21-22 September 2006

I have been quite busy with my day job today, but I have kept up enough attention to what is going on to note that the storm clouds continue to gather.

First, the eminent columnist for the Wall Street Journal, Daniel Henninger, wrote an article today about the "religious cleansing" of the Middle East, North Africa, southern Asia, and some parts of Africa being done by "the religion of peace", Islam. Unless something happens very soon, the very parts of the world that are called "the cradle of Christianity" will be completely bare of anything other than Islamists. And that "cleansing" is being done the way that they always have--no, not through appeals to reason and conscience to convert, no, but through kidnapping, extortion, rape, beating, arson, false imprisonment, torture, and murder.

Then the news comes from Indonesia that three Christian activists were executed in Sulawesi for leading the fight by a Christian militia against Islamofascist paramilitary forces in 2003. They had killed about 70 Muslims in a firefight in at least one town, after the Muslims had killed more than 1,000 Christians, usually in their homes, businesses, and churches. Recently Muslim gangs had set upon Christian schoolgirls, on their way home from school, and hacked off their limbs before killing them with machetes. The Muslims who were responsible for the mass murders, as well as the burning of churches, schools, businesses and homes received either prison sentences of less than five years, or received no punishment at all. Riots have now started on Sulawesi, some by Christians, of course, but more of it done by Muslims, who apparently were angry that the executions were not done fast enough, or to more of them.

And then there is the statements of both Iranian and Venezuelan dictators Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez in recent days, during the UN General Assembly in New York. Ahmadinejad condemns the USA and Great Britain falsely as guilty of mass murder and conquest, and then offers a prayer---a prayer!---asking that God send the 12th Imam to create the final apocalypse of war and death. The prayer is covered by virtually noone at all in the worldwide media, except for talk show host Hugh Hewitt. Chavez calls President Bush "the devil" in their, the UN's midst and that Bush believed himself to be the "ruler of the world." Mary Anastasia O'Grady, Wall Street Journal columnist extraordinaire specializing in Latin American issues, points out that Chavez is seeking to work with Bolivian president Evo Morales to take over that country's natural gas supplies, which are the fourth largest in the world and upon which South America is deeply dependent, particularly Brazil, Argentina, and Chile.

In reference to Mr. Henninger's article, he discusses Pope Benedict XVI's purpose in the speech in Regensburg, Germany, and concludes that it is a direct response to Ahmadinejad's recent demands by letter to several world leaders to convert to Islam. Benedict is urging dialogue, based on reason, with the members of both Islam and "Western" faiths, including those who have embraced a secular ideology. The Muslim leaders are not willing to meet Benedict half way, but have demanded his immediate resignation. Well, not only no, but hell , no.

These articles are to be found at: the Wall Street Journal;
Captain's Quarters;
Hugh Hewitt.

The darkness is growing. And we are not ready. But I have a feeling that we will be. Adios.

---Belisarius---