The Iranian-Syrian-Hamas nexus laid bare for the world to see. Thanks to Carl from J’lem for the hat tip. KGS

UPDATE: The TT was in a conference call with an IDF spokesman who stated the following details surrounding the boarding of the freighter Vicotria, by special forces Navy commandos. IDF Spokesperson, Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich:

Early this morning, Navy commandos from the IDF went on board the vessel called the Victoria. The vessel is German owned, the operating company is French and the flag it was flying under was Liberian. We had some information that this vessel was carrying some weaponry, and after we inspected some of the containers aboard, we found that some of the containers included weaponry.

At this time the vessel is being escorted by the Israeli navy to one of the ports in Israel. When it will reach the port it will undergo further examination of the cargo. I can tell you that the port of origin of the ship was Latakia Syria, it also passed through a port in Turkey and we understand that the final destination of the ship would be Alexandria  in Egypt.

We believe that neither Egypt or Turkey had any connection to this event, we understand that Syria is the main actor here  together with Iran the intention was to bring those different types of weaponry into Gaza, to serve Hamas in their terrorist activities against Israel. This is the information I can share with you. Thank you.

There was a brief Q&A afterwards, where the following was mentioned: The kinds of weapons found could’t be shared at the time, but the main point here is not the kinds of weapons that will be found, but that they’ll be used against the people of Israel. Hamas is actively seeking more weapons which highlights the need for Israel to keep enforcing its legal anti-weapons blockade on the Hamas run Gaza Strip. The spokesperson also mentioned that the Germans, french and Liberians were notified about the seizure, there isn’t any indication that they knew of the weapons.

They were informed of the cargo after the initial search of the three containers which had weapons. The Spokesman reaffirmed the tight cooperation between the Iranians and the Syrians in this smuggling attempt. Also noteworthy was that the boarding took place two hundred nautical miles west of Israel, and that the other countries were notified after the boarding.

IDF seizes freighter of Iranian weapons headed to Gaza

By YAAKOV KATZ AND JPOST.COM STAFF
03/15/2011 12:25

The “Victoria” departed from Turkey, destined for El-Arish, where weapons from Iran would be smuggled to Hamas; ship boarded by Naval Commando 13, expected to arrive in Ashdod.

The IDF seized a freighter ship with dozens of tons of weaponry from Iran headed for Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.

The ship, known as Victoria, was flying a Liberian flag, and was seized by the navy in the Meditteranean Sea, 200 miles off of Israel’s coast.

The Victoria was boarded by commandos from the Israely Navy’s Flotilla 13, also known as the Shayetet, and is expected to arrive in the Ashdod port on Tuesday evening.

An initial inspection of the cargo revealed the ship was carrying weapons. The exact amount is to be determined.

The crew, questioned by the Navy Commando, was not aware that the cargo contained weaponry.

The ship set sail last night from Turkey, and was expected to dock in Alexandria. There, it was supposed to unload the weapons, which would travel by land to Gaza. The IDF’s assessment is that the weapons did not originate in Turkey, but that the containers were unloaded there and transferred onto the Victoria .

More here.

Keith Ellison on the Bill Maher show:

“As you know (to Bill Maher) as a student of religion, books are complex, are complied, and taking them out of context is a very easy thing to do.”

 

: “I’ve heard this many times and I don’t buy it, I’m sorry. Sam Harris says on almost every page the Koran instructs observant Muslims to despise non-believers, and he quotes it.”

: “That’s absurd , that’s ridiculous and untrue, that’s untrue […] why don’t you read the part where it says that anyone who takes a life is if he killed a whole world, and anyone who saves a life, is as if he saved a whole world. What about the one where is says let there be no compulsion in religion, and that it’s literally wrong to impose someone’s faith.”

The Tundra Tabloids’ good friend and colleague, Andy Bostom took note of the exchanges on the Bill Maher show, and noticed Congressman Ellison lying through his teeth in predictable fashion of a dawa spreading, taqiyya spewing, Muslim apologist. Here’s what the dragon slayer has to say about Ellison’s performance. KGS

NOTE: Ellison says any text can be taken out of context, then proceeds to do just that.

Congressman Keith Ellison’s Taqiyya

Matthew Shaffer of NRO (as noted here by Ethel Fenig) exposed Keith Ellison’s mendacioustaqiyya (Koran-sanctioned Islamic dissimulation) theater during the Congressman’s testimony at Thursday’s Homeland Security Hearings on American Muslim radicalization.

The next day, during a 3/11/11 interview with Bill Maher (on “Real Time With Bill Maher”), responding to Maher’s complaint that, “[Islam] comes from a hate-filled holy book, the Koran, which is taken very literally by its people,” Ellison invoked a deceitfully redacted extract of Koran 5:32, and the ostensible Koranic paean to “tolerance,” verse 2:256.

