True Roman Catholic Martyrdom Compared To The False Martyrdom Of Muslims

TIEPOLO, Giovanni Battista
Last Communion of St Lucy

With arms crossed, St Lucy kneels before a priest to receive the last communion. Her half closed eyes and the elegiac expression on her face hint at her later fate. The priests and secular dignitaries who surround her wear magnificent robes, whose beautifully rendered material and brilliant colours are of particular intensity. The scene takes place in front of an imposing palace, upon whose balustrade Tiepolo has again placed spectators. While the bloody knife and the platter with the gouged-out eyes in the foreground are a drastic reminder of the impending martyrdom, the heads of angels which hover over the saint announce her entry into the Kingdom of Heaven. Web Gallery of Art




Now for the false martyrdom of a Muslim woman:




Rheim Saleh al-Riyashi received a martyr's burial in Gaza City. Feigning a medical condition, the 22-year-old Palestinian mother of two had made her way to the front of a line of workers at the Erez Crossing between Israel and Gaza. Detonating a bomb that was strapped to her body, she killed four Israelis; ten others, including Palestinians, were also injured.

A joint leaflet signed by HAMAS and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, an offshoot of Arafat's Fatah movement, immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Riyashi belonged to the Brigades of Izel Dein Al Qassam, the armed wing of HAMAS. Fatah and Islamic Jihad have used women suicide bombers before, but HAMAS had been reluctant to do so. None of Islamic Jihad's female suicide bombers had been married or mothers.

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, HAMAS' spiritual leader, told reporters that sending a woman on such a mission was one of HAMAS' tactics. "Israeli security measures at checkpoints and roadblocks make it difficult for men to reach soldiers and settlers. HAMAS saw that a woman could reach them and carry out a successful attack," said Yassin.

Apparently a place in Paradise was sufficient inducement for Riyashi to kill herself and several others; leaving a husband, two children and a lover behind. In a videotape sent to news agencies, Riyashi wore a black long-sleeve dress and black head scarf, with a green strip across her forehead proclaiming, "There is no God but Allah." At right she is shown with her daughter Duha, who is clutching a rocket grenade.

Cradling an AK-47 assault rifle, she smiled as she read from a paper, explaining that the suicide bombing attack was intended to, "the attack was meant to turn her body into "deadly shrapnel". "The fire of revenge will never be extinguished. It will remain burning, day after day, until those villain enemies are burnt and leave our land. It was a dream for me to carry out this operation."

"I will carry out this joint attack with our brothers from Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in revenge against the enemies of humanity who kill and destroy in Rafah, in Nablus and in all the Palestinian territories."

And she said in clear, clipped tones, her most heartfelt wish to "knock on heaven's doors with the skulls of Zionists." She also spoke of her devotion to her two children, ages 3 and 18 months. "Only God knows how much I loved them," she said unwaveringly.

Riyashi's 24-year-old husband, Zeyad Awad, a HAMAS activist, said he had mixed feelings of happiness and sorrow, adding, "I'm happy because she is a shahida (a martyr) and I'm sad because I've lost my wife and my two children are motherless."

These video tapes (and posters) are almost always made before a suicide bombing. They serve a number of purposes. Not only do they serve to help glorify the terrorist organization among the Palestinian population and aid in recruiting, but having committed, on tape, to going ahead with martyrdom the potential shahid/shahida is less likely to back out.

More Details of the Incident

The bombing took place in a terminal where Palestinian laborers from the Gaza Strip pass through to their jobs in Israel.

Witnesses said the young woman feigned a limp as she approached an Israeli metal detector, and told its operator that a metal plate in her leg left by surgery would likely raise an alarm.

She took a few steps, and then set off a very, very large explosive device Moments before, a Palestinian woman labourer offered the limping al-Riyashi a helping hand. Al-Riyashi looked at her, thanked her and told her to back off.

An Israeli paramedic, Boris Shor, said: "The terminal was totally destroyed. Everything was shattered, glass was everywhere, body parts were spread out. It was a very difficult sight.

Both Israeli and US officials expressed dismay that militant groups would select a target that put livelihoods as well as lives at risk."This is a terminal that we opened up to allow ordinary Palestinians to bring bread to their tables, and what do the militant groups do? They bring in a suicide bomber," said Raanan Gissin, an adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "This is a strategy to bring chaos, to make normal life for the Palestinians impossible."

IDF sources said that the investigation has already revealed that Al-Riyashi's husband, an activist in the HAMAS organization, not only knew about his wife's plans in advance, but even encouraged her to carry out the homicide attack. And that the person who recruited Rheim to carry out the homicide attack and equipped her with the explosive belt was none other than the lover with whom she cheated on her husband. The Sunday Times (London) reported that the husband drove his wife to Erez Crossing.

Riyashi's body was returned by Israel to the Palestinian side, and was picked up by a Palestinian ambulance. The next morning a procession of relatives, HAMAS members and militants brought a coffin to Shiffa Hospital, placed Riyashi into it and carried her to Gaza City's main mosque for final prayers before taking her for burial.

An Honor Killing?

Sources said Riyashi was forced into such a terrible act because she had brought shame on her family by cheating on her husband. So-called honor killings are common among the more conservative elements of Arab societies. In the event of rape, adultery, or other serious indiscretion, the woman's male relatives will kill her to restore the family honor. Some jails in Jordan are full of women, who having committed no crime, hiding from the probability of being killed for a slight, real or imagined, to the family honor.

In the present situation becoming a suicide bomber allows family honor to be restored and supplies recruits for politically and psychologically effective actions.

Zeyad Awad, 27, her husband, is a HAMAS member who is said to have encouraged her in the mission. There were reports of them arguing bitterly in the weeks before Jan 14, when she was dispatched to the Erez checkpoint.

A Shahida's Background

Rheim was the daughter of an established middle-class merchant family in Gaza. Her father is the owner of a large automobile battery factory selling mainly to Israel. She was married to Zeyad ,age 24, and the mother of a daughter, Duha, not yet three, and a son, Mohammad, 18 months.

A successful student and activist in HAMAS women’s groups, al-Riyashi said: "It was always my wish to turn my body into deadly shrapnel against the Zionists." Al-Riyashi, who was wearing fatigues and a HAMAS sash in the video, left behind a daughter aged 18 months and a son aged three. "God gave me two children and I loved them so much. Only God knew how much I loved them," she said in the video, asking that her children study in religious schools. She added that she had dreamed since she was 13 of "becoming a martyr" and dying for her people.

Controversy Over Suicide Bombings

In the past, HAMAS leaders have said women's roles should be to raise children and educate them to fight against Israel. However,in justifying his group's first use of a female bomber, HAMAS spiritual leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin said holy war "is an obligation of all Muslims, men and women. As long as there is occupation, it is inevitable that there will be ongoing resistance, but here you will notice that for the first time the units implemented the operation using a woman fighter. And this is a new challenge and a new development in the resistance."

Some have speculated HAMAS was forced to use a woman, because Israeli security focused on young men as potential bombers.

Members of her family were said to have disagreed vehemently with her actions and clashed with her husband afterwards. One claimed, "it was not right in Islam for a woman to become a suicide bomber."

"I don't support what she did," Yousef Awad, 31, her brother-in-law, was quoted as saying. "It's not accepted for a woman to do that. This doesn't exist in our traditions. We are quite a peaceful family, and we are against anything that opposes peace."

But the HAMAS newspaper Al Resalah said she acted nobly and had kissed her children before leaving them, "She was giving them power as a fighter and a martyr which is higher than the quality of maternity," it said.

Another HAMAS spokesman defended sending a mother of two on a suicide bombing mission, saying that martyrdom was a higher calling than motherhood.

"What Rheim al-Riyashi did was not a shame for Palestinians, it was a great honor for every man and woman fighting the Zionist occupation," said Ahmed, a 23-year-old Palestinian wearing a black mask and waving a large green HAMAS flag.

Sheikh Youssef Al-Qaradawi, an expert in Islamic law, said that from a religious point of view suicide bombings are considered heroic deeds and one of the greatest forms of Jihad (holy war).

Um Husam, a 32-year-old Palestinian mother of four, slammed Rheim al-Riyashi's deed, saying, "Islam does not order us to die and leave our children. Allah doesn't take us to paradise if we kill ourselves and leave our children without anyone to take care of them."

Hanan Ashrawi, a well-known Palestinian spokesman, had this to say, "The anger among ordinary Palestinians at the death of a mother and a second son (referring to another suicide bombing, a second in one family) could help turn public opinion against the bombings," Ashrawi added that "the attacks brought the question closer to home. Some people don't want to see their children do these things."

