Sunday Funnies

Dedicated to my dog Gabrielle, who died from kidney failure in February:

Putin Kisses Egg

Ah, yes…  Vlad “the Bear” Putin is doing the dog and pony show for Easter…

Russian president attends Easter service

KTRE-TV
MOSCOW Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has attended an Easter service in Moscow.
The one-time Soviet K-G-B official crossed himself as a priest addressed the congregation with the words, “Jesus Christ has risen today.”

Thousands of people packed Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour for the Saturday night service, considered to be the foremost religious event on the Russian Orthodox Church calendar. The cathedral was decorated with flowers and hundreds of candles, many of them lit from a flame carried from Jerusalem.

At one point, the church patriarch presented the Russian leader with a jewelled Easter egg. Putin kissed it.

And, Now for Something Completely Different…

Russia Bloggers Fear For Freedom
By: Reuters

Russian officials are using grey areas in the law to clamp down on Internet news sites in what campaigners fear could signal an attack on one of the few media outside the control of the Kremlin and its supporters.

A loophole in the law allows authorities to treat Web sites as fully fledged publications—with all the responsibilities that go with that status – and then use these requirements to take court action against them.

Two local Web sites have been punished for failing to register as media outlets. Thousands of other sites are unaffected but many in the Internet community say the court actions could be the start of a trend.

And they say blogs—the most vibrant and least regulated part of Russian cyberspace—could be targeted next if officials object to off-the-cuff comments posted online.

“It is a situation which reminds me of Soviet times when the KGB jailed people for telling jokes,” Oleg Panfilov, a freedom of speech campaigner who heads the Centre for Extreme Journalism, told Reuters. “It’s bureaucrats taking liberties.”

Most of Russia’s biggest conventional media are already controlled by the state or by pro-Kremlin businessmen. Many politically-active Russians therefore see the Internet as the only free forum for debate.

Illegal Aliens March in LA Over Bush Plan

I live in Tampa Florida we have our share of both legal immigrants and illegal aliens, there is a vast difference between these groups. To be fair most of the “illegal’s” are not a threat to our country or our way of life they are however doing extensive damage. Tax paying American’s should not be expected to lower their own economic status to pay for bilingual teachers, non-English signs, and free medical care. I heard it costs roughly $35 an hour for each illegal (based on benefits, subsidies etc) that is more than most tax paying Americans earn legally. I am all for immigration as long as it is controlled to sustainable rates and those allowed the privilege to enter this country recognize it is a PRIVILEGE not a right. I strongly believe in personal responsibility, if you broke the law, except the punishment and move forward. I don’t think many American’s are against second chances. Issues related to immigration are vast and one-size fits all approach will not work. Open borders will allow many to better themselves it will also allow those who want to destroy us to enter. In today’s world knowing who is inside the country and why is just common sense.

By PETER PRENGAMAN (AP)
April 07, 2007
Thousands of people marched through downtown on Saturday, demanding a way for the country’s estimated 12 million illegal immigrants to become citizens and condemning President Bush’s latest proposal.

–This step is unnecessary as we already have a legal method to immigrate.

Carrying signs saying ‘Amnesty Now,’ more than 3,000 people danced to Mexican ranchera music and passed large American flags over their heads. Organizers said many illegal immigrants were angry about a White House plan that would grant them work visas but require them to return home and pay thousands of dollars to become legal U.S. residents.

–Actually I would go one step further, they violated US law. Charge them, fine them and collect. They are guilty of violating US law that crime should be recorded on a permanent record, exactly like any other crime. Then we can worry about “work visa’s” if they continue to break US law (like not paying the fine) send them packing and open a spot for someone else.

Muslim vs Muslim Jihad Continues in Iraq

Once again Allah’s warrior wannabies attack the weak, in this case each other. I don’t actually blame them for torturing “clerics” as I am sure most have blood on their own hands but at some point this will have to stop. Until Muslim’s learn that violence encourages even more violence no end is in sight. Drive on slaves of Allah and when you are finished you can be proud of the big smoking crater that serves as a reminder to the world that you have accomplished absolutely nothing of value in your passage.

dpa German Press Agency
April 8, 2007
Baghdad- The Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq, a top Sunni authority in the divided country, Sunday accused “sectarian militias which infiltrated government forces” of being responsible for the death of two Sunni scholars. In a statement issued Sunday, it said: “The Association of Muslim Scholars condemns these hideous crimes that only speak of unfathomable hatred and loathing to those who wish this country and its people good and (those who seek) reform.”

According to the association, two Sunni sheikhs were kidnapped from Baquba, 60 kilometres north of Baghdad, last week and their bodies were later discarded and found Saturday. It was not clear whether the bodies were discovered by the police.

One body was found by the River Diyala in an area known as Howeider near Baquba. The association said the body, believed to be that of Sheikh Saadoun al-Taey, showed signs of burns and torture.

The other body, of Professor Abdel-Ghafour Mohammed Taha Al-Qeissy, was found in the Tahrir area in Baquba. “(It) showed signs of barbaric torture,” said the statement, which blamed Shiite militias for the deaths.

The statement also dismissed as ineffective the newly-installed US-backed Fard Al-Qanoon security plan, and said that “terror, torture and destruction” continued unabated.

Militias, the statement said, “are still working to attain their sick dreams through cowardly acts despite of the so called Fard al-Qanoon plan whose real (face) is now showing.”

The Sunni leadership in Iraq had earlier described the plan as “discriminatory”, saying that the joint police and army raids had been targeting Sunnis more than anyone else.

Premier Nuri al Maliki who heads a Shiite-led cabinet, has been advocating the plan, calling on its critics to wait a few months for “clearer” results.

He has also been vehemently insisting that violence was reduced by more than 60 per cent in some areas in and around Baghdad.

The gathering storm: Freedom sacrificed

History has many examples of brave peoples who fought to the bitter end to protect their way of life. We are seeing the opposite. People who will surrender instead of fighting should not expect help from others. The sharks are circling their prey and this time there will be no outside help. With inaction they have excepted their fate. History if it even remembers today’s politicians will not speak favorably of those who surrendered Europe.

The Rockford Register Star, 8 April, 2007
Portstewart, Northern Ireland — Everywhere one looks in Europe, there are signs that free people are prepared to surrender without a fight to those who would place them in bondage.

In England, a new government-backed study has found that British schools are dropping the Holocaust from history lessons. Teachers are afraid to teach about the Nazi atrocity because Muslim students might take offense.

The study also discovered resistance by teachers to cover the 11th-century Crusades, when Christians fought Muslims for control of Jerusalem, because the lessons contradict what Muslim students are taught in mosques. The sacrifice of truth in favor of propaganda for fear of violence is the first step on the road to enslavement.