Ok. I can understand why you would think that. The only other article I can think of that had to do with legalese was the immigration law. I try to keep track of the laws that infringe on the civil liberties and rights of people. The immigration law has huge implications to me and anyone in my circle. This new military commision bill also will touch my life either diectly or indirectly. The best defense is a good offense. If anything happens I will be better equipped to deal with it if I have the information. Hope that helps explain my loveaffair with bills & laws.

Simple question JB. Did you listen to the lecture? If you did, did you see where my questions stem from? If not, then aren't you proving your bias against the supernatural? Don't be presumptous and bougie iight!

Viks Have i told ya I missed ya. I can't take drugs. I'm like a cigarette CEO who doesn't smoke a pack. Its a no no. For some reason I believe the body is equipped to deal with a lot of the issues we seem to have. We just have to become intuned with it. Plus, have you noticed the amount of recalls going on in the past couple years. Drugs don't have the same standards as in the olden days. Femme lol I tried that and I ended up finishing my readings and still wide awake. I read one Juzzu and was still awake. Finally I just got myself out of my room and got some cereal and coffee. I was nodding off in bio seminar this afternoon but I am not sure I will be staring at that bed tonite with Tahajud and all. More caffine when iftar comes along.

Good golly mz molly I ain't a law student. Whatever gave you that idea? I just seem to find politics fascinating, morever that people seem oblivious of the inner workings of their republic befundles me.

^^^Wading out a lil deep in that pool with no safe line ain't ya mate? The dude wasn't infering knowledge into the will of Allah (swt). He was quoting ahadith and using that in our current context. Have you seen text in the major religion dealing with the apocalypse? Is that not foretold and the signs of it. Same case with Imam Anwar. He is reading about a foretold situation and he contextualizing it to the present day.

Originally posted by HeroOfCanton: .... I personaly feel sorry for the white people in that country. Seeing their country being ruined slowly..... I hope Aids does it magic quickly. hmm is that racist? Whoa slow down there wilma? South Africa belongs to the whites? since when sxb? Care to dig back in your history and prove how a piece of Africa is owned by Whites? :rolleyes: As for the AIDS comments..... That thought shouldn't even be allowed on a normal day let alone a Holy month.

^^^Exercise my a$$. My hams and quads have got to be the envy of most. I stand and walk continuously for eight to ten hours a day. My job is my exercise. Damn patients and their need for great & speedy service. Insomnia is my greatest friend. I do my best writing when I am a zombie. One of these days I will concoct a drug to induce ecstasy due to wakefulness. What do ya think.......is there a market for such a product? Get your work done with bliss instead of irritating restlessness.

Every fall this happens. Must be my body cycling with the season. I always go through bouts of not getting sleep for long stretches of time. Max I have done is 72 hours and when I finally succumbed to sleep I didn't wake up for 15 hours. My roomate nearly declared me dead and coaxed me out of my bed with pancakes, eggs, potatoes and hot coffee! Normally I don't care but I don't need this right now. I have an important exam during this week and I am **insert bleep** if I don't get some sleep. So, HELP!!. Oh damn time to get to class and then to a eight hourwork shift. Ya Allah give me strength today.

Ain't it always insomnia. Everywhere around me I am hearing alarms waking people up. Ng, You are deaf among other things. Seems like some of your body organs are starting to give up on you a lil early. Chin up guv'nor as they say in England

^^^Poor dear. I haven't slept a wink and I am still awake and its nearly time for fajr. I am enjoying my caffine before fajr comes around and watching BBC on the TV. Want a cuppa? (tea off course} Ngonge, your sound test made me feel awful till I read the disclaimer which said that under 17Mkhz is only heard by under 20's

^^^I have that site on my favs since I was surfing last night . I haven't gotten around to looking at all their videos but apparently they are really popular they even made T-shirts. Made me think of what we could do All in all its so true about the weddings and they make their topics funnyyyyyyyyyyy.I love the one about work,Jumma prayers & who Hijacked my religion. Kudos to the brothers! Know what am saying?

A bunch of things. Basis of it is ahadith that states that Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine will be the vanguards of jihad. That it was professed and it is slowly being realized. It also speaks of fundamentalism by the west. Let me just transcribe it for easier coherency "If Allah zawajal wants an end he will creat for it. It means...we mentioned three proofs to this rule. Ba3th and we mentioned what happened in Persia and then an example from the time of Salahuddin. Now we said that history repeats itself that was number one and number two Allah zawajal is preparing particular areas (read Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and S. Turkey) and number three that fundamentalism is on the rise in the west (read that the west is edging towards fundamentalism when it comes to dealing with Religion/Islam) and number four the ummah has to pass through stations towards establishment (read Allah zawajal does not give 3mbiyah [the establishment on earth] unless it becomes clear who is with him and who is against him.Ummah needs to be seperated into mumin and munafiq)." Ps:- Sorry if its not clear but I took his summary only.If you need to listen the whole second part, with more explaination google the lecture & you will find the download site or click on my homepage and I streamed it on my page.

