Banner day for me today...

Here is another article for perusal, but this one is actually more interesting than one would think at the outset...

Akamai Declines to Assist Al-Jazerra Site


Apr 4, 2:31 PM (ET)

The Web site of Arab satellite news channel Al-Jazeera was refused assistance this week when it sought help from Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) of Cambridge, Mass., in dealing with hacking attacks and massive interest from Web users.

"We think it's political pressure," said Nabil Hegazi, deputy managing editor of Al-Jazeera's English-language Web site.

Akamai rents out a network of 12,600 servers that help customer Web sites deal with unexpected traffic, hacker attacks and Internet bottlenecks.

In a prepared statement, Akamai said it "worked briefly this week with Al Jazeera to understand the issues they are having distributing their websites," but decided not to continue the relationship.

Akamai would not comment Friday on why it broke off the collaboration.

Al-Jazeera drew intense interest and criticism after it carried Iraqi TV footage of dead and captive U.S. soldiers. U.S. television networks had decided not to air footage of the corpses. Al-Jazeera later honored a U.S. request to stop until families could be notified.

Its English-language Web site was brought down by Internet attacks soon after it debuted last week, and the Arabic page was unavailable for long periods as well. Hackers calling themselves the "Freedom Cyber Force Militia" later diverted visitors seeking the English site to a page with a U.S. flag.

Al-Jazeera said this week that steps were being taken to protect its servers against hackers. The English-language page went back online by Thursday evening U.S. time, but by Friday afternoon, the full text of the stories was again unavailable. Al-Jazeera's night staff did not know what the problem was.

Web portal Lycos reported that Al-Jazeera's site was the most sought-after on the Internet last week.

Al-Jazeera is based in the Persian Gulf state of Qatar. It has received funding by Qatar's government but is an unusually independent voice in the Arab world.

Its reporters were banned from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange last week, but the exchange has indicated that it might be willing to reconsider its decision.

Okay, here is what is interesting about this article. The co-founder of Akamai was killed on one of the airliners on September 11. Now, what in the world was Al-Jazeera thinking when they approached this company? Would it not be obvious that Akamai might harbor just a little bit of resentment towards the one Arab news source that trumpeted the story that the Jews were behind 9/11 and praised wholeheartedly the attackers of the World Trade Center? All I can say is good for Akamai.

Another reprint, this one from Human Events magazine. The author was a war protestor...was...

Protester Discovered Truth in Iraq: I Was Wrong About War
Human Events ^ | Week of April 7, 2003 | Ken Joseph, Jr.

I was wrong. I had opposed the war on Iraq in my radio program, on television and in my regular columns—and I participated in demonstrations against it in Japan. But a visit to relatives in Baghdad radically changed my mind.


I am an Assyrian Christian, born and raised in Japan, where my father had moved after World War II to help rebuild the country. He was a Protestant minister, and so am I.


As an Assyrian I was told the story of our people from a young age—how my grandparents had escaped the great Assyrian Holocaust in 1917, settling finally in Chicago. There are some 6 million Assyrians now, about 2.5 million in Iraq and the rest scattered across the world. Without a country and rights even in our native land, it has been the prayer of generations that the Assyrian Nation will one day be restored.


A few weeks ago, I traveled to Iraq with supplies for our church and family. This was my first visit ever to the land of my forefathers. The first order of business was to attend church. During a simple meal for peace activists after the service, an older man sounded me out carefully.


Finally he felt free to talk: "There is something you should know—we didn’t want to be here tonight. When the priest asked us to gather for a Peace Service, we said we didn’t want to come because we don’t want peace. We want the war to come." "What in the world are you talking about?" I blurted.


Thus began a strange odyssey that shattered my convictions. At the same time, it gave me hope for my people and, in fact, hope for the world.


Because of my invitation as a "religious person" and family connections, I was spared the government snoops who ordinarily tail foreigners 24 hours a day.


This allowed me to see and hear amazing things as I stayed in the homes of several relatives. The head of our tribe urged me not to remain with my people during its time of trial but instead go out and tell the world about the nightmare ordinary Iraqis are going through.


I was to tell the world about the terror on the faces of my family when a stranger knocked at the door. "Look at our lives!" they said. We live like animals—no food, no car, no telephone, no job—and, most of all, no hope."


That’s why they wanted this war.


"You can not imagine what it is to live like this for 20, 30 years. We have to keep up our routine lest we would lose our minds."


But I realized in every household that someone had already lost his or her mind; in other societies such a person would be in a mental hospital. I also realized that there wasn’t a household that did not mourn at least one family member who had become a victim of this police state.


I wept with relatives whose son just screamed all day long. I cried with a relative who had lost his wife. Yet another left home every day for a "job" where he had nothing to do. Still another had lost a son to war and a husband to alcoholism.


