the Clintons since the 70's. As Slick Willie moved up in the political world, so did she, as she eventually became a national correspondent for Gannett News Services. So when Williams posed the question, it wasn't surprising to see Mathis a bit flustered in her response, saying there's no correlation between the advancement and opportunities given to reporters and the people they cover.
Whether this is right or wrong isn't relevant to the topic at hand. Instead, the image that the media wants the American public to see them as and the one that the American public actually sees are definitely two different images.
The press would like the public to imagine a guy with the old reporter's hat on sitting at his desk pecking away at a mechanical typewriter hurridly trying to beat a printing deadline to get the big story out for the evening paper. Instead most of the public views them as manipulative propagandists rather than honest reporters. Public perception of media bias has been well documented, with a number of opinion polls stating the press slants left. In light of several scandals, including Rathergate, Jayson Blair, and others, the public's trust in the media is lower than ever.
The Denver Post's Woody Paige, an ATH panelist, now writes from New York so he can appear on ESPN2's Cold Pizza every morning. The unifying theme of Paige's Jan. 2 column was … Woody Paige. "I moved from Denver to New York, had an emergency angioplasty, became friends with Nona Gaye and Joey McIntyre, became a nasty judge on the TV show Dream Job … lounged on a hillside at the site of the ancient Olympics and watched women's shot put, swam in the cobalt-blue sea off Hydra and alongside a dolphin in the Pacific Ocean."
Damn Woody. Must be nice.
Paige is a sports columnist, and not a news beat reporter, which means he has more time than most news reporters to enjoy that kind of lifestyle. But folks like Howard Kurtz can host his own television show on CNN, while reporting on CNN/Time Warner for the Washington Post, something that blogger Mickey Kaus has constantly criticized.
Perhaps that's why there isn't much hoopla about Armstrong Williams, Maggie Gallagher, and Michael McManus - in which for the later two, there really isn't any scandal going on at all - outside of the press or in left wing circles. The truth is, the public assumes media figures receive perks like this for simply being in the spotlight. For the most part, they are right.
Posted at 07:50 am by Expertise
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Saturday, January 29, 2005
Freddie Mitchell's lost his mind.
Freddie Mitchell's lost his mind.
This is unreal.
From the Associated Press:
Freddie Mitchell's big mouth struck again.
The Philadelphia Eagles' other loquacious receiver -- the one without the Pro Bowl pedigree and ankle injury -- offended some Patriots when he dissed their secondary in a television interview.
Mitchell, a starter only because All-Pro Terrell Owens is hurt, said he just knew the numbers -- not the names -- of New England's cornerbacks. He singled out Rodney Harrison, saying he ``has something'' for the veteran strong safety.
This was an interview on SportsCenter, in which he was wearing oven mitts on his hands at the time.
I demand NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue make an immediate mandatory drug test for Freddie, because he's got to be smoking that freshly brewed crack. This is a slot receiver who has been in the league for four seasons and has never caught more than 6 catches and totalled 76 yards in one game in his sad four year career, yet he's talking smack on a nationally televised audience about the defending world champions?
Someone needs to tell Freddie he's writing checks his ass can't cash.
And anyone that knows how that Patriots defense works know they love to beat up receivers. And not just the secondary; the linebackers love to knock a receiver on their butts when they make a crossing route in front of them. With the exception of TO, this Eagles receiver corp isn't any better than when they got slapped around by the Panthers last year.
When TO got hurt, he made reference to Mitchell and Pinkston complaining about not getting any looks for passes during the year, saying they'd have to step it up while he's hurt. Although I doubt TO has problems with it, I'm sure he didn't mean for Mitchell to step up the smack talk. And considering the physical style the Patriots defense plays and how unimpressive Mitchell's stats are so far for his career, he picked the wrong team to start cutting jokes on.
“That’s pretty funny coming from a guy that doesn’t start,” he said. “This is his 30 seconds of fame. What Freddie needs to do is concentrate on what he needs to do.”
and this:
“You expect it from immature guys who haven’t experienced success on a pro level,” Harrison said. “Some guys are just immature and haven’t experienced things. When you go out there and play well, you don’t have to do these sideshows.”
I wonder; when Mitchell is looking up at those lights laying on his back in Jacksonville, will he wish he had found better things to do and say within his 30 seconds of fame?
I bet is that he will.
Posted at 12:54 am by Expertise
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Thursday, January 27, 2005
Blog notes.
In the next few weeks I will make a few improvements to the site. I've already started adding new sports links, including Football Outsiders, probably the best non-network sports website that I've ever read. I only wish I had found out about them earlier than the end of the season; Ben Maller, who's a Fox Sports Radio weekend talk show host and columnist that does for sports what Drudge does for politics; and Sports Professor, who has a number of good posts. I plan to add more in the future once I find some other sports blogs and link to them.