Arab society promotes solidarity and a consensus rather than freedom of speech; a few brave individuals have courageously spoken up against utilizing children and women in genocide attacks. They run the risk of being branded collaborators."

Taken from Al-Ghoul.com

Fornicating Old Fool Berlusconi Gives Pajamas And Bed Sheets To Another Fornicating Old Fool Jacob Zuma

Obama Berlusconi & Zuma

From Reuters Africa

Berlusconi gives Zuma pyjamas and bedsheets

Mon Mar 15, 2010 5:16pm GMT

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has given Jacob Zuma a gift of blue pyjamas and bedsheets, according to an official list of the presents received by the South African president.

The entry in Zuma's long-awaited "declaration of interests", reported on Monday by the SAPA news agency, was likely to raise eyebrows since both men have recently been the subject of sex scandals.

Berlusconi's presents, given at a G8 summit last year, included pyjamas, two bathrobes, two sets of bedsheets, two jackets, two pairs of sunglasses and leather bags.

SAPA news agency also said one of Zuma's three wives had received a foot spa from former British first lady Cherie Blair, and another had got a tea set and lamp shade from U.S. first lady Michelle Obama.

Muslims Reject The Blessed Trinity And Serve Satan

MASTER of Flémalle
Holy Trinity
1433-35

From The Qur'an

"The Disbelievers"

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

"109.1": Say: O unbelievers!

"109.2": I do not serve that which you serve,

"109.3": Nor do you serve Him Whom I serve:

"109.4": Nor am I going to serve that which you serve,

"109.5": Nor are you going to serve Him Whom I serve:

"109.6": You shall have your religion and I shall have my religion.


Muslims tell the Roman Catholics that the Muslims will not serve the Blessed Trinity:

"I do not serve that which you serve"

"Nor am I going to serve that which you serve"

Roman Catholics serve the Blessed Trinity and reject Satan. It stands to reason then that if as the Muslims claim that they are not going to serve the same master as the Roman Catholics serve - The Blessed Trinity - then the Muslims will serve their master the father of lies - Satan.

The Muslims tell the Roman Catholics that Roman Catholics do not serve the same master as the Muslims do:

"Nor are you going to serve Him Whom I serve"

Roman Catholics refuse to serve Satan the master of Islam

Roman Catholics renounce Satan at every Easter Vigil in the Renewal of Baptismal Vows

The newly Baptized also reject Satan:

Next he questions the one to be baptized, addressing him by name (in the singular for individuals).

N. Do you renounce Satan?

The godfather (sponsor) responds: I do renounce him.

Priest: And all his works?

The godfather (sponsor): I do renounce him.

Priest: And all his display?

The godfather (sponsor): I do renounce it.

I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris

My Favorite Holy Card To Ward Off The Infidel Jihadists

I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris*

In the absence of your love
And in the absence of human touch
I have decided Im throwing my arms around
Around Paris because only stone and steel accept my love

In the absence of your smiling face
I traveled all over the place
and I have decided Im throwing my arms around
Around Paris because only stone and steel accept my love
Im throwing my arms around
Around Paris because only stone and steel accept my love

Im throwing my arms around Paris because
Nobody wants my love
Nobody wants my love
Nobody needs my love
Nobody wants my love

Yes you made yourself plain
Yes you made yourself very plain


Lyrics – Morrissey

*Roman Catholic Paris Hilton’s birthday fell on Ash Wednesday this year so I gave her up for lent ~ ‘cept on Sundays!

The False Prophet Muhammad And His False And Lying Doctrines ~ Hadith Of The Night Journey And Ascension Al-Isra' wa Mi'raj

GIAQUINTO, Corrado
Satan before the Lord
around 1750

False doctrine of the false prophet Muhammad as taught to him by Satan placing the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity in "second" Heaven:

Then we ascended to the second heaven and Gabriel requested that it be opened. It was said: 'Who are you?' He responded: 'Gabriel. It was then said: 'Who is with you?' He responded: 'Muhammad'. It was then said: 'Has revelation been sent to him?' He responded: 'Revelation has been sent to him'. It was then opened for us and when I entered Jesus and John welcomed me and prayed for my well-being.

The actual Prophecy of Isaias describing the false prophet Muhammad’s descent into Hell and his pretended ascension into Heaven:

Thy pride is brought down to hell, thy carcass is fallen down: under thee shall the moth be strewed, and worms shall be thy covering. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, who didst rise in the morning? how art thou fallen to the earth, that didst wound the nations? And thou saidst in thy heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will sit in the mountain of the covenant, in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the height of the clouds, I will be like the most High. But yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, into the depth of the pit. They that shall see thee, shall turn toward thee, and behold thee. Is this the man that troubled the earth, that shook kingdoms, That made the world a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof, that opened not the prison to his prisoners? All the kings of the nations have all of them slept in glory, every one in his own house. But thou art cast out of thy grave, as an unprofitable branch defiled, and wrapped up among them that were slain by the sword, and art gone down to the bottom of the pit, as a rotten carcass. Thou shalt not keep company with them, even in burial: for thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people: the seed of the wicked shall not be named for ever. Prophecy Of Isaias xiv 11-20

True Roman Catholic Doctrine on the Ascension of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as taught by St. Thomas Aquinas:

It was certainly sublime that Christ ascended into heaven. This is expounded in three ways.

Firstly: He ascended above the physical heaven: "He . . . ascended above all the heavens." Eph., iv. 10.

Secondly, He ascended above all the spiritual heavens, i.e., spiritual natures: "Raising [Jesus] up from the dead and setting Him on His right hand in the heavenly places. Above all principality and power and virtue and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world but also in that which is to come. And He hath subjected all things under His feet. and hath made Him head over all the church," Eph., i. 20-22

Thirdly, He ascended up to the very throne of the Father: "Lo, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven. And He came even to the Ancient of days." Dan., vii. 13. "And the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God." Mark, xvi. 19.

Now, it is not to be taken in the literal sense, but figuratively, that Christ is at the right hand of God. Inasmuch as Christ is God, He is said to sit at the right hand of the Father, that is, in equality with the Father; and as Christ is man, He sits at the right hand of the Father, that is, in a more preferable place: "In these words we observe a figure of speech, that is, the changing of a word from its literal to a figurative meaning, something which is not infrequent in the Scriptures: for when accommodating its language to human ideas, it attributes human affections and human members to God, who is pure spirit and can admit of nothing corporeal. For, just as among men, he who sits at the right hand is considered to occupy the most honored place: so, transferring the idea to heavenly things to express the glory which Christ as Man enjoys above all others, we say that He sits at the right hand of His Eternal Father. Now, this does not mean actual position and figure of body, but declares the fixed and permanent possession of royal and supreme power and glory which Christ received from the Father" ("Roman Catechism," Sixth Article, 3). The devil once feigned to do this: "I will ascend above the height of the clouds. I will be like the Most High." Isa., xiv. 13-14 But Christ alone succeeded in this, and so it is said: "He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father." "The Lord said to my Lord: Sit Thou at My right hand." Ps. cix. 1.

THE REASONABLENESS OF THE ASCENSION

The Ascension of Christ into heaven is in accord with reason:

(1) because heaven was due to Christ by His very nature. It is natural for one to return to that place from whence he takes his origin. The beginning of Christ is from God, who is above all things: "I came forth from the Father and am come into the world; again I leave the world and I go to the Father." John, xvi. 28.
"No man hath ascended into heaven, but He that descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven." John, iii. 13. The just ascend into heaven, but not in the manner that Christ ascended, i.e., by His own power; for they are taken up by Christ: "He ascended by His own power, not by the power of another as did Elias, who was taken up into heaven in a fiery chariot (IV Kings, ii. 1); or as the prophet Habacuc (Dan., xiv. 35); or Philip, the deacon. who was borne through the air by the divine power and traversed the distant regions of the earth (Acts, viii. 39). Neither did He ascend into heaven solely by the exercise of His supreme power as God. but also, by virtue of the power which He possessed as Man; although human power alone was insufficient to raise Him from the dead, yet the virtue with which the blessed soul of Christ was endowed, was capable of moving the body as it pleased, and His body, now glorified, readily obeyed the soul that moved it" ("Roman Catechism," "loc. cit.," 2). "Draw me, we will run after Thee." Cant., i. 3. Or, indeed, we can say that no man but Christ has ascended into heaven, because the just do not ascend except in so far as they are the members of Christ who is the head of the Church. "Wheresoever the body shall be, there shall the eagles also be gathered together." Matt., xxiv. 28

(2) Heaven is due to Christ because of His victory. For He was sent into the world to combat the devil, and He did overcome him. Therefore, Christ deserved to be exalted above all things: "I also have overcome and am set down with My Father in His throne." Apoc., iii. 21

(3) The Ascension is reasonable because of the humility of Christ. There never was humility so great as that of Christ, who, although He was God, yet wished to become man; and although He was the Lord, yet wished to take the form of a servant, and, as St. Paul says: "He was made obedient unto death," Phil., ii. 8. and descended even into hell. For this He deserved to be exalted even to heaven and to the throne of God, for humility leads to exaltation: "He that humbleth himself shall be exalted." Luke, xiv. 11. "He that descended is the same also that ascended above all the heavens." Eph., iv. 10.

