The Amboy Times

This Day in Islamic Terrorism: The Laju Incident

Part of the This day in Islamic terrorism series.

There has been a long time alliance between the far left and jihadists, But this is only example that I know of where the two physically work together in a terrorist operation.

On 31 January 1974, four men armed with submachine guns and explosives attacked the Shell oil refinery complex on Pulau Bukom, a small island lying south of Singapore. The terrorists were two members of the Japanese Red Army (JRA) and two members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Their goal was to disrupt the oil supply from Singapore to other countries, especially South Vietnam. On 1 February 1974, a PFLP spokesman made a statement in Beirut that the attack was a warning to all monopolistic oil companies on one hand and imperialism in general on the other - especially the perceived oppression of the Arab masses in the Middle East.

At the beginning of their operation, the terrorists' boat ran aground on a coral reef. They managed to reach the shore of Bukom after convincing an unsuspecting boatman to tow them towards the island. As they headed towards a gate of an oil tank farm, they fired shots at two passing vehicles although no one was injured. A sentry at a security post managed to escape and raise the alarm.

The terrorists were able to detonate 3 of the 12 explosives they were carrying, but they caused little damage. To escape, they then hijacked the ferryboat Laju at the Bukom jetty and held 5 crew members hostage. This led to a chase and Laju was quickly surrounded by marine police boats and navy gunboats at the Eastern Anchorage.

This was followed by a few days of intense negotiation, during which two hostages managed to escape by jumping overboard in the middle of the night. The terrorists later agreed to release the other crew members in exchange for a party of "guarantors" for their safe passage to the Middle East. This 12-men party consisted of 4 commandos from the Singapore Armed Forces and 8 other government officials. The party was led by the Director of Security and Intelligence Division at the Ministry of Defence, S R Nathan, who later became the President of Singapore and Mr Tay Seow Huah, the first Director of Security and Intelligence Division.

On the night of 7 February, the group was transferred from Laju to the Marine Police Headquarters and then to the airport. After they freed the remaining three hostages, the four terrorists left Singapore on 8 February at 1:25 am, accompanied by Nathan’s team on a flight to Kuwait.

Next Month,

Feb 3 1986, Pro Iranian group Fouad Ali Saleh bombs the Claridge Passage in Paris, 7 injured.

Feb 4 1986, Fouad Ali Saleh bombs the Gilbert book shop in Paris

Feb 4 2002, Strasbourg cathedral bombing plot foiled

Feb 5 1986, FNAC-sports Paris, 15 injured

Feb 5 1992, two bus bombs in Urumqi, China 3 killed, 23 injured by the East Turkistan Islamic Movement

Feb 14 1998, India Coimbatore bombings, Bombings by suspected Islamic Jihadi groups on an election rally in the city of Coimbatore kill about 60 people.

Feb 16 2002, Two teenagers were killed and about 30 people were wounded, six seriously, when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a pizzeria in the shopping mall in Karnei Shomron. A third person subsequently died of his injuries. The Popular Front for the Libera.

Feb 18 2002: An Israeli Bedouin policeman was killed by a suicide bomber whom he had stopped for questioning on the Ma'ale Adumim-Jerusalem road. The terrorist succeeded in detonating the bomb in his car. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility.

Feb 21 1970 Popular Front for the Liberation of Palistine bombs SwissAir 330, killing 47.

Feb 23 1985 Hezbollah bombs a Marks and Spencer shop in Paris, 1 killed.

Feb 24 1997 Ali Abu Kamal opens fire on tourists at an observation deck atop the Empire State Building in New York City, killing a Danish national and wounding visitors from the United States, Argentina, Switzerland and France before turning the gun on himself. A handwritten note carried by the gunman claims this was a punishment attack against the "enemies of Palestine".

Feb 25  - March 4 1996, A series of four suicide bombings in Israel leave 60 dead and 284 wounded within ten days.

Feb 26 1993 World Trade Center bombed by AQ, 6 killed, over 1000 injured.

Feb 27 2002: A Palestinian suicide bomber blew herself up at a roadblock on the Jerusalem-Modi'in highway, injuring three policemen.

Pro-Life ad Rejected by Super Bowl

The ad is tasteful, not in the least bit obnoxious. So it's safe to say the ad was rejected on political grounds. See Hot Air for details.

NBC is coming under fire from pro-life advocates for rejecting a television commercial a pro-life group hoped to run during the Super Bowl. The ad shows a beautiful picture of an unborn child during an ultrasound and asks what would happen if President Barack Obama had been a victim of abortion.

