Cross-posted (with some mods from MuslimMatters.org)

A new chapter in the long and painful saga of the "War on Terror" has been revealed to the public. The facts are murky, the details impossible to confirm.

While there are several possibilities, there is one that most will find almost impossible to believe. We are not ready to believe that Dr. Aafia is a star terrorist-- a claim that is ironically being jointly pushed by both the US Government and Al-Qaeda. Why are these opposing sides pushing forth this nearly consistent portrait? The answer lies in each group's malicious agenda.

Via the MadPriest, NPR has some intriguing news:

Bruce Ivins may have targeted Sens. Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy with anthrax-laced letters in 2001 because he saw them as bad Catholics owing to their votes in favor of abortion rights, officials close to the investigation say.

A day after the FBI effectively closed one of its longest and most complicated investigations in a decade, more detail about Ivins is beginning to dribble out.

Ivins had been working at an Army lab in Maryland, and among the projects he was working on was a patented anthrax vaccine.

There was some speculation that Ivins had targeted Daschle and Leahy because he saw them as holding up funding that would have helped pay for his research into an anthrax vaccine. Now, officials close to the investigation say another possible motive could have been that Ivins saw the senators as bad Catholics because of their votes in favor of abortion rights.

rmj and Grandmere Mimi aren't impressed, and it's true that the FBI hasn't exactly racked up a sterling record on this case.

On the other hand, it is some kind of motive for attacks that otherwise seem pretty senseless.

But I'll defer the question of whether the FBI got any of this right in favor of asking a couple of my own. Do you think that if Ivins had been a Muslim we'd have heard much, much more speculation about his motives? About the threat they posed to American security?

Can't hope to compete with Street Prophets
The popular everything-about-religion site Beliefnet has launched a new blogging site for religious progressives called "Progressive Revival."

The Obama menace 1
The Obama menace 2
The Obama menace 3
The Obama menace 4

If you just say up is down people don't know what to make of it.

McCain: Obama an extremist and possibly a socialist. Check out this video at about 2:30 from the end of the clip.
Also note the portion about McCain's changed position on the Bush tax cuts in which he just lied through his teeth about his own record. He never gets called on this sort of stuff.

More silly stuff below.

Time For A Real Offensive Against Terrorism  Obama keeps talking sense.

"Today, we will focus on nuclear, biological, and cyber threats -- three 21st century threats that have been neglected for the last eight years."

McToughLovin’ Funny video making points.

More below.

My hero (my senator) strikes again  Feingold Will Filibuster Telecom Immunity

The sound of unity:  Obama Asks Donors To Help Hillary With Her Campaign Debts

The sound of unity II: Clinton Urges Donors To Unite Behind Obama

More below.

News you won't likely find elsewhere:  The world is safer now than ever  

But despite this perception of inhuman violence in the last 100 years, truth is that our ancestors were far more violent that we are, and today we are probably living in the most peaceful times in history.

http://www.lunchoverip.com/2007/03/t...
The Human Security Report, largely ignored by the press, contains figures such as: the number of armed conflicts has declined by more than 40 percent since 1992; that of military coups and attempted coups has declined by some 60 percent since 1963; and another quantity of important data).
http://www.humansecurityreport.info/

Can I get an "Amen!"?   Less joyful news below....

Part 3b by Amad on a collaborative book-review/summary of one of most important book addressing Muslim opinion.

| Intro | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3a | Part 3b |Part 4 | Part 5 |

Part 3 by Amad on a collaborative book-review on one of most important book addressing Muslim opinion. The following is quoted from him.

| Intro | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3a| Part 3b |Part 4 | Part 5 |

See important notes on survey methodology at the bottom of this post.

The so-called "war against terrorism" has been raging for more than six years, yet the author argue that Muslim extremism and violence continues to spread and grow all over the world.

The Osama bin Ladens of the world have turned a once-popular jihad – a struggle in Afghanistan against Soviet occupation supported by the Muslim world and the West – into an unholy war of suicide bombings, hostage taking, and broad-based terror.

A couple of days ago, I posted a summary of the first part of the IDA's Saddam and Terrorism report that the administration was originally going to release with a little fanfare, but then pulled the press plug and slipped it out quietly.  You can find that summary here...  I joked that I read the report, so you don't have to, but..

No, actually you should read this report.  You can find it here... on the right-hand side(big pdf!)

I think you should read it because anything the current administration doesn't want you to easily access must be GOOD stuff. I mean, they canceled a press conference about the release of the report so as to avoid being asked questions about it. So read it-- get informed about what is in this report and perhaps more importantly, what is NOT in this report. Then ask questions... ask Congressmen what they think of the report...ask journalists to ask questions of administration officials...keep asking.

What follows is a summary of the second main part of the paper: State Relationships with Terrorist Groups.

No, actually you should read this report.  You can find it here... (big pdf!)

I think you should read it because anything the current administration doesn't want you to easily access must be GOOD stuff. I mean, they canceled a press conference about the release of the report so as to avoid being asked questions about it. So read it-- get informed about what is in this report and perhaps more importantly, what is NOT in this report. Then ask questions... ask Congressmen what they think of the report...ask journalists to ask questions of administration officials...keep asking.

There’s a lot of stuff going around the Web, the conservative talk shows and blogs, and the Christian right-wing press about how Christianity and The Church are being badmouthed, demonized and otherwise mistreated by those terrible atheists and other unbelievers of whatever stripe. To hear them tell it, they’re beleaguered on every side, and unless all True Christians stand up and be counted — hopefully at the polls — the Will Of The Lord is in danger of being contravened, all that is Good toppled, and the Reign Of The Serpent will be upon us.

What’s that all about, anyway?