As I observed the slow death of a people without hope, Saddam Hussein seemed omnipresent. There were his statues; posters showed him with his hand outstretched or firing his rifle, or wearing an Arab headdress. These images seemed to be on every wall, in the middle of the road, in homes.


"Everything will be all right when the war is over," people told me. "No matter how bad it is, we will not all die. Twelve years ago, it went almost all the way but failed. We cannot wait anymore. We want the war, and we want it now."


When I told members of my family that some sort of compromise with Iraq was being worked out at the United Nations, they reacted not with joy but anger: "Only war will get out of our present condition."


This reminded me of the stories I heard from older Japanese who had welcomed the sight of American B-29 bombers in the skies over their country as a sign that the war was coming to an end. True, these planes brought destruction—but also hope.


I felt terrible about having demonstrated against the war without bothering to ask what the Iraqis wanted. Tears streamed down my face as I lay in my bed in a tiny Baghdad house crowded in with 10 other people of my own flesh and blood, all exhausted, all without hope. I thought, "How dare I claim to speak for people I had not even asked what they wanted?"


Then I began a strange journey to let the world know of the true situation in Iraq, just as my tribe had begged me to. With great risk to myself and those who had told their stories and allowed my camera into their homes, I videotaped their plight.


But would I get that tape out of the country?


To make sure I was not simply getting the feelings of the oppressed Assyrian minority, I spoke to dozens of other people, all terrified. Over and over, they told me: "We would be killed for speaking like this."


Yet they did speak, though only in private homes or when other Iraqis had assured them that no government minder was watching over me.


I spoke with a former army member, with someone working for the police, with taxi drivers, store owners, mothers and government officials. All had the same message: "Please bring on the war. We may lose our lives, but for our children’s sake, please, please end our misery."


On my last day in Baghdad, I saw soldiers putting up sandbags. By their body language, these men made it clear that they dared not speak but hated their work; they were unmistakably on the side of the common people.


I wondered how my relatives felt about the United States and Britain. Their feelings were mixed. They have no love for the allies—but they trust them.


"We are not afraid of the American bombing. They will bomb carefully and not purposely target the people," I was told. "What we are afraid of is Saddam and the Baath Party will do when the war begins."


The final call for help came at the most unexpected place—the border, where crying members of my family sent me off.


The taxi fares from Baghdad to Amman had risen within one day from $100 to $300, to $500 and then to $1,000 by nightfall.


My driver looked on anxiously as a border guard patted me down. He found my videotapes, and I thought: It’s all over!


For once I experienced what my relatives were going through 365 days a year—sheer terror. Quietly, the officer laid the tapes on a desk, one by one. Then he looked at me—was it with sadness or with anger? Who knows?


He clinically shook his head and without a word handed all the tapes back to me. He didn’t have to say anything. He spoke the only language left to these imprisoned Iraqis—the silent language of human kindness.


"Please take these tapes and show them to the world," was his silent message. "Please help us...and hurry!"

The Rev. Ken Joseph Jr. directs Assyrian Christians and is currently completing the book, I Was Wrong, and speaking about his experience in Iraq.

Reprinted...a great speech from Alabama's State Auditor:

Alabama State Auditor Beth Chapman.


Attached is a copy of Mrs. Chapman's speech, which resulted in five standing ovations, tremendous applause and an encore. It's a short read and well worth it.


Stand Up for America Rally Speech By: Beth Chapman


I'm here tonight because men and women of the United States military have given their lives for my freedom. I am not here tonight because Sheryl Crowe, Rosie O'Donnell, Martin Sheen, George Clooney, Jane Fonda or Phil Donahue, sacrificed their lives for me. If my memory serves me correctly, it was not movie stars or musicians, but the United States Military who fought on the shores of Iwo Jima, the jungles of Vietnam, and the beaches of Normandy. Tonight, I say we should support the President of the United States and the U.S. Military and tell the liberal, tree-hugging, Birkenstock-wearing, hippy, tie-dyed liberals to go make their movies and music and whine somewhere else. After all, if they lived in Iraq, they wouldn't be allowed the freedom of speech they're being given here today.Ironically, they would be put to death at the hands of Sadam Husssein or Osama Bin Laden. I want to know how the very people who are against war because of the loss of life, can possibly be the same people who are for abortion? They are the same people who are for animal rights but against the rights of the unborn. The movie stars say they want to go to Iraq and serve as "human shields" for the Iraqis. I say let them buy a one-way ticket and go. No one likes war. I hate war! But the one thing I hate more is the fact that this country has been forced into war. Innocent people have lost their lives - - and there but for the grace of God,it could have been my brother,my husband, or even worse my own son. On December 7, 1941, there are no records of movie stars treading the blazing waters of Pearl Harbor. On September 11, 2001; there are no photos of movie stars standing as "human shields" against the debris and falling bodies ascending from the World Trade Center. There were only policemen and firemen -underpaid civil servants who gave their all with nothing expected in return. When the USS Cole was bombed, there were no movie stars guarding the ship - where were the human shields then? If America's movie stars want to be human shields, let them shield the gang-ridden streets of Los Angeles, or New York City, let them shield the lives of the children of North Birmingham whose mothers lay them down to sleep on the floor each night to shelter them from stray bullets. If they want to be human shields, I say let them shield the men and women of honesty and integrity that epitomizes courage and embody the spirit of freedom by wearing the proud uniforms of the United States Military. Those are the people who have earned and deserve shielding! Throughout the course of history, this country has remained free, not because of movie stars and liberal activists, but because of brave men and women who hated war too. However, they lay down their lives so that we all may live in freedom. After all - "What greater love hath no man, that he lay down his life for his friend," or in this case a country. We should give our military honor and acknowledgement and not let their deaths be in vain. If you want to see true human shields, walk through Arlington Cemetery. There lie human shields, heroes, and the BRAVE Americans who didn't get on television and talk about being a human shield - they were human shields.


