A Word From The Taliban

Regarding the Invaders Recent Brutalities.

Remarks of Z. Mujahid, Spokesman of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan


December 18, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- The public of the world, particularly, our country men know that the invading forces usually detain miserable Afghans under various pretexts and then mercilessly torture them. These atrocities have been continuing at the hand of the invaders for the past eight years. Besides these, there are other savageries being committed by the invading forces. Even mass murder has been committed by the cut- throat troops. But the so-called advocates of the human rights and the international community have always turned a blind eye to all these crimes. They have never put out a protest nor issued any word of condemnation, despite that the atrocities have been continuing unabatedly. Here, we present our readers with facts about the following gruesome events:

On October 22, foreign invaders killed two Afghan prisoners and put their dead bodies near Kikorak Shrine in Sabari district. Earlier, the brutal invaders had arrested them in Sara Bagh during a night raid on their houses. One week before this gruesome incident, foreign invaders in Khost, had detained Haji Badshah Khan, a resident of Bak district. They killed him pointblank and put his dead body in a dried river bed near Sara Bagh Bus stop. He had been mercilessly tortured to death by the callous foreign troops. A few days ago, the cut-throat invading forces, detained Nadeem, resident of Ali Sher district and Noor Wazir, resident of Moli area of Sabari district. They were on their way home, riding on motor cycles after doing shopping in Khost Bazaar. The invading American troops signaled them to stop and arrested them forthwith. Then, the brutal soldiers killed them at Khana Kandaw during the night and left their corpses there. They had been tied up with shackles and ropes usually used by American and foreign soldiers. American trained dogs had devoured flesh of their bodies. In Laghman, Kunduz, Zabul and Ghazni provinces, similar brutalities have taken place.

In our view, the cunning and coward enemy suffers material and soul losses every day. They lose dozens of military tanks as a result of face-to-face battles with Mujahideen. Therefore, they vent their revenge on innocent people, to create rift and hatred between Mujahideen and the common people intentionally. But it should be made clear to them, if the enemy resorts to such horrendous actions in order to weaken the morale of the people, so that they would withdraw their support from the Mujahideen., they are wrong. Their inhuman actions will only give rise to creating sensitivities against the invaders and they will face a shameful defeat with the passage of time.

The Afghans have never subjugated by foreign invaders throughout the history nor have they accepted existence of foreign invaders on their soil. They have always struggled in the way of freedom and succeeded, in the long run, in liberating not only their land but lands of other occupied people thanks to their self-less sacrifices.

The people of Khost and human rights entities themselves witnessed the dead bodies of these miserable Afghans. We call on all human right organizations not to remain silent over the massacre of common people any more and conduct a neutral investigation about the killings and live up to the expectation for what they have been established to begin with.

Source:http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24222.htm

As Yet Another Year Comes to a Close…

Have you ever thought of how many years you have left? With every sunrise and sunset, we have one day less left in this world. Death does not come to only the old and weak. Death also comes to the young and strong. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Imam Al-Ghazali says: “[Time] is nothing other than your life, and your life is the capital that you use to reach success in the proximity of Allah.”

Wise are the words of the one who said ... "I expect to pass through this world but once; any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again. The Prophet, Sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam said: “There is no day upon which the sun rises except that it says, 'O son of Adam, I am a new creation and a witness to your deeds, so use me well, as I will not return until the Day of Judgment'.”

One's time is in fact his age. It is the material of his eternal life either in everlasting joy or painful torture. It passes more quickly than clouds do. It is only the time one dedicates to Allah that constitutes one's real life and age. The rest does not count.” (Ibnul-Qayyim)

In Islam there is no room for slogans like "killing time" In fact; wasting time is much more dangerous than squandering property, because unlike property, time cannot be compensated. You cannot kill time without harming your hereafter! In reality when you kill time, it is time that is really killing you! Free time is a blessing that is overlooked, and not wholly appreciated by many people. The Prophet Sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam said: “There are two of Allah's favours that are forgotten by many people: health and free time.”