THE BENEFITS OF THE ASCENSION

The Ascension of Christ was very beneficial for us. This is seen three ways. Firstly, as our Leader, because He ascended in order to lead us; for we had lost the way, but He has shown it to us. "For He shall go up that shall open the way before them. Mich., ii. 13. and thus we may be made certain of possessing the heavenly kingdom: "I go to prepare a place for you." John, xiv. 2. Secondly, that He might draw our hearts to Himself: "For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart so." Matt., vi. 21. Thirdly, to let us withdraw from worldly things: "Therefore, if you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth." Col., iii. 1.


Hadith of the Night Journey and Ascension
Al-Isra' wa Mi'raj

It is narrated on the authority of Anas ibn Malik that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

I was brought al-buraq who is an animal white and long, larger than a donkey but smaller than a mule, who would place its hoof at a distance equal to the range of vision. I mounted it and came to Bait-al Maqdis (Jerusalem). I then tethered it to the ring used by the prophets. I entered the area of the Mosque and prayed two rak'at in it. I then came out and Gabriel brought me a vessel of wine and a vessel of milk. I chose the milk, and Gabriel said, 'You have chosen al-fitra, the natural way'.

He then ascended with me into the lower heavens and requested that they be opened. It was said: 'Who are you?' He responded: 'Gabriel'. It was then said: 'Who is with you?' He responded: 'Muhammad'. It was then said: 'Has revelation been sent to him?' He responded: 'Revelation has been sent to him'. It was then opened for us and there I was with Adam. He welcomed me and prayed for my well-being.

Then we ascended to the second heaven and Gabriel requested that it be opened. It was said: 'Who are you?' He responded: 'Gabriel. It was then said: 'Who is with you?' He responded: 'Muhammad'. It was then said: 'Has revelation been sent to him?' He responded: 'Revelation has been sent to him'. It was then opened for us and when I entered Jesus and John welcomed me and prayed for my well-being.

Gabriel then ascended with me to the third heaven and requested that it be opened. It was said: 'Who are you?' He responded: 'Gabriel'. It was then said: 'Who is with you?' He responded: 'Muhammad'. It was then said: 'Has revelation been sent to him?' He responded: 'Revelation has been sent to him'. It was then opened for us and there I was with Joseph, who was given a great portion of beauty. He welcomed me and prayed for my well-being.

Gabriel then ascended with me to the fourth heaven and requested that it be opened. It was said: 'Who are you?' He responded: 'Gabriel'. It was then said: 'Who is with you?' He responded: 'Muhammad'. It was then said: 'Has revelation been sent to him?' He responded: 'Revelation has been sent to him'. It was then opened for us and there I was with Enoch. He welcomed me and prayed for my well-being.

Gabriel then ascended with me to the fifth heaven and requested that it be opened. It was said: 'Who are you?' He responded: 'Gabriel'. It was then said: 'Who is with you?' He responded: 'Muhammad'. It was then said: 'Has revelation been sent to him?' He responded: 'Revelation has been sent to him'. It was then opened for us and there I was with Aaron. He welcomed me and prayed for my well-being.

Gabriel then ascended with me to the sixth heaven and requested that it be opened. It was said: 'Who are you?' He responded: 'Gabriel'. It was then said: 'Who is with you?' He responded: 'Muhammad'. It was then said: 'Has revelation been sent to him?' He responded: 'Revelation has been sent to him'. It was then opened for us and there I was with Moses. He welcomed me and prayed for my well-being.

Gabriel then ascended with me to the seventh heaven and requested that it be opened. It was said: 'Who are you?' He responded: 'Gabriel'. It was then said: 'Who is with you?' He responded: 'Muhammad'. It was then said: 'Has revelation been sent to him?' He responded: 'Revelation has been sent to him'. It was then opened for us and there I was with Abraham who was leaning against the bayt al-ma`mur into which enter seventy thousand angels each day never to return.

Then I was brought to the sidrat al-muntaha, the Lote Tree of the Furthest Limit, whose leaves were like the ears of an elephant and whose fruits at first appeared insignificant. But when Allah spread His command over them they transformed to the point where no one in creation could describe their beauty. Then Allah revealed what He revealed to me. He then made obligatory for me fifty prayers every night and day.

I began my descent until I reached Moses who asked me: 'What has your Lord made obligatory for your community?' I said to him, 'Fifty prayers.' He then said, 'Return to your Lord and ask Him to reduce them, your community will not be able to bear that. I know the people of Israel from long experience and I have tested them.' I then returned to my Lord and said, 'O Lord, make things lighter for my people'. He then reduced it by five prayers for me. I then returned to Moses and he said to me, 'Your community will not be able to stand that. So return and ask Him to make things lighter.' I kept going between my Lord and Moses until Allah said, 'O Muhammad, there are five prayers every night and day. Each prayer is equal to ten prayers making them equal to fifty prayers. Whoever intends a good deed and does not do it, there will be written for him a single good deed. If he does it then there will be written for him ten good deeds. Whoever intends an evil deed and does not do it then there is nothing written against him. If he does it then there is written for him one evil deed.'

I then descended until I reached Moses and informed him of what had occurred. He then said to me, 'Return to your Lord and ask Him to make things lighter.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace then said, 'I have returned to my Lord until I felt ashamed before Him."

from the hadith collection of Sahih Muslim

Are There Radicals In Your Parish? By J. Christopher Pryor

From J. Christopher Pryor Blog

Are There Radicals In Your Parish?

Muslims Are Fomenters of Political Rebellion Who Favor Modern Democracy III

Prophet Muhammad With The Body Of A Dog

The following is a short history of the Mohammedan political rebellion against the Divinely Ordained Authority of the Holy Roman Emperor by Marsiglio of Padua in his work De translatione Imperii, chapters 3

For after his great victory over the Persians, Heraclius oppressed the Persians and the other Eastern nations with too savage a rule, because of which they unanimously seized on the opportunity for revolt. But so as to set aside their obedience to the Roman Empire irrevocably, following the advice of Mahomet, who at the time was allied with rich and powerful Persians, they adopted a different religion, so that on account of different beliefs and faiths or sects they would not return to this first lordship from the other one. In this they followed the example of Jeroboam , who converted the ten tribes that followed him to a different religion so that they might not return to their old and rightful allegiance.

The Greeks took the same or similar action, for wishing to be separated from obedience to the Roman Church; they adopted a different religion or a different ceremony in their ministration, and so fell knowingly into diverse errors. For all their splendid priests, who defend and foment schisms, are Nestorians or Eutictites or Arians or Jacobites or Hebionites. That, then, is what happened in regard to the peoples and nations of those regions in which the insurrection and disobedience already mentioned occurred. For in order that such insurrection would last they induced their followers to break away and leave not just the Roman Empire but Christianity itself, while accepting certain elements common to the law of Moses and top the Gospel, as is made plain in the Koran. For this reason, it may be noted that certain heretical sects were very friendly towards Mahomet and the laws of the Saracens, which are based on the Koran, for instance, the Nestorians, whom Mahomet orders to be treated with honour. For this reason, Richard relates in his chronicles that a certain monk by the name of Sergius, who was a Greek and a Nestorian, gave Mahomet instruction for a long time and hence it arises that the Nestorians have large monasteries under the dominion of the Saracens.

The Muslim News

Are Western democracies really democratic?

12-05-2006

By Buthaina Shaaban

The Daily Star:

"Say work, for God, His Prophet and the believers shall see your work." My inner mind was repeating this verse from the Koran while watching Friday's news last Friday. I listened to the latest British news on the initial defeat of Labor and their consequent Cabinet reshuffle and images of British citizens protesting the war on Iraq blurred my sight. I thought of the British men and women who came from all over Britain to London carrying their baby children on their shoulders to tell the British government that war is destructive to childhood and humanity at large.