Ellison’s disingenuous response was predictable.

Following the murderous acts of jihad terrorism committed on September 11, 2001, Ibn Warraq highlighted the tragic irony of many apologists quoting selectively from Koran 5:32, “whoso slays a soul …shall be as if he had slain mankind altogether; and whoso gives life to a soul, shall be as if he has given life to mankind altogether”, attempting to demonstrate that the Koran disapproved of violence and killing. Here is the entire verse (5:32), quoted in full context, with the intimately related verse, Koran 5:33:

(5:32) Therefore We prescribed for the Children of Israel that whoso slays a soul not to retaliate for a soul slain, nor for corruption done in the land, shall be as if he had slain mankind altogether; and whoso gives life to a soul, shall be as if he has given life to mankind altogether. Our Messengers have already come to them with the clear signs; then many of them thereafter commit excesses in the earth. (5:33) This is the recompense of those who fight against God and His Messenger, and hasten about the earth, to do corruption there: they shall be slaughtered, or crucified, or their hands and feet shall alternately be struck off; or they shall be banished from the land. That is a degradation for them in this world; and in the world to come awaits them a mighty chastisement

[For direct comparison see, Mishna, Sanhedrin, IV, 5, “Thus was created a single man, to teach us that every person who loses a single soul, it shall be written about him as if he has lost the entire world, and every person who sustains a single soul, it shall be written, about him as if he has sustained the entire world”]

As Warraq noted, with regard to Koran 5:32/33, ¹

The supposedly noble sentiments are in fact a warning to Jews. [² see these commentaries as well] “Behave, or else” is the message. Far from abjuring violence, these verses aggressively point out that anyone opposing the Prophet will be killed, crucified, mutilated, and banished

Regarding the other pacific sounding verse Congressman Ellison cited, 2:256, it must be contextualized by Muhammad’s bellicose evolution within the Koran itself. But how, exactly? Abrogation is critical to understanding this evolution. Ali ibn Abi Talib—revered by Shiite Muslims and Islam’s 4^th “Rightly Guided” Caliph—is reported to have told a pious Muslim companion, Abdul Rahman

“[C]an you differentiate between abrogating and abrogated verses” Abdul Rahman said, “no.” Thereupon Ali said “Thou art damned and causeth others to be damned.”

Read the rest here.

NOTE: Keith Ellison bawling his eyes out over Bostom’s exposing his taqiyya tactics.

In trying to smear a hearing on the radicalization of Muslim communities as bigoted, Democrat Rep. Keith Ellison lies in public before the congressional hearing chaired by Congressman King. Over at Breibart, Dan Riehl exposes Ellison for shameless liar he is, and also includes some interesting information from a NRO article. KGS

Note: Picture via: Weasel Zippers

Keith Ellison Lied, People Cried

I’ve already taken Rep Keith Ellison to task for making Mohammed Salman Hamdani a victim beyond the scope of his tragic death on 9/11 for his own political purposes: Rep. Keith Ellison’s Shameful Tears At Radicalization Hearing.

What he was doing was not saluting Hamdani as a brave American victim of 9/11. He was using Hamdani’s death to make him into a cliche, a political victim … to further Ellison’s political agenda, not Hamdani’s, for all we know. Given Hamdani’s noble actions, how is it he deserves to be made into a political victim like that when he can’t speak for himself? For all we know, he detested such stunts.

NRO: Does Ellison’s account check out with reality?

No. It is actually pretty close to the opposite of the truth. In fact, six weeks after the September 11 attacks — before Hamdani’s remains were identified, which Ellison implies to be the turning point of public perception — Congress signed the PATRIOT Act into law with this line included: “Many Arab Americans and Muslim Americans have acted heroically during the attacks on the United States, including Mohammed Salman Hamdani, a 23-year-old New Yorker of Pakistani descent, who is believed to have gone to the World Trade Center to offer rescue assistance and is now missing.” That is, Hamdani was actually singled out for particular high honors among the thousands of victims of the September 11 attacks.

There’s little evidence of the “rumors” of which Ellison speaks, either.

TOKYO – A ferocious tsunami spawned by one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded slammed Japan’s eastern coast Friday, killing hundreds of people as it swept away boats, cars and homes while widespread fires burned out of control.

Hours later, the tsunami hit Hawaii and warnings blanketed the Pacific, as far away as South America, Canada, Alaska and the entire U.S. West Coast.

Police said 200 to 300 bodies were found in the northeastern coastal city of Sendai. Another 88 were confirmed killed and at least 349 were missing. The death toll was likely to continue climbing given the scale of the disaster.

More here.

Live CNN stream:

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