The blog will become more sports oriented. During the fall I was only posting about the NFL and NCAA Football, and that was just on the weekend. I'm now going to expand with commentary of basketball, boxing, MMA (Mixed Martial Arts), and I'm going to force myself to cover baseball more as well. Hopefully checking Maller's site daily along with the general sites (ESPN, Yahoo Sports, CBS).
My goal is to have this blog totally prepared for March Madness. Why? Because I plan to liveblog CBS's coverage all the way through; from whistle to whistle. I also plan to cover the ACC Tournament, CBS's Championship Weekend, and other games that I can sit down and watch on the ESPNs. That's not set in stone, but hopefully if everything works out we'll be ready to rock in a month and a half.
That doesn't mean I'm abandoning politics. It simply means I'm going to post a little more. It'll take a few weeks to do this, because I've faintly kept up with both college basketball and the NBA, but I hope to get acquainted with both sports and others a little more.
Also, I want to start using Trackbacks on this site, but Blogdrive doesn't automatically come with it. If anyone can give me a hand with getting that started, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Once again, thanks to all that emailed requests to hear the Tsunami Song and the argument prior to the airing of the song and thanks for visiting the site. I hope the ones that were first-time visitors liked it, and will return daily. As far as I've heard, no new news has come out in regards to Hot 97, but there is definitely pressure on them to fire that morning show crew. I had 12 new requests waiting in my email inbox this afternoon, so the total is 36 so far. If you want to hear it, just email me and I'll get it to you.
Posted at 04:07 pm by Expertise
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Kudos to the Maryland Turtles.
Kudos to the Maryland Turtles.
They spanked some Blue Devil butt, 75-66.
Sorry my Tarheels had to blow yall out a couple of weeks ago, but I like how you bounced back from it tonight. :-D.
Posted at 12:48 am by Expertise
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Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Miss Jones suspended indefinitely.
Miss Jones suspended indefinitely.
Before I get started, I would like to thank the ones who emailed me to request the audio clip of the argument and the Tsunami Song. I thank you because the 20+ people who request it made me realize that I'm not yelling in the blogosphere in vain everytime I type up something.
I still have the clip, and if you want to hear it, email me here and I'll get it for you.
Second, if I was a little long on getting the clip to you, I apologize. I've been getting some stuff straightened out at home and I didn't have the time to get online and answer the requests. As of 4:00 this afternoon everyone that has emailed me to request the clip has gotten it. If you didn't, email me again.
Now, as of this morning Hot 97 suspended the "Miss Jones In The Morning" show. Sprint and McDonalds have also pulled their ads from Hot 97. And that's the WHOLE station, not just the morning show. So things are picking up.
I know Sean Hannity reported the song on both his radio show and on his tv show on FoxNews. I doubt he knows about the argument before the airing of the song. But even that little bit helps get the word out and helps keep Miss Jones and her people off the air for good.
Posted at 04:11 pm by Expertise
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Tuesday, January 25, 2005
More on the Tsunami Song.
More on the Tsunami Song.
For those who haven't heard about this incident, check this out.
Right now, Drudge has a Yahoo article linked on his website. I've emailed him and some others about the clip to get the word out, but so far I've only received a few requests to hear it.
But the song in and of itself is still getting a lot of press. Over the past day or so, Reuters, Billboard, NewsDay, and others have reported on the story, but I doubt they heard the conversation before it.
According to Reuters, this isn't the first time Hot 97 has gotten in hot water over stunts they've pulled on their station:
The incident is not the first time HOT 97 has been accused of racism and poor taste. The station made headlines when deejay Star, now at another radio station, called Jennifer Lopez a "rice-and-bean eater" and satirized the plane crash that killed R&B singer Aaliyah in 2001. I remember the Aaliyah incident, because Star had problems with Jay-Z after that and Jay-Z made a quasi-threat towards Star on the tribute remix to Aaliyah's "I miss you".
I've listened to New York urban radio before, and this doesn't surprise me. The radio personalities in that city are very controversial and take their street cred very seriously, and it's amazing that none of them have ended up dead, or at least from what I know.
It's time to put these guys in their place, and get them off the air.
Posted at 03:00 am by Expertise
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Monday, January 24, 2005
Conference Championship Wrap-Up.
Conference Championship Wrap-Up.
Well, the games are over, and the championships went just about how I expected them to go.
There were a few things that didn't happen. I was hoping for snow. Instead I got snowhills. No clouds, no fog, nothing. In fact I think the sun was out during the Falcons/Eagles game at the Linc. Oh well.
But as for the games themselves, they were somewhat entertaining. And it was great watching the game while discussing it on two discussion boards; OkayPlayer and Football Outsiders.