It was hard to believe that those intense public demonstrations failed to change the government's course of action. I asked myself what "democracy" was, when the government's political decision is hostage to one or a few politicians' opinion. The public in Spain, Italy, the United States, as well as in many other European countries, stood firmly against the war. Yet their "democratically elected" governments went to war.

It is quite hard today to define the extent of the disaster that has befallen Iraq. The war has set it at least a couple of hundred years. A byproduct of the war has also been letting the Israeli government go unrestrained with land confiscation and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians who have been there for thousands of years.

Who could possibly compensate the Iraqis and the Palestinians for what they have been going through when international legitimacy is continuously violated in both countries? The United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israel's apartheid wall in found its way into the drawers along with Resolutions 194, 242 and 338.

Since those days, and up to May 5, 2006, the Spanish people have succeeded in forcing their government to pull the Spanish forces out of Iraq. The Italians followed suit by voting for anti-war Italian politicians. The American public continues to say its word against the war, even when their government is not paying heed.

The resignation of Porter Goss, head of the CIA, is one timid step to alleviate the crisis in the U.S. instigated by the great losses suffered by so many American and Iraqi families in the war. There is increasingly more American awareness and determination to stop the war, which only resulted in tragedies for both Americans and Iraqis.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch released its report on the American torture of prisoners, stating that "most torture and abuse have directly resulted from officially sanctioned procedures and policies, including means of torture approved by the American Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld," which only revealed the feebleness that plagued American "democracy."

Torture in Israeli prisons has been the model followed by the American forces in Iraq. Similar to what happens in Israeli courts, a five-month imprisonment is the sentence imposed on an American soldier who tortures or kills an Iraqi prisoner, equal to the sentence imposed on an American who stole a bicycle in the United States.

While almost every official of some international status turns a blind eye to the crimes committed against Iraqi and Palestinian civilians, none hesitates to condemn any statement by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, Hizbullah or the democratically elected Palestinian government. No one would even meet with the democratically elected Hamas government. Lieberman, in the meantime, can publicly call for "executing Arab-Israeli Knesset members who made any contact with Hamas."

One can only stand amazed at these models of "democracy" and "civilization" sent to us by Western governments. It might be a good time for the West to rediscover the messages of democracy sent by Arabs and Muslims to the West. Fourteen-hundred years ago, the Prophet Mohammad ordered his followers: "No priest shall be driven out of his church. No Christian forced out of his Christianity. No traveler out of his way. No minister out of his monastery." This is the "democracy" preached by the Prophet a millennium ago, far much more civilized than the distorted model of the West.

Bouthaina Shaaban is the Syrian expatriates minister

Muslims Are Fomenters of Political Rebellion Who Favor Modern Democracy II

Prophet Muhammad With The Body Of A Dog

The following is a short history of the Mohammedan political rebellion against the Divinely Ordained Authority of the Holy Roman Emperor by Marsiglio of Padua in his work De translatione Imperii, chapter 3:

For after his great victory over the Persians, Heraclius oppressed the Persians and the other Eastern nations with too savage a rule, because of which they unanimously seized on the opportunity for revolt. But so as to set aside their obedience to the Roman Empire irrevocably, following the advice of Mahomet, who at the time was allied with rich and powerful Persians, they adopted a different religion, so that on account of different beliefs and faiths or sects they would not return to this first lordship from the other one. In this they followed the example of Jeroboam , who converted the ten tribes that followed him to a different religion so that they might not return to their old and rightful allegiance.

The Greeks took the same or similar action, for wishing to be separated from obedience to the Roman Church; they adopted a different religion or a different ceremony in their ministration, and so fell knowingly into diverse errors. For all their splendid priests, who defend and foment schisms, are Nestorians or Eutictites or Arians or Jacobites or Hebionites. That, then, is what happened in regard to the peoples and nations of those regions in which the insurrection and disobedience already mentioned occurred. For in order that such insurrection would last they induced their followers to break away and leave not just the Roman Empire but Christianity itself, while accepting certain elements common to the law of Moses and top the Gospel, as is made plain in the Koran. For this reason, it may be noted that certain heretical sects were very friendly towards Mahomet and the laws of the Saracens, which are based on the Koran, for instance, the Nestorians, whom Mahomet orders to be treated with honour. For this reason, Richard relates in his chronicles that a certain monk by the name of Sergius, who was a Greek and a Nestorian, gave Mahomet instruction for a long time and hence it arises that the Nestorians have large monasteries under the dominion of the Saracens.

The Muslim News

Muslim world needs democracy, says Qaradawi

08-07-2006

DOHA, The Peninsula: Noted Islamic scholar Dr Yousuf Al Qaradawi has said the Muslim world needs democracy.

The scholar, who is in Istanbul, Turkey to attend a conference, said: "The Muslim world needs democracy. It wants democracy. But it should be real democracy and not just democracy by name only."

He added: "Democracy has done some good things. It has saved humanity from despots and dictators who act like gods. The details should be left to the people. Let them decide for themselves."

He, however, added that democracy in the Muslim world would be different from what it is in Western countries. "This is because in Islam there are some fixed principles that cannot be changed. But there are some things where the people can call for change, depending on the time and place," he said

Muslims Are Fomentors of Political Rebellion Who Favor Modern Democracy I

Prophet Muhammad With The Body Of A Dog

The following is a short history of the Mohammedan political rebellion against the Divinely Ordained Authority of the Holy Roman Emperor by Marsiglio of Padua in his work De translatione Imperii, chapters 3:

For after his great victory over the Persians, Heraclius oppressed the Persians and the other Eastern nations with too savage a rule, because of which they unanimously seized on the opportunity for revolt. But so as to set aside their obedience to the Roman Empire irrevocably, following the advice of Mahomet, who at the time was allied with rich and powerful Persians, they adopted a different religion, so that on account of different beliefs and faiths or sects they would not return to this first lordship from the other one. In this they followed the example of Jeroboam , who converted the ten tribes that followed him to a different religion so that they might not return to their old and rightful allegiance.

The Greeks took the same or similar action, for wishing to be separated from obedience to the Roman Church; they adopted a different religion or a different ceremony in their ministration, and so fell knowingly into diverse errors. For all their splendid priests, who defend and foment schisms, are Nestorians or Eutictites or Arians or Jacobites or Hebionites. That, then, is what happened in regard to the peoples and nations of those regions in which the insurrection and disobedience already mentioned occurred. For in order that such insurrection would last they induced their followers to break away and leave not just the Roman Empire but Christianity itself, while accepting certain elements common to the law of Moses and top the Gospel, as is made plain in the Koran.For this reason, it may be noted that certain heretical sects were very friendly towards Mahomet and the laws of the Saracens, which are based on the Koran, for instance, the Nestorians, whom Mahomet orders to be treated with honour. For this reason, Richard relates in his chronicles that a certain monk by the name of Sergius, who was a Greek and a Nestorian, gave Mahomet instruction for a long time and hence it arises that the Nestorians have large monasteries under the dominion of the Saracens.

Modern day Muslim view on Modern Democracy:


The Muslim News

The right to rule ourselves

07-01-2005

By Azzam Tamimi

The Guardian:

Arabic-speaking peoples from the Atlantic Ocean to the Persian Gulf suffer one common chronic ailment, namely oppressive despotism. Most of the states that stretch between the two water basins came into being less than a century ago; many were former colonies of one or other of the European powers. France and Britain in particular were instrumental after the first world war in shaping the entire map of what is today the Middle East and North Africa.

These two ageing imperial powers were also responsible for creating and, until the US took over, maintaining systems of governance in these newly emerging entities - providing ruling elites with moral, material and military support. Little has changed since then, apart from the imperialist master and the fact that the advance in technological warfare has enabled this master, so far, to maintain the status quo with ever greater vigour.

Unlike other parts of the world, and in contrast even to the norm in some neighbouring states, the Arab peoples ruled by these regimes have had very little say, if any, in the manner in which their affairs are run. While some analysts find it convenient to blame Arab or Muslim culture for this lack of democracy, I would argue that it is only the stringent control imposed from outside that denies to the peoples of this region what has readily been recognised as a basic human right elsewhere in the world.