On the transience of human life, the Prophet Sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam said: “I am in this world like a rider who halts in the shade of a tree for a short time, and after taking some rest resumes his journey and leaves the tree behind.” (Tirmidhi)

“When you pass the day and arrive at the evening, do not expect that you will pass night and hope to reach morning, and when you arrive in the morning do not look forward to the evening. While in health, be ready for illness, and while alive, prepare for death.' (Bukhari)

Ibnul Qayyim says: “A sign that Allah despises you is when you find yourself wasting your time with trivial matters; in this way, you miss your chance of going to heaven. A sign that Allah likes you is when you find yourself fulfilling more duties than you have time for.” A famous quote reads: “Don't count every hour in the day, make every hour in the day count.”

May Allah grant us a life that is productive and fruitful. May HE protect us from wasting away our days in frivolous pursuits. Ameen.

Source:http://www.jamiat.co.za/newsletter/online_newsletter_0449.htm

A Step at a Time

It is foolhardy to climb two
trees at once just because
one has two feet.

(Ethiopian Proverb)

Everything happens in the Wisdom of Allah

Message from the Ameer of the Jamiatul Ulama

(This is a re-run of one of the Ameer’s previous messages)

A story is told about a certain King in Africa who had a close friend that he grew up with. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) by remarking, "This is good, Allah Almighty knows best"

One day the King and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the King. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the King fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This is good! Allah Almighty knows best." To which the King replied, "No, this is NOT good!" and ordered his soldiers to put his friend into jail.

About a year later, the King was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured the King and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake.

As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the King was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone who was less than whole. So after untying the King, they chased him out of the village. When the King reached his palace, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend.

"You were right" the King said, "It was good that my thumb was blown off." And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. "I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this."
"No," his friend replied, "this is good...Allah Almighty knows best"

"What do you mean, 'this is good'! How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?"

The King's friend replied: "Remember that the Almighty knows best and if I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you on that hunting trip!"

As Muslims, we should never question the decision of Allah in anything, and we should bear our afflictions with patience. Allah says: "He knows what is before them and what is behind them: And to Allah go back all questions (for decision)" (Surah Al Hajj 22:76)

Do Not Judge Things or Events by its Immediate Outcome!

Almighty, the Most High is the All-Knowledgeable, the All-Knower. He chooses to show us things, but sometimes we are not shown the wisdom behind some things. When we are confronted by circumstances that are not very pleasing and we are quick to say: "This is not good..." but is it really? We might not know the purpose behind it. Thus, when we are faced with any situation, we should not be too quick to judge and always remember that this life is a test and there is nothing that happens for no reason.

Source:http://www.jamiat.co.za/newsletter/online_newsletter_0449.htm

Countdown to climate change

SANA SYED

It is in our hands to save our world.

The countdown has begun. The alarm bell for the rapid change in climate rings even as the the leaders of the world are brainstorming on the issue at Copenhagen (Denmark) to find an effective solution.

The chief reason for climate change is the rise in emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, and others due to industrialisation and technological developments.

The result: sea levels could rise by close to one metre this century in response to a temperature rise of up to one degree from the present levels. This will have severe impact on the coastal flora and fauna.

In India, around 7,000 sq. km of coastal land could submerge byrising sea levels.

A significant portion of this inundation will also occur in our state, informs Farida Tampal, State Director, AP & Coordinator, Education Programme Coordination Group (EPCG), WWF-India

Apart from this, what other obvious consequence of climate change are we facing?

“The symbiotic relationship between plants and animals is getting disturbed with the onslaught. We have already started bearing the brunt with the Sundarban deltas submerging in water, Gangotri glaciers melting and the forests of the Godavari and Krishna river valleys and the Eastern Ghats facing survival threat with rise in temperature.

Insects like the honey bee that are an indispensable link between flora and fauna are hard-hit by such environmental disturbances.

Insects, a crucial link in the eco system are gradually moving towards northern areas”, says B. V. Ramana Murthy, Member Secretary, A.P Biodiversity Board.

“Agriculturally, we can tone down the pollution effect by planting short duration crops like millets.

Unlike wheat or paddy it can grow throughout the year, even in water scarce regions and does not require great amount of fertilizers”, he adds.

Simple measures

Is there nothing we can do at the individual level?

