Europe: New Converts Quick to Adopt Terrorism

Hostile young Europeans who would once have joined Leftist terrorist groups like the Red Army Faction, are now finding Islam as a convenient cloak for their aggressive impulses

Religious converts are playing an increasingly influential role in Islamic militant networks, having transformed themselves in recent years from curiosities to key players in terrorist cells in Europe, according to counterterrorism officials and analysts. The arrests this month of two German converts to Islam -- Fritz Gelowicz and Daniel Schneider -- on suspicions that they were plotting to bomb American targets are just one example of terrorism cases in Europe in which converts to Islam have figured prominently.

In Copenhagen, a convert is among four defendants who went on trial this month for plotting to blow up political targets. In Sweden, a webmaster who changed his name from Ralf Wadman to Abu Usama el-Swede was arrested last year on suspicion of recruiting fighters on the Internet. In Britain, three converts -- including the son of a British politician -- are awaiting trial on charges of participating in last year's transatlantic airline plot.

"The number of converts, it seems, is definitely on the rise," said Michael Taarnby, a terrorism researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies. "We've reached a point where I think al-Qaeda and other groups recognize the value of converts, not just from an operational viewpoint but from a cultural one as well." ....

Religious converts are sometimes more prone to radicalization because of their zeal to prove their newfound faith, analysts said. They are also less likely to attract police scrutiny in Europe, where investigators often rely on outdated demographic profiles in terrorism cases.

Source

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ELSEWHERE

The Muslim War Against al-Qaeda Is On: "Lots of people in America keep wondering when Muslims will stand up and denounce al-Qaeda and their Islamo Fascists ways. A lot of people wonder if we are in this War on Terror alone, trying to make Muslims act responsibly, they claim to not see Muslims wanting to act responsibly. Clearly they are not focused on Iraq where Sunnis there have thrown off the bloody jackboot of al-Qaeda and are now openly fighting them - claiming al-Qaeda is the enemy of Allah and swearing on The Koran to destroy al-Qaeda. There is no stronger indication the Muslim war for the heart of Islam is now on and we need to support the side fighting al-Qaeda.

FREDeralism!: "If elected, would today's GOP candidates be Bush Republicans or Reagan Republicans? Romney, McCain, and Giuliani talk about cutting federal 'waste' and 'pork.' But the problem with the $2.8 trillion federal budget is not $30 billion in pork, it is $2 trillion of spending that violates the 10th Amendment to the Constitution as properly the responsibility of the states and the people. What about presidential candidate Ron Paul? Paul is certainly a strong believer in the 10th Amendment, but he has been mainly occupied by the war in Iraq and hasn't focused his campaign on cutting domestic spending. That's why I'm pleased that Fred Thompson has thrown his hat into the ring."

America's "poor": "On average, poor people who live in either apartments or in houses are not crowded and actually have more living space than the average person living in European countries, such as France, Italy or England. Also, a lot of people believe that poor people are malnourished. But in fact when you look at the average nutriment intake of poor children, it is virtually indistinguishable from upper-middle-class children. In fact, poor kids by the time they reach age 18 or 19 are taller and heavier than the average middle-class teenagers in the 1950s at the time of Elvis. And the boys, when they reach 18, are a full one inch taller and 10 pounds heavier than the GIs storming the beaches of Normandy. It's pretty hard to accomplish that if you are facing chronic food shortages throughout your life. .since the beginning of the War on Poverty the politically correct thing to do is to just exaggerate the amount of poverty that exists in the United States as a way of encouraging more welfare spending."

Episcopal church self-destructs: "The Episcopal Church is on the verge of a mass exodus if it doesn't repent of its approval of homosexual relationships, warn the leaders of three dioceses that signaled their intent this week to leave the 2 million-member denomination. The dioceses of Fort Worth, Pittsburgh and Quincy, Ill., have stated that if they don't receive assurances by Sept. 30 that the House of Bishops will reject the consecration of bishops living in a same-sex relationship and same-sex blessings, they are prepared to cut themselves off from the Episcopal Church in the USA.... Noting a trend that has developed over more than three decades, Webb said the denomination "has moved so far away from Scripture, Christian tradition and reason that many faithful Christians feel that they can no longer stay within the Episcopal Church and be faithful."

Light rail doesn't work: "I have always loved trains, and if light-rail transit worked, I would be the first to support it. So it is with some dismay that I review the sorry record of transit in Canadian and U.S. cities that have built light-rail lines. For the most part, light rail has increased congestion, harmed transit riders, and wasted taxpayers' money. Even so, there seems to be a consensus among politicians of all stripes in Ottawa that light rail is necessary, and the only debate left is how to implement it. But let's look at what light rail can and cannot do."

Eminent domain abuse penalized in Connecticut: "A six-member civil jury, deliberating less than a day, found the town of Branford wrongly seized the 77-acre Tabor parcel by eminent domain in January, 2004. It directed the town to pay $12.4 million to New England Estates, a developer who had an option to build condominiums on the site. In July, Superior Court Judge William T. Cremins, Jr., who decided the value of the land at an earlier bench trial ordered the town to pay the owners, Thomas Santa Barbara, Jr. and Frank Perrotti, Jr., $4.6 million. In addition to awarding NEE $12.4 million in lost profits and investment costs, the jury also awarded Santa Barbara and Perrotti $340,000 for fees they would have earned had the developer's option to buy the land for $4.7 million taken place."

Let geekdom ring: "Do you know that feeling of instant camaraderie you get when another person shares a deep passion of yours? You may not even know their real name or age or where they live but to you, the shared characteristic speaks volumes about their soul. I feel an immediate kinship with someone if I find out they are a libertarian, or if they're a Celtics fan, or if they have ever owned a Commodore Amiga. The first two are obvious signs of good taste, strong values, and a sense of history. But who on Earth is Amiga, how did she ever rise to the rank of Commodore, and how can someone own her?" [As a libertarian who STILL owns a couple of working Commodore Amigas, I like the sound of this guy]

For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN.

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"Why should the German be interested in the liberation of the Jew, if the Jew is not interested in the liberation of the German?... We recognize in Judaism, therefore, a general anti-social element of the present time... In the final analysis, the emancipation of the Jews is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.... Indeed, in North America, the practical domination of Judaism over the Christian world has achieved as its unambiguous and normal expression that the preaching of the Gospel itself and the Christian ministry have become articles of trade... Money is the jealous god of Israel, in face of which no other god may exist". Who said that? Hitler? No. It was Karl Marx. See also here and here and here.

The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialistisch) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party".

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