The Algerian example of 1991-92 has been carved in the memory of Arabs and Muslims across the globe. Democracy is not on offer to whoever wishes to have it, and the Arabs - many Muslims too, for that matter - do not qualify to join the privileged club. More than 10 years ago France was horrified at the prospect of an Islamic government in its closest former colony, Algeria. The rest of the western world agreed and coalesced to abort the democratic process before it delivered the reins of power to the FIS (Islamic Salvation Front).

The Iraqi people suffered all forms of repression at the hands of the (until 1990) pro-western Ba'athist regime of Saddam Hussein. But it was far from being a unique despotic regime in the region. As far as the democratic powers of the west were concerned, it did not matter what any of those despots did to their own people, so long as their regimes posed no threat to what were seen as western interests - namely oil and Israel - and still better so long as these regimes were loyal allies.

Preparations are now under way for elections in Iraq. But few in Iraq or the region believe these elections are aimed at producing a truly representative government. The US did not invade and occupy Iraq to allow a genuinely free election that risked producing a government that might tell the Americans to leave. The purpose of the Iraqi elections is simply to try to bestow some spurious legitimacy on a regime that is as unrepresentative and as oppressive as Saddam's.

Does anyone really believe that former Ba'athist Ayad Allawi, America's stooge in Baghdad, who gave the orders for the total destruction of Falluja, has the interests of Iraqis at heart? How different is this from what Syria's President Hafez al-Assad did to the city of Hama in the early 80s or from what Saddam himself did to the Kurds or the Marsh Arabs?

This weekend the Palestinians are to be given the right to elect a new leader, they say, for a change. However, if peace-making is to be resumed and if Israel is to agree to talk to the Palestinians, they can only choose Mahmoud Abbas - hence the international pressure to eliminate the popular Marwan Barghouti from the race. The fact that many Palestinians do not see Abbas as representative of their aspirations or willing to defend their rights does not matter to Israel or its western allies. Nor is it of any concern to the US and the EU that Hamas has increasingly strong support among Palestinians (as highlighted by their recent performance in municipal elections); they still will not talk to its representatives. It is fully acceptable for Israelis to elect whomever they deem fit to lead them, even a war criminal like Ariel Sharon. No Arab people are allowed the same luxury.

Who would free Arabs be likely to choose to speak for them? President Mubarak of Egypt is reported to have said to some western guests "don't talk to me about democracy; through democracy the Muslim Brotherhood will rule Egypt". The Arabs have experienced all sorts of political and ideological groups over the past century. But there is little doubt that if free elections were held today in the Middle East, Islamic movements would reap the fruits. It is not of course that these Islamists are anything like the media usually portray them: fundamentalist, backward or even terrorists. It is simply that they are honest, serious and more interested in the public good than personal interests. Thus democracy is denied to the Arabs.

And who is the real victim in all of this? It is none other than democracy itself, whose name has been tarnished and whose values are increasingly associated in the minds of many Arabs and Muslims with military invasion to replace one corrupt despotic secular regime with another more willing to bend the knee to US and western diktat.

Azzam Tamimi is spokesman of the Muslim Association of Britain and director of the Institute of Islamic Political Thought

CAME, SAW, CONQUERED AND MADE ‘EM ALL VOTE!

Posted is the Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates commenting on the recent Iraqi elections and a few photos from the Department of Defense on the previous 2005 Iraqi Election. Is this what the United States of America has come too? Conquering nations not to bring Justice and the rule of law to the conquered nation but to make everyone vote? Make sure the vanquished have plenty of ballot boxes so that they can exercise their “right” to pick their own rulers? As long as the USA can give ‘em plenty of ballot boxes everything is O.K. This practice of conquering nations only to provide ballot boxes has become absurd. America does not have the right to govern the world and it shows in the inability to create and enforce good laws. This is all you got America - the ballot box. The Romans did a better job in governing the world, as they were called to do by the Blessed Trinity; America on the other hand has not been called by the Blessed Trinity to rule over others and the proof is in the bad laws that America imposes on the rest. Our laws were created solely to reject the Will of God and that is why we leave ballot boxes everywhere we conquer. We got nothing else. America does not have the ability or will to obey the Divine Will in governing others. So how long before any of you catch on? Yeah, I know things will get better if we only vote for the right guy…well guess what? He isn’t coming!

Gates Says Elections Show Iraq's Progress

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT, March 7, 2010 – The Iraqi election process shows how far the country has come, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today Gates received reports on the Iraqi election from Army Gen. Ray Odierno, the U.S. commander in the country.

Odierno had expected a high number of high-profile attacks as al-Qaida attempted to disrupt the elections and keep Iraqis from the polls. “But the efforts of the Iraqi security forces are such that al-Qaida in Iraq was forced to change their tactics,” Gates told reporters traveling with him.

“There were a number of explosions in Baghdad in the early morning hours, but they figure that 80 percent were these bottled noise bombs that did little damage, but were designed to affect the perception of the security environment,” the secretary said.

Contrary to media reports there were no mortar attacks in the capital. In the southern part of the country there were no security incidents at all, Odierno told Gates. “His view is the Iraq security forces have performed superbly and the turn-out is as high, if not higher, than earlier expectations,” Gates said.

The contrast between the elections in 2005 and those held today “is just staggering,” he said. The levels of violence in Iraq have dropped precipitously. “I don’t think we could have written a script from the vantage point of March 2007 to be where we are today with the low level of violence,” he said.

Gates said he was impressed by the campaigning that went on before the vote. Candidates could put their ideas forward in a peaceful environment.

“All-in-all a good day for the Iraqis and all of us,” Gates said.


Iraqi voters walk to the election center to cast their ballots in the Iraqi National Elections, Dec. 15, 2005. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Michael R. McMaugh


Iraqis stand in line in Mosul, Iraq, prior to voting in the parliamentary elections Dec. 15, 2005. U.S. Air Force photo


Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi places his ballot into a ballot box as he casts his vote in Iraq's first free election at a polling station in the Baghdad Convention Center in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 30, 2005. Everyone voting in the historic election has to mark their finger with the ink to indicate they have already voted as a means to deter voting fraud. Millions of Iraqis throughout the country are participating in Iraq's first free election in over 50 years. DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Angelique Perez, U.S. Air Force. (Released)


Elections: Turning point for new democracy

Written by Spc. Shantelle Campbell, 1st Infantry Division Thursday, March 11, 2010 11:28


TIKRIT – Since assuming responsibility for Salah ad Din province in October, the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division has been advising and assisting the Iraqi Security Forces and the Government of Iraq in securing the population and helping to defeat violent extremists.

Col. Henry A. Arnold, III, commander, 4th IBCT, 1st ID, discussed the elections from here with Kansas-based media via a video press conference, March 8.

During the press conference, Arnold noted that the success of the elections was due in large part to addressing the conditions that help to create the extremist networks in the first place.

"Since October, we have created environments where the people overwhelmingly support the Iraqi Security Forces and reject violence and the message that violent extremists have to offer," he said.

Seventy-three percent of the Iraqi population voted in the recent elections despite the impending threat of violence

During the elections, there was very little U.S. involvement. According to Arnold, the only involvement of U.S. forces was during the movement of ballots.

"On the day of [the elections], the Iraqi Police were responsible for each polling site, and the Iraqi Army held an outer cordon that was about 50 to 100 yards out from the actual polling sites," he said. "U.S. forces were positioned at various places but not visible. We were a backup just in case they needed us."

Arnold regards the success of the elections as "the most decisive point" of the brigade's tour in Iraq and as one of the most significant events here since 2003.

He said he also believes the outcome of the elections signifies the beginning of the end of the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq.

"The greatest threat to the survival and destiny of this nation is no longer terrorists and guerillas; it is the failure of the political process," Arnold said. "If by [giving] this nation the ability and the opportunity to exist as a democracy that is secular and wants to be a responsible member of the international community, then yes, we've won. We set those conditions and allowed them to do it. It's up to them now."

Dante's Argument For The Roman Empire And American Destiny

Dante's Argument for the Roman Empire and American Destiny

November 4, 1993

by Howard Fienberg
Director of Government Affairs for MRA


Intellectually, I know that America is no better than any other country; emotionally I know she is better than every country.
Sinclair Lewis (Bolander, 13)

America ... a great social and economic experiment, noble in motive and far-reaching in purpose.
Herbert Hoover (14)

Introduction

One manner of examining the United States is through an idealistic analysis of American exceptionalism. The exceptionalism is often linked to American leadership in human rights, freedom and democracy, as well as the religious heritage of the US. This argument of American destiny bears similarities in form and content to the argument made by Dante, in his book Monarchy , in his discussion of the Roman Empire's right to rule, particularly in terms of their basic flaws in pretensions, and their use of reason through religion.