Yes we can. Thanks to the positive outlook of students like Anil, Vamshi and Harsh who think a lot can be done at the personal level.

Apart from conserving energy and preferring public transport, Anil uses recycled goods; Vamshi prefers water cooled in earthen pitchers than refrigerated one and Harsh waters the garden every morning to help the green cause. But their academician C.V.K. Shastri, Dean of Academics, Mathematics and Sciences, Abhyasa School, Toopran takes a dig at the conscience of nation states asking, is it not worthwhile for both the developed and developing nations to be a little less ambitious in terms of technology frenzy and material comfort that is taking the world so near its destruction?

Let's wake up before it's too late.

Fact focus

With temperature increase, flora will be unable to perform vital biological functions

When forests shrink the animals depending on them will face extinction threat

In India, species such as Spotted deer, Sambar, Four horned antelope, Barking deer, Blue Bull and Gaur may disappear

With failing rains, freshwater flora and fauna are also in danger.

Birds like Spoonbill, the White stork, the Painted stork, the Ruddy Shelduck, the Mallard, the Garganey, and others may become extinct

Source:http://www.hindu.com/yw/2009/12/15/stories/2009121551301400.htm

Why Do Airstrikes in Afghanistan Keep Killing Exactly 30 People?

By Megan Carpentier, Air America. Posted December 11, 2009.


Pentagon policy from the Rumsfeld days on acceptable kill rates still seems to be the guiding logic for what field commanders are telling the news media.>

This first appeared on Air America Radio.

On Monday, the anonymous blogger Security Crank noticed something interesting: all the U.S. and NATO airstrikes in Afghanistan seemingly kill exactly 30 people every time. How can that be?

Security Crank documented no less than 12 occasions in which news reports, relying on field commanders' estimates, noted that exactly 30 suspected Taliban were killed in airstrikes and, occasionally, artillery attacks. He said:

But the much more important point remains: how could we possibly have any idea how the war is going, here or anywhere else, when the bad guys seem only to die in groups of 30? The sheer ubiquity of that number in fatality and casualty counts is astounding, to the point where I don’t even pay attention to a story anymore when they use that magic number 30. It is an indicator either of ignorance or deliberate spin… but no matter the case, whenever you see the number 30 used in reference to the Taliban, you should probably close the tab and move onto something else, because you just won’t get a good sense of what happened there.

So, why is it always 30? Do thirty casualties seem like enough to justify a military attack, or few enough to not attract too much attention to an incident?

Another blogger, Joshua Foust of the Central Asia blog Registan, seemingly stumbled upon the answer. In a tweet, he noted:

In 2003, an air strike killing 30 civilians could be launched w/o issues. 31 dead civilians and Rummy had to approve.

Foust then linked to an LA Times article from last July by Nicholas Goldberg that documented what field commanders were told.

In a grisly calculus known as the "collateral damage estimate," U.S. military commanders and lawyers often work together in advance of a military strike, using very specific, Pentagon-imposed protocols to determine whether the good that will come of it outweighs the cost.

We don't know much about how it works, but in 2007, Marc Garlasco, the Pentagon's former chief of high-value targeting, offered a glimpse when he told Salon magazine that in 2003, "the magic number was 30." That meant that if an attack was anticipated to kill more than 30 civilians, it needed the explicit approval of then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld or President George W. Bush. If the expected civilian death toll was less than 30, the strike could be OKd by the legal and military commanders on the ground.

In other words, the Pentagon determined that 30 casualties, even if they were civilian, were too few to matter politically or to attract the attention of the press for more than a few words. If commanders expected more civilian casualties than that, political leaders had to sign off on the attack in advance to make sure they were prepared for the PR fall-out.

That PR calculus of how many deaths matter to the average American has apparently carried over from the Bush Administration to the Obama Adminstration, at least insofar as ground commanders are concerned. But the American people deserve the truth about how many Afghans--civilian and otherwise--are being killed by our forces. Just because senior officials at the Pentagon think that killing 30 people doesn't warrant their attention doesn't mean they're right.

http://www.alternet.org/world/144509/why_do_airstrikes_in_afghanistan_keep_killing_exactly_30_people/