Dare I say that ID is basically a database app written in .php? Dare I say that there might be some JW'ers with the skills to do something with the commenting? LAMP applications are freeware, after all.

With all the military and financial aid Pakistan has received in recent years, I have a hard time believing they couldn't control their northern provinces if they wanted to. Unless, of course, those funds were "appropriated" for other purposes...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/28/pakis...

Forgive me for going slightly askew here, but I for one would welcome more music here on JW! Great guitar work by Cockburn, regardless of what one thinks of his politics.

'The only terminology that Mr. Brennan said the administration is using is that the U.S. is "at war with al Qaeda."'

And in WWII we were only fighting the 2nd SS Panzer division. No need to say things like "nazi" or "fascism". Of course this is patent insanity, but us unwashed masses is too stoopid to deal with something like the truth, ya know, so them smart fellers in the gov'ment and the tv have to keep us peaceful like, so's we don't run off and turn over cars 'n' stuff. Being patronized is almost worse than having people I've never met wanting to kill me.

P.S. As of this writing the comment system is well and truly hosed, and I have no idea where it will show up. If it is off topic just write it off to "free association". *smiley*

"In Pakistan, the weakness of the state is matched only by the strength of its criminals."

By definition, no islamic state can be strong, because islam supersedes statehood- it does not act as a subculture within a larger framework, it is the framework, making the trappings of statehood incidental. The state serves islam and therefore serves jihad. The so called "moderate" rhetoric coming from Pakistani leaders toward the west will continue as long as the copious amount of money keeps flowing, but is only window dressing unless the Pakistani government takes more active steps to refute terrorism and protect the non muslim populations within its borders. I'm not holding my breath.

The logical outworking of the New Testament is completely different than that of the Koran. Those who try to claim their equivalency are knowledgeable of neither.

'Those qualified to lead people in prayer, he argued, “are also eligible to lead the people otherwise.”'

Absolutely, nothing like a Mullahocracy to make for a vibrant, peaceful society. Just ask the college students in Iran. The perfect setup for dictators.

"'They said wage jihad against them; we are waging jihad for the Quran,' said another boy...."
--victim

"These boys are the victims of the Taliban's uprising here. All they are left with are the terrible memories, the voices in their heads: the voices of the Taliban telling them to kill, they said."
--writer

I'm amazed that the story is even being carried on culturally sensitive CNN, but the writing will make Joe Six Pack see this as a Taliban problem and not a Koran problem. Which is the problem.

How to get a big national security headache on your hands in three easy steps:

1) allow immigration from Islamic countries unabated
2) avoid investigating suspicious activity in mosques for fear of being branded a hatemonger
3) allow islamic special interest groups to bully local municipalities into making special legal concessions for muslims

The reward for your niceness, cultural sensitivity and political correctness will be your status as dar al-harb and the target of jihad, since nothing short of adapting sharia as the law of your land will suffice for the hardliners you've allowed to come in and radicalize your locals (again because of your fear of profiling and the subsequent criticism from the PC crowd).

Where else but a tenured faculty position can you make such boneheaded leftist assumptions, indulge in elitist posturing and broad-brush your perceived opponents as the bourgeoisie, and then go buy groceries with a paycheck funded by the tax dollars paid by that same group. The ultimate in hypocrisy or cynicism, I'm not sure which.