The Flaws in the Discourses

Dante's rational analysis of the Roman Empire is predicated on Catholic beliefs; a flaw in his discourse here is that one who does not buy into his understandings of Christianity would reject his positions. When he claims that Christ was just, and that he could not have been unjust, he is excluding non-Catholics from his entire argument. Because his entire argument is based on one religious outlook, it is inherently limited to an exclusive audience, making it incapable of direct usage in the world at large. Thus, Dante limits the audience he may reach and may, in turn, explain why this classic work of reason is so widely unknown in the modern era.

As Dante's discourse is grounded in Catholic tenets, so is the idealist's argument in favor of American exceptionalism grounded in the general tenets of Western liberal democracy. One who does not accept that American values are universally desired, would have difficulty in finding the US a vanguard for the rest of the world. Thus does a member of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood find it difficult to accept the US as a vanguard for the world when he does not believe in American values. He fights for a return to a more orderly and traditional society, run by Islamic principles, and is opposed to the attempts of the Egyptian government to emulate the West's, and America's, liberal democratic ideals. He would not find America as some exceptional power leading the world towards a truer and more just society, a utopia or heaven, but as an evil demon leading the peoples of the world to its fiery hell.

The Argument From the Bible

Dante's argument is based upon solid reasoning, rather than emotion and fancy rhetoric. However, his logic is of a religious nature, and presupposes that the Bible is right. From this point, he easily runs through a complex series of twists of rational thought that prove, to him, that the Roman Empire was founded upon right:

I say, therefore, that if the Roman Empire was not founded upon right then Christ, by his birth, assented to an injustice. The consequent is false: therefore the contradictory of the antecedent is true... (Dante 56)

He then continues along these lines, tracing the justice to Tiberius Caesar, who obviously had "jurisdiction over the whole of mankind" because it was the sins of all humanity which were to be punished through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. (58) This he justifies by claiming that punishment can only be meted out by "one with the right to punish," and that any harm brought to bear on the wrong-doer by one without that right will be regarded as mere injury, rather than punishment. (58) Hence, since Tiberius held such jurisdiction, and it was his representative, Pilate, who passed judgment upon Jesus and sentenced him to death, then that must imply for all that the Roman Empire was founded upon right.

Part of the exceptionalist view of the United States follows a religious course and links it to America's religious heritage. The most obvious examples of religion being pervasive are "one nation, under God," in the pledge of allegiance, and "in God We Trust," which is printed on all money. However, there is a deeper connection with religion that delves into grandiose metaphor and simile. Some authors of popular history have taken to viewing the United States as the New Israel. At base, one finds the Hebrews that fled oppression in Egypt and were guided by God to Palestine. This translates easily into immigrants and pilgrims that fled oppression in Great Britain and were guided by God to America. Herman Melville commented that America "bears the ark of the liberties of the world"; (Neufeld) not only was America destined to be a vanguard for the remainder of humanity, it was born of right and divine providence. This is derived from Dante's argument that right makes might; how else could either Rome or America come to world dominance if not by divine intervention.

Conclusion

Perhaps the greatest flaw in both arguments, left unadressed, is the decline of both the Pax Romana and the Pax Americana. They are merely two examples of imperial over-stretch, and as such, their divinity, or right, saves them not from the usual cycle of empire found throughout history. Both have decayed from within due to general corruption.

Dante's arguments for the rightness of the Roman Empire in the face of the Church are convoluted, but overall they serve his purpose, as long as one can read the book with an understanding of the times and his point of view. Dante would have similar difficulties dealing with an American Empire, but certainly the interplay with religion would be more difficult in an age of stratified religion and overarching moral decay.

Works Cited
Bolander, Donald O. The New Webster Quotation Dictionary . Lexicon Publications, Inc., 1987.
Dante. Monarchy and Three Political Letters . Westport, Connecticut: Hyperion Press, Inc., 1979.
Neufeld, Marc. "American Destiny." Politics 320 lecture. Sept. 29, 1993.


Howard Fienberg Home Page

Prophet Muhammad With The Body Of A Dog: Seven Arrested In Ireland Over Alleged Plot To Kill Muhammad Cartoonist

Prophet Muhammad With The Body Of A Dog

From Guardian.co.uk

Seven arrested in Ireland over alleged plot to kill Muhammad cartoonist

Irish police today arrested seven suspects over an alleged plot to kill a Swedish artist who drew the Prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog.

The target of the alleged assassination was Lars Vilks, who had a $100,000 (£67,000) bounty put on his head by al-Qaida in 2007, with a 50% bonus if Vilks was "slaughtered like a lamb" by having his throat cut. Another $50,000 was said to have been put on the life of Ulf Johansson, editor-in-chief of Nerikes Allehanda, the local newspaper that printed the cartoon.

The four men and three women, who were detained at about 10am this morning, are in their mid-20s to late-40s and are being held at stations in Waterford, Tramore, Dungarvan and Thomastown. Garda sources have confirmed that some of those arrested hold Irish citizenship and a number are from the Middle East. Some of those questioned have been confirmed as converts to Islam.

The suspects are being held under Ireland's Criminal Justice Act 2007. Under Irish law they can be held in custody for up to seven days.

Ireland's anti-terrorist special detective unit was involved in the operation. A spokesman for the force said: "Throughout the investigation Garda Síochána has been working closely with law enforcement agencies in the United States and in a number of European countries." The CIA and the FBI were involved in the investigation.

Vilks' cartoon caused outrage because dogs are considered unclean by conservative Muslims, and Islamic law generally opposes any depiction of the prophet for fear it could lead to idolatry.

The controversy over cartoons depicting Muhammad began in 2005, when the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten printed 12 caricatures of the prophet after a children's author said he could not find an illustrator for his book on the life of Muhammad.

The drawings sparked violent protests across the Muslim world, culminating with the burning of the Danish embassy in Damascus and its consulate in Beirut in February 2006.

Images of the false prophet Muhammad in Hell:

Giovanni da Modena and depicting Mohammed being tortured in Hell

Dante's Inferno XXVIII:

Gustave Doré

William Blake

No barrel, even though it's lost a hoop
or end- piece, ever gapes as one whom I
saw ripped right from his chin to where we fart:
his bowels hung between his legs, one saw
his vitals and the miserable sack
that makes of what we swallow excrement.
While I was all intent on watching him,
he looked at me, and with his hands he spread
his chest and said: "See how I split myself!
See now how maimed Mohammed is! And he
who walks and weeps before me is Ali,
whose face is opened wide from chin to forelock.
And all the others here whom you can see
were, when alive, the sowers of dissension
and scandal, and for this they now are split.
Behind us here, a devil decks us out
so cruelly, re-placing every one
of this throng underneath the sword edge when
we've made our way around the road of pain,
because our wounds have closed again before
we have returned to meet his blade once more.
But who are you who dawdle on this ridge,
perhaps to slow your going to the verdict
that was pronounced on your self-accusations?
"Death has not reached him yet," my master answered,
"nor is it guilt that summons him to torment;
but that he may gain full experience,
I, who am dead, must guide him here below,
to circle after circle, throughout Hell:
this is as true as that I speak to you."
Inferno XXVIII

A True Mess: Berlusconi Kicked Out Of Rome

Behold the beast, for which I have turned back;
Do thou protect me from her, famous Sage,
For she doth make my veins and pulses tremble."
Thee it behoves to take another road,"
Responded he, when he beheld me weeping,"
If from this savage place thou wouldst escape;
Because this beast, at which thou criest out,
Suffers not any one to pass her way,
But so doth harass him, that she destroys him;
And has a nature so malign and ruthless,
That never doth she glut her greedy will,
And after food is hungrier than before.
Many the animals with whom she weds,
And more they shall be still, until the Greyhound
Comes, who shall make her perish in her pain.
He shall not feed on either land or pelf,
But upon wisdom, and on love and virtue;
'Twixt Feltro and Feltro shall his nation be;
Of that low Italy shall he be the saviour,
On whose account the maid Camilla died,
Euryalus, Turnus, Nisus, of their wounds;
Through every city shall he hunt her down,
Until he shall have driven her back to Hell,
There from whence envy first did let her loose.
Therefore I think and judge it for thy best
Thou follow me, and I will be thy guide,
And lead thee hence through the eternal place,
Dante Alighieri Inferno Canto I

France 24
Berlusconi's party banned from regional ballot
By News Wires the 09/03/2010 - 08:39

A Roman administrative court on Monday denied Silvio Berlusconi's party readmission to the regional ballot in Lazio due to a missed deadline.

