Craziness in Ireland: 'Long Live the Taliban'

Some madness in Dublin this past weekend as they held an Al-Aqsa Festival in Dublin.

Seriously. A shame so many on the old sod are sympathetic to this bilge. Sad to say enough Americans are as well. Those folks are typically known as progressives, code word for Democrats.

PRO-HAMAS SPEAKERS at a fundraising event held at the RDS in Dublin at the weekend argued that the recent violence in Gaza, in which more than 1,300 Palestinians were killed, was a “victory” because it put the Middle East conflict back on the international agenda and galvanised Muslims worldwide.

The Al-Aqsa Festival, which was headlined “Gaza Victory: The Road to Al-Quds”, drew hundreds of people to the RDS Concert Hall on Saturday.

The event, organised by the Palestinian Rights Institute – a body established several years ago by Palestinians living in Ireland, was covered by a TV crew from Al Jazeera’s Arabic-language channel.

Speakers included Azzam Tamimi, the Palestinian director of the London-based Institute of Islamic Political Thought, and Sheikh Yousef al Baz, a Muslim cleric from the West Bank.

Speaking in Arabic, Sheikh al Baz said the January conflict between Israel and Hamas had “revived the issue of Palestine throughout the world after it was almost dead”, and it had “restored to every Muslim his honour and dignity”. He argued that the war had proved that “resistance is the only way, and not negotiation”.

Um, are you listening, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama?

Sheikh al Baz’s speech prompted shouts of “Allahu Akbar” from the audience, drawn mostly from the Muslim community. “We supported the jihad and we will do so until Allah grants us victory,” the cleric said. “And that day is not far.”

Pro-Hamas paraphernalia, including DVDs featuring armed Hamas fighters and Sheikh Yassin, the group’s spiritual leader who was assassinated by Israel in 2004, were on sale at the event.

Mr Tamimi, who has written a number of books on Hamas, railed against the US and Europe for insisting that the organisation must meet certain conditions, including recognising Israel’s right to exist, before any engagement occurs.

“Once you recognise Israel, you say to the world that the rape of my country and my people is acceptable,” Mr Tamimi said. “It is a crime against humanity to recognise Israel’s right to exist because that would legitimise the crimes against humanity Israel has committed.”

Had Hamas agreed to meet the conditions laid down by the international community, he said, “they would no longer have my support”.

Hamas, Mr Tamimi argued, was “an alternative to those who sold out” and it “represents our dream” as the “true representative of the Palestinian voice”.

“When the world opposes Hamas, it opposes Palestinian self-determination,” he said, adding that the international community must recognise the “legitimacy Hamas has gained through resistance and elections”.

Branding the EU as “cowards” for not engaging with Hamas, Mr Tamimi added: “Hamas is who the world should be talking to if it is serious about solving the Palestinian issue.”

Later, Mr Tamimi drew applause when he praised insurgents in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan. He said he disagreed with the Taliban’s views on certain matters, but added: “With regard to their attitudes to liberation I say ‘Long live the Taliban’.”

H/T Wilcox.

Apparently Hamas has quite a few friends in high places in Ireland.

The leader of Irish Republican Army-linked Sinn Fein party met with the head of the internationally shunned Hamas government during a two-day visit to Gaza and said he plans to brief President Obama's special Mideast envoy about his contacts.

Gerry Adams, a key player in Northern Ireland's peace process, met with Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh late Wednesday and planned more talks with officials of the Islamic militant group Thursday.

Haniyeh's meeting with Adams, at an undisclosed location in Gaza City, was not announced ahead of time. TV footage from a local news outlet showed Adams sitting in an armchair next to Haniyeh

"We want to help. We support the Palestinian people," Adams said.

Adams told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday he said he met Obama's special Mideast envoy George Mitchell in Washington last month and told him of his plan to visit Gaza. He said he plans to "brief the Irish government, friends in the U.S., others I deal with internationally, and that would include Sen. Mitchell."

Sickening.

Paramilitary Killer Uses 'Performance Art' Defense

I've seen enough odd protests claiming to be art, but I suspect attempted murder by a man already convicted for six homicides isn't exactly going to qualify as artistic expression.

The loyalist paramilitary Michael Stone yesterday denied trying to kill the leaders of Sinn Fein and insisted his attempt to force his way into Stormont carrying a small armoury of weapons was not terrorism but "an act of performance art".

Stone, 53, who has previously served 12 years of a life sentence for six killings, is charged with attempting to murder Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness at the Stormont parliament in Belfast in 2006.

He was detained at the building's front doors by two security guards. The episode caused a major security incident because republican and unionist leaders were attending a meeting of the Belfast Assembly a short distance away. In addition to attempted murder, he faces charges of possessing an imitation firearm, nail and pipe bombs, three knives, a hatchet and a garrotte.

An army bomb disposal expert testified that in a bag flung into the building by Stone, he had found 12 fireworks, firelighters and a two-litre plastic bottle filled with petrol, as well as four pipe bombs filled with nails. The expert said that these were sufficient to cause a considerable blast had they been used.

The two security guards have testified that when Stone appeared they believed he was a suicide bomber. Susan Porter said Stone "pulled a gun and held it to my face", telling her to move back or he would shoot her. She leapt forward and managed to take the gun away from him.

Offering an unusual defence at Belfast Crown Court, Stone claimed the incident, which was televised, was "a comic parody" meant to "put a rocket up the backsides" of politicians. He said he did not intend to harm anyone, especially Martin McGuinness as "he would be the last man I would target because he was a security force asset". He said his "performance protest" was aimed at helping the peace process.

Stone came to public attention in 1988 after a one-man attack on a republican funeral in which he killed three mourners with a revolver and hand grenades. He was released 12 years later when most prisoners were freed in a political settlement. Since then he has often courted publicity. The court heard that, in a letter to a Belfast journalist, Stone had said he planned to "slit the throats" of the republican leaders.

Sounds like a real cut-up.