After several days of negotiations, an NBC representative in Chicago told the group late yesterday that NBC and the NFL are not interested in advertisements involving “political advocacy or issues.” …

“But that’s not what they told PETA,” he said about the network’s recent decision to reject an ad from the animal rights group. “There’s no doubt that PETA is an advocacy group. NBC rejected PETA’s ad for another reason altogether.”

According to an email posted on the PETA web site, Victoria Morgan, Vice President of Advertising Standards for Universal, said, “The PETA spot submitted to Advertising Standards depicts a level of sexuality exceeding our standards.”

Ed Morrisey responds,

LifeNews claims that NBC is still working with PETA on how to edit their ad to make it air-worthy during the Super Bowl. If they don’t mind vegetable fetishes for political advocacy, I’d like to get an explanation of how an ultrasound offends their sensibilities.

Here's the link to the PETA ad.

Personally, I laughed out loud at the PETA ad. I can see where it pushes the limits of Super Bowl standards, but watching models get all hot and steamy with broccoli is hilarious. It's like something out of the Onion.

Susanne Winter convicted of Insulting Islam

Winter joins the Geert Wilders club of silenced European pols and pundits. She faces a two year sentence.

Austrian far-right parliamentarian Susanne Winter was convicted Thursday of incitement because of her anti-Muslim statements, including the claim that Islam's prophet Mohammed was a paedophile. A court in Winter's home town of Graz also found the 51-year-old politician guilty of humiliating a religion. She was sentenced to a fine of 24,000 euros (31,000 dollars) euros and a suspended prison term of three months, Austrian news agency APA reported.

Winter is probably referring to this hadith.

Tabari VII:7 "The Prophet married Aisha in Mecca three years before the Hijrah, after the death of Khadija. At the time she was six." 

The marriage was consummated when Aisha was 9 years old.

The politician, who took a seat in parliament last fall for the Freedom Party (FPOe), made the anti-Islamic remarks in January 2008.

She also proposed in a discussion with students that Muslim men should commit bestiality rather than making "indecent advances" on girls.

OK, not a smart thing to say, let's hope it was sarcastic.

The politician had pleaded innocent Thursday, claiming that she "did not want to insult anyone, but only to point out problems."

The verdict is not yet legally binding.

Pat Condell on Geert Wilders

"You're being chewed up and spat out, is what's happening to you people. Look at what you're doing: you're prosecuting a man who is under twenty-four hour protection from attack by violent Muslim, yet he's the criminal for expressing an opinion. Lewis Carroll couldn't have written this one any better."

Dutch MP to be charged

"America Last Man Standing" - Speech by Geert Wilders

Decision to prosecute is political

Submission in the Netherlands by Bruce Bawer

In Defence of Wilders - Robert Spencer

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION IN SUPPORT OF GEERT WILDERS

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION AND SUPPORT THE GLOBAL CAMPAIGN AGAINST SHARIA LAW

Rihanna Caves to Islamic demands

An update from yesterday's post.

Welcome to the Good Girl Gone Dhimmi Tour.

The good girl gone bad has promised to be good for one night.

Barbadian R&B sensation Rihanna will shun skimpy outfits when she performs in Malaysia next month, the concert's organisers said yesterday, becoming the latest international star affected by the Muslim-majority country's strict rules on performers' dress.

Recent concerts by Gwen Stefani and Avril Lavigne faced protests by conservative Muslim Malaysians over immodest clothes.

Under government guidelines, a female performer must be covered from the top of her chest, including her shoulders, to her knees. Rihanna, 20, favours black leather bustiers, shorts and boots.

Rihanna's February 13 concert in Kuala Lumpur is part of her Good Girl Gone Bad tour, and has drawn threats from a radical Muslim group, Parti Islam SeMalaysia.

The group, which blasted Lavigne's onstage moves last year as "too sexy", said in an online commentary that Rihanna was "sexier and more dangerous" than Lavigne.

Some 20 000 units of her album Good Girl Gone Bad have been sold in Malaysia. Proceeds from the concert will go to the Force Of Nature Aid Foundation.

I wish artists like Rihanna would ask themselves what good is artistic freedom if it is surrendered so easily? Why should radical Islamic groups like Parti Islam SeMalaysia respect those rights if we don't stand up for them? To write this off so easily as a "when in Rome" situation is to ignore the dangers of an expanding radicalization of Islamic governments and even encourage them to be even more aggressive in the future. That fares badly for other artists as well as Malaysians.