AFP - A Roman administrative court on Monday banned candidates running for Silvio Berlusconi's party from the ballot list in the Lazio region in key elections later this month.

Judges denied the Popolo delle Liberta' (PDL) party readmission to the election in Lazio because the list was submitted past the deadline, the ANSA news agency reported.

The decision is the latest chapter in an electoral imbroglio that Italy's president of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano called "a true mess."

Renata Polverini, running for governor in Rome's Lazio region and supported by the PDL, won readmission for her list last week thanks to a decision of an appeals court.

Polverini's list includes members of her cabinet in case of victory, while the PDL list that has been prevented from taking part in the ballot was for candidates for a spot in the regional assembly.

After frantic consultations with allies and advisors, Berlusconi called a cabinet meeting on Friday evening pushing through a decree allowing the courts to interpret voter list rules more liberally.

But the judges said the decree "cannot be applied because the Lazio region gave dispositions on electoral matters exercising the responsibility it is given by the Constitution."

Lawyers for the PDL told the press they would wait to read the full legal opinion before mulling an appeal to Italy's highest administrative court.

On Saturday a Milan court ruled to allow a list submitted by Roberto Formigoni, governor of the northwestern region of Lombardy and PDL member, initially ruled invalid because of concerns about the validity of supporting signatures.

The Italian prime minister, fighting tumbling popularity ratings has referred to the March 28-29 elections in 13 of Italy's 20 regions as a "national test" of his support.

Also a good read from the Huffington Post
Comedy of Errors Damages Italy's Democratic Institutions
By Iginio Gagliardone

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton On The Iraqi Elections On Dante’s ‘Skinny Bitches Well Trained And Obedient’ Corner

Iraqi National Elections

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
March 7, 2010


I congratulate all the people of Iraq who participated in national elections today and over the past three days. There is no better rebuke to the violent extremists who seek to derail Iraq's progress. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who lost friends and loved ones, and we salute the determination of the Iraqi people to reaffirm their commitment to democracy and to chart their own future free of fear and intimidation.

Thanks to the efforts of the Iraq High Electoral Commission and the Iraqi Security Forces, which organized the voting and ensured security at thousands of polling sites throughout the country, men and women from all parts of Iraq were able to go to the polls and choose their leaders freely.

I also would like to commend Ambassador Hill, General Odierno and all the U.S. civilian and military personnel who supported this historic effort.

Iraqis have chosen a new government to lead their country at a critical time. In the coming months, we will work together with Iraqi leaders as our partnership continues its transition to a primarily civilian focus, with the goal of building a long-term, multidimensional relationship between our two nations - a relationship that will contribute to stability in the Middle East and growing peace and prosperity in Iraq.

King Of Spain, Juan Carlos I Signs Abortion Law: Catholic Monarchy Is Not Going To Bring About The Restoration Of All Things In Christ

King Of Spain, Juan Carlos I

Placing your hopes of restoration in a Catholic Monarch apparently is not going to work. King Of Spain, Juan Carlos I Signs Abortion Law that:

1. Allows 16 year olds to obtain abortions without their parents' consent
2. Requires abortionist education in the nation's schools
3. Requires homosexualist education in the nation's schools

We are told Juan Carlos I had no choice he is constitutionally required to sign the law! Well so much for those Traditionalists that cling to idea of constitutional monarchy as the best form of government. But this is not the first time that a Roman Catholic Monarch allowed the passage of abortion laws in his counrty: On April 4th 1990 Roman Catholic King Baudouin of Belgium stepped down as Monarch for a day in order for the members of parliament to pass the desired abortion law in his absence. What courage! The King later died a few years after that. Call this a wakeup call for you Traditionalists who label yourself Monarchists and pride yourself that you are above it all, when in reality modern day Roman Catholic Monarchs are just as corrupt as modern day democratically elected politicians. What is needed for true restoration of all things in Christ is to call for an Imperial Election to elect the next Holy Roman Emperor. As Dante has said that the world is to be ruled by two great lights, the papacy in spiritual matters and the Holy Roman Emperor in temporal matters. One light has been extinguished by modern men and the world suffers. It should be evident by now that just because a monarch occupies a throne does not mean that restoration has begun. You will not bring about restoration by backing some pretender to the throne. Most of you monarchists are no better than those Roman Catholics who love modern democracy you are both cut from the same cloth and you both hinder the restoration of all things in Christ. Both groups would rather be ruled by man made forms of government (as all monarchies are) than to be ruled by the Divinely Ordained Authority of the Holy Roman Emperor. The Blessed Trinity gave the world His Divinely Ordained Authority to help govern men but men refused this gift. Men would rather be governed by the ballot box or some line of nobility. It is a simple truth that everyone ignores and you wonder why the world is in a mess and you then complain about the bad laws and bad customs that surround you...but hey you're gonna vote in the next election

Paris Hilton Showing Me Her Belly; The Stench That Came From There Awakened Me On Dante’s ‘Skinny Bitches, Well Trained and Obedient’ Corner

In that hour when the heat of day, defeated
by Earth and, sometimes, Saturn, can no longer
warm up the moon-sent cold, when geomancers
can, in the east, see their Fortuna major
rising before the dawn along a path
that will be darkened for it only briefly-
a stammering woman came to me in dream:
her eyes askew, and crooked on her feet,
her hands were crippled, her complexion sallow.
I looked at her; and just as sun revives
cold limbs that night made numb, so did my gaze
loosen her tongue and then, in little time,
set her contorted limbs in perfect order;
and, with the coloring that love prefers,
my eyes transformed the wanness of her features.
And when her speech had been set free, then she
began to sing so, that it would have been
most difficult for me to turn aside.
"I am," she sang, "I am the pleasing siren,
who in midsea leads mariners astray-
there is so much delight in hearing me.
I turned aside Ulysses, although he
had longed to journey; who grows used to me
seldom departs-I satisfy him so."
Her lips were not yet done when, there beside me,
a woman showed herself, alert and saintly,
to cast the siren into much confusion.
"O Virgil, Virgil, tell me: who is this?"
she asked most scornfully; and he came forward,
his eyes intent upon that honest one.
He seized the other, baring her in front,
tearing her clothes, and showing me her belly;
the stench that came from there awakened me.
I moved my eyes, and my good master cried:
"At least three times I've called you. Rise and come:
let's find the opening where you may enter."
Purgatorio XIX

Still a very pretty dress Paris!


Robert Hollander (2000-2007), Purgatorio 19.7-9

This second Purgatorial dream is at least as difficult to interpret as the first (see the note to Purg. IX.19). For a brief and cogent review of Classical, scriptural, patristic, and Scholastic views of the nature of dreams see Peter Armour (“Divining the Figures: Dante's Three Dreams in the Purgatorio,” in Melbourne Essays in Italian Language and Literature in Memory of Colin McCormick, ed. Tom O'Neill [Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 1990]), pp. 13-16.

Small seas of ink have been poured out in the quest for the source and meaning of this unpleasant woman. The far from convincing results previously obtained probably should warn anyone against advancing an opinion. On the other hand, it seems to some that the problem is easier to understand than are the attempts to solve it. The poem itself, in the words of Virgil, tells us precisely who the stammering woman is: she represents the conjoined sins of excessive love, avarice, gluttony, lust – the sins of the flesh or, in the language of Dante's first cantica, the sins of incontinence. (See Virgil's words at vv. 58-59: 'saw... that ancient witch / who alone is purged with tears above us here.') Dante's dream, nonetheless, must surely also have specific meaning for him. If the woman is the object of his affection, she must have particular reference to lust, since the poem nowhere offers any indication that Dante considered himself ever to have been avaricious (or prodigal, for that matter) or gluttonous. The 'good that fails to make men happy' (Purg. XVII.133), in Dante's case, must then nearly certainly be understood as involving wrongful sexual desire.