First let's talk about the NFC Title game. Everyone tonight is happy because Donovan McNabb finally got to the big one, but just like Elway in 98, he really got there by riding the coattails of his running back and their defense and not making any big mistakes. I didn't see who was Fox's player of the game, but no doubt it should have been Brian Westbrook.
I'm really impressed with Westbrook's versatility. In college he was the first running back in NCAA history to ever post 1,000 running yards and 1,000 reception yards. That makes it very hard to come up with a decent pass blitz to beat McNabb with because you always have to worry about where he is going to be on the field.
Meanwhile, the Falcons couldn't get anything off the ground. The running game was shut down for most of the game save a couple of drives. Vick tried to get something going on his feet, but was constantly battered by Philly's front four and linebackers. And the passing game...well, passing game and Falcons mix as well as oil and water.
And that's what it comes down to; Michael Vick is a one-dimensional player. People look at Vick and they see lightning in pads and they think his feet can keep the Falcons winning, but the truth is that the defense is the life or death of that team. If the defense has a bad day, more than likely the Falcons won't have a chance. If the defense has a good day, the Falcons have a chance to win football games.
You are not going to win Super Bowls off running the ball alone, because then your defense has to make up for the lack of scoring a one-dimensional running game brings. You rarely see an offense that only runs the ball put up 30-40 points on the board. You go up against a team that can throw bombs and put points up on the board early and guess what? You have to get rid of the running game, because it runs too much time off the clock.
And that's precisely what Vick had to do in the fourth quarter; they had been so focused on running the ball and not opening up their passing game that once the Eagles got into double digits in the fourth, he had no choice but to pass the ball. When that happened, I told people on the board the game was over, and they never disputed it.
In an article for the Boston Globe, Football Outsiders editor-in-chief Aaron Schatz explained the phenonmeon of the winning rushing offense:
Because the game clock stops on an incomplete pass, but continues to run after a player with the ball is tackled in bounds, teams that are ahead shy away from throwing the ball. They want to avoid an incomplete that might stop the clock and leave more time for the opposing team to mount a comeback. The top two teams this season in fourth-quarter carries from running backs were the Steelers and Patriots. Nine teams ran the ball on more than 45 percent of their fourth-quarter plays, and all nine teams had winning records. In 2003, every single team that ran the ball on more than 40 percent of its fourth quarter plays had a winning record except for San Francisco.
Football experts hold up this season's first Pittsburgh-New England game, a 34-20 Pittsburgh victory, as an example of how important the running game can be. Pittsburgh ran the ball 49 times, New England only six – in the entire game. But Pittsburgh threw the ball as often as they ran with it in the first half: 18 passes, 19 runs. In the second half, the Steelers ran 30 times and passed only six.
So teams with high rushing totals aren't necessarily establishing their running game from the first snap onward. When a winning football team has a high rushing total, it is very likely they got many of those yards while running out the clock.
In short, with rare exceptions, teams don't win because they run. They run because they win. Well, I'm sure some will say, "Yeah, but Atlanta is that exception."
Well guess what? They weren't today. And they won't be when it comes to teams that have a strong front four and a decent linebacker set that are able to keep Vick contained in the backfield. Sure; they'll win enough games to be playoff contenders, but they will never be a legit Super Bowl threat until Vick learns how to get the ball to his receivers.
As for the AFC Title Game, there really isn't much to say. Roethlisberger played like a rookie, Brady once again did what it took to win decisively, and Cowher is now 1-4 in AFC Championship Games....at home. Guess what you'll hear from the Pittsburgh papers next week.
The Patriots defense didn't dismantle Big Ben, but they definitely made sure he wasn't a major factor in the game. Roethlisberger was picked three times today, making this his worst outing of the year.
On the other side of the coin, Pittsburgh tried to rely on their front four to stop the run and didn't blitz Tom Brady. Bad mistake. While they did keep Corey Dillon quiet, Brady let loose of a couple of bombs in the first half. Add that to Steelers turnovers, and it was 24-3 at the half. The Steelers never came within 11 points of the Patriots for the rest of the game.
I talked about this last night; you've got to place pressure on Brady and you got to do it the whole game. You can't let Brady or almost any quarterback in the NFL sit in the pocket and throw at will. Brady is at his best when he can take about 8-10 seconds sitting in the pocket and finally hitting the receiver, as the Steelers allowed him to do for most of the first half. Brady eventually turned that secondary into mush during the second half.
What the New England Patriots have been able to do in the last four years is remarkable. All the dynasty and Hall of Fame talk can cease, because the Patriots are that dynasty and Bellichek and Brady already have their spots in the Hall of Fame. To play at this kind of level in the current NFL conditions is unbelievable, and it will be fun to see what kind of destructive scheme Bill Bellichek has waiting for Donovan McNabb on February 6th in Jacksonville.
Posted at 02:24 am by Expertise
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