Pop Singer Rihanna Offends Muslims: Updated

It's got a good beat and you can dance to it, we must warn the infidel. Our jihad is useless against the gyrations of musical kaffirs!

A RADICAL ISLAMIC group is threatening to take action if Rihanna is allowed to perform in Malaysia, but that country's government has approved the February 13 concert by the Barbadian star.

The youth wing of the Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) called for a cancellation of the concert on Wednesday, saying Rihanna's performances were unsuitable because of her daring outfits and raunchy dances.

The protesters also said inviting the United States-based Rihanna, who turns 21 on February 20, would be akin to supporting US ally Israel, which does not have diplomatic relations with Malaysia, where Islam is the official religion.

However, the Malaysian government announced yesterday that the concert – featuring Rihanna who was a headliner at one of President Barack Obama's post-inauguration balls Tuesday – would be held.[...]

The PAS, according to news sources out of Malaysia, has not ruled out a street demonstration or "other forms of protest" in response to the decision to let the show go on.

The Islamic party has in the past opposed scheduled performances by artistes like Avril Lavigne, the Pussycat Dolls, and Gwen Stefani.

UPDATE: Sadly,and predictably, Rihanna has caved to the demands of Parti Islam SeMalaysia.

Right-wing author is banned from Debate on Islam

Once again, the opposition to Islam is silenced by the threat of violence. This time it's Douglas Murray who's banned from speaking at the London School of Economics. Apparently, the mere presence of someone who questions Islam as a religion of peace causes Muslims to behave violently. Therefore, in order to placate the violent Islamists, we silence Murray the peaceful dissent.

The West needs to understand that this is simply bad strategy. Every little slice of free speech that is surrendered only emboldens the Islamists to further the threats. Freedom of speech is toxic to the Islamists, and the LSE has chosen unwisely.

A right-wing writer has been banned from chairing a debate on Islam at the London School of Economics today amid security fears, the Standard has learned.

Douglas Murray, a self-confessed “neo conservative”, was due to chair “Islam or Liberalism: Which is the Way Forward?” at the university tonight — 24 hours after the end of a week-long sit in at LSE in protest at Israel's attacks on Gaza.

"Self-confessed" is interesting wording. A confession is an admission of guilt. Self-professed is more like it.

The commentator and author, who is the director of conservative think-tank the Centre for Social Cohesion, said: “This is back to the bad old days of the LSE — where the most violent get to dictate people's education. It is worse than censorship — it's intimidation.” The debate, which is set to go ahead, is between Dr Alan Sked, a senior lecturer in international history at the university, and Hamza Andreas Tzortzis, a Muslim writer and lecturer.

The LSE asked Mr Murray not to attend in the interest of public safety as his presence could provoke further unrest. A spokesman added: “He has spoken at LSE in the past and will be welcome to do so again in the future.”

Below is a video of Murray speaking at the "World Civilisation or a Clash of Civilisations" debate.

Murray joins the List of things that offend Muslims.

This Day in Islamic Terrorism: Daniel Pearl Kidnapped

Part of the This Day in Islamic Terrorism series.

On January 23, 2002, on his way to what he thought was an interview with Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani at the Village restaurant in Karachi, Pearl was kidnapped by a militant group calling itself The National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty.

This group claimed Pearl was a CIA agent and — using the e-mail address — sent the United States a range of demands, including the freeing of all Pakistani terror detainees, and the release of a halted U.S. shipment of F-16 fighter jets to the Pakistani government.

The message read:

We give you one more day if America will not meet our demands we will kill Daniel. Then this cycle will continue and no American journalist could enter Pakistan.

Photos of Pearl handcuffed with a gun at his head and holding up a newspaper were attached. There was no response to pleas from Pearl's editor, and from his wife Mariane.

Nine days later, Pearl was murdered and beheaded. Pearl's body was found cut into ten pieces and buried in a shallow grave in the outskirts of Karachi on May 16. When the police found his remains, Abdul Sattar Edhi arrived promptly on the scene, personally collected all ten body parts, and took them to the morgue; then his body was returned to the United States and he was interred in the Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

(Although foul play was obvious, no autopsy was needed or performed. The subsequent video  made the sequence of events clear. Years later, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed confessed to cutting off Pearl's head, but didn't state whether he had cut his throat: it is likely that one person did both.)

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was one of the terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay.

Alfonso does it again

Hat tip, PaleoCon Command Center.

Amboy Celebrates it's 3rd Year

On this day, January 23, 2006, the original Amboy put up it's first post.

To all of my blogging buddies who've supported and encouraged me...

Thank you.

 

First round's on me.