Consideration of the femmina balba (stammering woman) has caused readers to seek out some fairly recondite sources. Giuseppe Toffanin (“La 'foetida Aethiopissa' e la 'femmina balba,'” Giornale storico della letteratura italiana 77 [1921], pp. 147-49) argued for a foul female creature described in the Vitae patrum; Francesco Mazzoni (ed., La Divina Commedia: Purgatorio. Con I commenti di T. Casini/S.A. Barbi & A. Momigliano [Florence: Sansoni, 1977]), p. 436, presented still another potential source, an apparently fair but actually foul woman described in the Tabula exemplorum secundum ordinem alphabeti. The common problem for these 'sources' is that we have no evidence indicating that they were known to Dante. In recent years still other recondite candidacies have been put forward: Paolo Cherchi (“Per la 'femmina balba,'” Quaderni d'italianistica 6 [1985], pp. 228-32) urges that of Bernard of Gordon, author of the Lilium medicinae, but admits that proving Dante's knowledge of this text or even acquaintance with the interesting passage that he cites from it (p. 230) in some other source is problematic; Michelangelo Picone (“L'Ovidio di Dante,” in A. Iannucci, ed., Dante e la “bella scola” della poesia [Ravenna: Longo, 1993]), p. 134, reaches out for the nasty widow of Ovid's De vetula; Giovanni Parenti (“Ercole al bivio e il sogno della femmina balba,” in Operosa parva per Gianni Antonini, ed. D. De Robertis & F. Gavazzeni [Verona: Valdonega, 1996], pp. 57-66) investigates possible resonances of various potential sources, including (pp. 55-59) the theme of Hercules at the crossroads found in Cicero (De officiis I.118) and (pp. 61-62) the 'idols of the gentiles' found in a Psalm certainly known well by Dante, the In exitu (Psalm 113B:4-7). For a more general analysis of the passage containing the femmina balba see Dino Cervigni (Dante's Poetry of Dreams [Florence: Olschki, 1986]), pp. 123-35.

What has rarely been noted in modern commentaries (but see Mattalia [comm. to verse 7] and, citing him, Giacalone [comm. to vv. 25-27]) is the fact that balbus is the contrary of planus, the word that describes Beatrice's speech in Inferno II.56 (see the note to Inf. II.56-57). Cf. the entry balbus in Lewis and Short's Latin Dictionary, where this view is confirmed. And see Cicero, De oratore (I.lxi.260), where stammering (balbus) Demosthenes labored so assiduously to correct himself in the pronunciation of initial 'r' that no one could eventually be considered to pronounce it more clearly (planius) than he. For the 'higher' meaning of planus see the Codice Cassinese (at verse 56): 'sermo divinus suavis et planus esse debet' (divine speech should be smooth and clear).


Princeton Dante Project

“I Slipped Out For A Panino Sandwich” Alfredo Milioni

“I slipped out for a panino sandwich” Alfredo Milioni

Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Liberty (PdL) is disqualified from regional polls in Lazio & Lombardy for failing to submit valid electoral lists in time.

“Only a few old women go to Mass on Sunday in the summer; everybody else works every Sunday all summer long. In the winter, when they don’t know what to do with themselves, they go to Mass only to make fun of religion. During Lent, they go to the butcher shop like dogs”. Our Lady of LaSalette


"Silvio Berlusconi vented his fury at the “amateurs and idiots” surrounding him after his ruling party was disqualified yesterday from two of this month’s crucial regional polls for failing to submit valid electoral lists in time."

Mr. Berlusconi what kind of behavior did you expect from those “amateurs and idiots” that you chose to surround yourself with during the penitential season of Lent? Mr. Berlusconi if you do not observe the penitential season of Lent what makes you think that your amateur and idiotic underlings have to observe the penitential season of Lent? So what if Mr. Alfredo Milioni went to the butcher shop like a dog to stuff his face with a panino sandwich and failed to file the paper work necessary to include your political party in the upcoming poll. Maybe if Mr. Alfredo Milioni had observed Lent as he should the necessary paper work would have been filed on time. Just punishment! Take it as an omen of things to come that you missed your opportunity in Lazio (region surrounding Rome). Incompetent and morally depraved politicans such as yourself have no business governing Italy. The Divine Poet was right to say that:

“when the throne of Augustus is vacant, the whole world goes out of course, the helmsman and rowers slumber in the ship of Peter, and unhappy Italy, forsaken and abandoned to private control, and bereft of all public guidance, is tossed with such buffeting of winds and waves as no words can describe, nay as even the Italians in their woe can scarce measure with their tears.”

Only with the restoration of the Divienly Ordained Authority of the Holy Roman Emperor will Italy finally be governed by rightful authority and guided with just laws and good customs. As an interesting side note:

"His mood did not improve when it emerged that the PdL list in Lombardy, his home region around Milan, had also been declared void, this time because 514 of the required 3,500 signatures were ruled to be invalid"

514 of the required 3,500 signatures were ruled to be invalid. One shy of 515.

From Times On Line:
Silvio Berlusconi’s party out of poll count in ‘comedy of errors’

Green Day “I Think We've Got A Bleeder Right Now”: Silvio Berlusconi New Political Anthem On Dante’s ‘Skinny Bitches Well Trained And Obedient’ Corner

I think we've got a bleeder right now

I'm not fucking around
I think I'm coming out
All the deceivers and cheaters
I think we've got a bleeder right now
Want you to slap me around?
Want you to knock me out?
Well, you missed me kissed me
Now you better kick me down

Maybe you're the runner up
But the first one to lose the race
Almost only really counts in
Horseshoes and Handgrenades

I'm gonna burn it all down
I'm gonna rip it out
Well everything that you employ
Was meant for me to destroy to the ground now
So don't fuck me around because I'll shoot you down
I'm gonna drink,fight and fuck and pushing my luck all the time now

Maybe you're the runner up
But the first one to lose the race
Almost only really counts in
Horseshoes and Handgrenades

Demolition,self-destruction
What to annihilate, the age-old contradiction
Demolition,self-destruction
What to annihilate, the old age

I'm not fucking around
I think I'm coming out
I'm a hater, a traito
In a pair of Chuck Taylors right now
I'm not fucking around

G-L-O-R-I-A!

"Horseshoes And Handgrenades"
GREEN DAY

Want you to slap me around?
Want you to knock me out?
Well, you missed me kissed me
Now you better kick me down

Excuse the above language if you would please, but how easy is it to mock a typical modern day democratically elected politician such as Silvio Berlusconi by using modern day lyrics from the award winning Green Day album? Silvio Berlusconi is the equivalent to a modern day rock star according to the editors of Rolling Stone. This Green Day song should be Silvio Berlusconi new political anthem.

pushing my luck all the time now:

"YouTube has plenty of Silvio's excesses on display. One piece of footage has him about to enter his official limousine when he sees a female parking officer bent over the bonnet of a car writing a ticket. He does the unthinkable, stepping right behind the auto della polizia femminile to make some pelvic-thrusting gestures. Hilarious stuff - well at least Silvio thought so."

Berlusconi takes the Via Dolorosa
The Sydney Morning Herald
Richard Ackland


I'm gonna drink,fight and fuck and pushing my luck all the time now

All this nonsense brought to you by:

I'm gonna burn it all down
I'm gonna rip it out
Well everything that you employ
Was meant for me to destroy to the ground now

Prayer To The Blessed Trinity For The Restoration Of The Divinely Ordained Authority Of The Holy Roman Emperor March 2010

In honor of Dante Alighieri

Have mercy upon us, O God of all, and behold us, and show us the light of thy mercies: And send thy fear upon the nations, that have not sought after thee: that they may know that there is no God beside thee, and that they may show forth thy wonders. Lift up thy hand over the strange nations, that they may see thy power. For as thou hast been sanctified in us in their sight, so thou shalt be magnified among them in our presence, That they may know thee, as we also have known thee, that there is no God beside thee, O Lord.

Renew thy signs, and work new miracles. Glorify thy hand, and thy right arm. Raise up indignation, and pour out wrath. Take away the adversary, and crush the enemy. Hasten the time, and remember the end, that they may declare thy wonderful works.

Let him that escapeth be consumed by the rage of the fire: and let them perish that oppress thy people. Crush the head of the princes of the enemies that say: There is no other beside us. Gather together all the tribes of Jacob: that they may know that there is no God besides thee, and may declare thy great works: and thou shalt inherit them as from the beginning. Have mercy on thy people, upon whom thy name is invoked: and upon Israel, whom thou hast raised up to be thy firstborn. Have mercy on Jerusalem, the city which thou hast sanctified, the city of thy rest.

Fill Sion with thy unspeakable words, and thy people with thy glory. Give testimony to them that are thy creatures from the beginning, and raise up the prophecies which the former prophets spoke in thy name. Reward them that patiently wait for thee, that thy prophets may be found faithful: and hear the prayers of thy servants, According to the blessing of Aaron over thy people, and direct us into the way of justice, and let all know that dwell upon the earth, that thou art God the beholder of all ages. Ecclesiasticus 36