I thank God tonight for freedom - - those who bought and paid for it with their lives in the past - - those who will protect it in the present and defend it in the future. America has remained silent too long! God-fearing people have remained silent too long! We must lift our voices united in a humble prayer to God for guidance and the strength and courage to sustain us throughout whatever the future may hold. After the tragic events of Sept. 11th, my then eleven -year-old son said terrorism is a war against them and us and if you're not one of us, then you're one of them. So in closing tonight, let us be of one accord, let us stand proud, and let us be the human shields of prayer, encouragement and support for the President, our troops and their families and our country. May God bless America, the land of the free, the home of the brave and the greatest country on the face of this earth!

My take on Iraqi strategy...


Actually, this is pretty short and simple:

1) Iraq is planning on using chemical weapons


2) Iraq will use its chemical weapons on the city of Baghdad


3) Iraq will not target the US Military with the chemical weapons. Instead, it will target the chemical weapons on its own populace in a great attempt at martyrdom.

I hope the US Military is ready for this. I believe Iraq's ultimate goal will be to kill off as many innocent civilians that it can and attempt to make it a great sacrifice to Allah. It will be mass chaos, and a scramble to save as many civilians as possible as the Iraqi terrorists snipe at those trying to get the people out of the city before they are exposed to the deadly gas.


And expect the liberals to blame us for 'provoking' this attack and trying to blame the US for it rather than the modern day Hitler, Saddam.

Time for a little lesson in the First Amendment...

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

Now, what is not in this little line?

1) The public is not obliged to follow this. Whereas the government cannot make any laws to stop free speech, the public is not restricted by using its own protected speech to drown out those that it disagrees with.


2) The public is not obliged to listen.


3) The public can respond to speech it disagrees with in any way short of violating the laws of the land.

Why don't the Dixie Chicks, Peter Arnet, and the rest of the liberals out there understand this? They sit and claim 'freedom of speech' when they make their stupid statements, but the public has every right in the world to respond in the way they are doing...especially with the ultimate expression of the public's might, their economic power. I can call them what I think they are, traitors, and the government cannot arrest me just as the government cannot arrest them for making the stupid statements in the first place. In Iraq, they would be shot for speaking out against the government. In the US, they can speak out, but that doesn't mean the public has to agree. At least they won't be lined up against a wall and shot.


This, of course, breaks down when another law is violated. Notice the 'peaceably to assemble' portion of the same amendment. If you do your little marches, that's fine. The moment you disrupt commerce, you lose your protections and enter into one of two other areas - Disturbing the Peace or Treason, depending on motivations and how far you go. Of course, other laws like assault, vandalism, murder, rape, etc. can also occur, but usually most protestors are arrested for Disturbing the Peace.


Now, onward to Article 3, Section 3:

"Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court."

Those organizing the protests in San Francisco and New York are purposely attempting to disrupt the economy of the United States. They have stated so in their literature, calling on protests against the war. By disrupting the economy of the United States, it gives material 'aid and comfort' to Iraq and to those terrorist organizations that hate the United States. The statements attempting to hurt the United States to the foreign press gives 'aid and comfort' as well to our enemies, emboldening them to attempt more strikes.


Lastly, to those who claim the war is 'illegal', I show you Article 1, Section 8 of the US Constitution, a document that supercedes any treaty:

"The Congress shall have power to ... To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations; "

Iraq's illegal weapons stores have been found to be an offense against the law of nations for over 12 years. By authorizing money to stop terrorists and those who support terrorists, Iraq - in sponsoring at least three different terror organizations - falls under this provision, with Congressional approval. Note: It does not state that war must be declared. Though that appears later, it is a separate section, and is a part in and of itself and not this line.


Thus, I exercise MY freedom of speech in calling the liberals what I think they are, liberals, traitors, and hypocrites.