Oi.....I don't know why but I had a picture of a confessional when I read this post. Forgive me father for I have sinned, its been six weeks since my last confession...... Do a dozen hail mary's and you are forgiven isn't that the easiest path to heaven :eek:

I was listening to the lecture by Imam Anwar Al Awlaki "Allah is preparing us for Victory". The second part of the lecture lead me to post this question. Is knowing what will happen enable us to face our demons more surefootedly? Is knowing what will happen make the death and killings easier to deal with? Finally is knowing what the future holds propel one to self fulfill it?

Insomnia is sometimes a welcome. Like during Ramadhan

^^I regretted venturing into that site. Horrible pics. Subxannalah.

^^link doesn't work.

And so it has passed, with very little effort through congress and the senate, to be placed infront of G W Bush for his signature. The outlines of the Bill are as follows: Requires that a defendant being tried by military commission have access to any evidence given to a jury. Drops a section of the administration's previous proposal that stated an existing ban on cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment satisfies the nation's obligations under the Geneva Conventions. Prohibits "grave breaches" of the Geneva Conventions. Defines grave breaches as acts such as torture, rape, biological experiments and cruel and inhuman treatment. Notes the president has the authority to interpret "the meaning and application" of the Geneva Conventions. Allows hearsay evidence. Allows coerced testimony if the statement was acquired before a 2005 ban on cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and a judge finds it to be reliable. Bans coerced statements taken after the 2005 ban went into effect if it violates constitutional definitions of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Bars individuals from protesting violations of Geneva Conventions standards in court. For those who are interested in seeing how the vote went down. Here is a slight breakdown: These are the Democratic Representatives that voted for the Resolution: Robert E. Andrews (NJ) John Barrow (GA) Melissa L. Bean (IL) Sandford D. Bishop Jr. (GA) Dan Boren (OK) Leonard L. Boswell (IA) Allen Boyd (FL) Corrine Brown (OH) Ben Chandler (KY) Robert E. (Bud) Cramer Jr. (AL) Henry Cuellar (TX) Artur Davis (AL) Lincoln Davis (TN) Chet Edwards (TX) Bob Etheridge (NC) Harold E. Ford Jr. (TN) Bart Gordon (TN) Stephanie Herseth (SD) Brian Higgins (NY) Tim Holden (PA) Jim Marshall (GA) Jim Matheson (UT) Mike McIntyre (NC) Charlie Melancon (LA) Michael H. Michaud (ME) Dennis Moore (KS) Collin C.Peterson (MN) Earl Pomeroy (ND) Mike Ross (AR) John T. Salazar (CO) David Scott (GA) John M. Spratt Jr. (SC) John S. Tanner (TN) Gene Taylor (MS) Senate vote on the bill: Democrats in favor (12) - Carper (Del.), Johnson (S.D.), Landrieu (La.), Lautenberg (N.J.), Lieberman (Conn.), Menendez (N.J), Pryor (Ark.), Rockefeller (W. Va.), Salazar (Co.), Stabenow (Mich.), Nelson (Fla.), Nelson (Neb.) Republicans against (1) - Chafee (R.I.). Jeffords (Independent) voted against. Finally, when the bill was on the floor. This was one of the speeches against it. Senator Feingold: Let me be clear: I welcome efforts to bring terrorists to justice. It is about time. This Administration has too long been distracted by the war in Iraq from the fight against al Qaeda. We need a renewed focus on the terrorist networks that present the greatest threat to this country. But Mr. President, we wouldn’t be where we are today, five years after September 11 with not a single Guantanamo Bay detainee having been brought to trial, if the President had come to Congress in the first place, rather than unilaterally creating military commissions that didn’t comply with the law. The President wanted to act on his own, and he dared the Supreme Court to stop him. And he lost. The Hamdan decision was an historic rebuke to an Administration that has acted for years as if it were above the law. Finally, only because he was essentially ordered to do so by the Supreme Court, the President has agreed to consult with Congress. I would have hoped that we would take this opportunity to pass legislation that allows us to proceed in accordance with our laws and our values. That is what separates America from our enemies. These trials, conducted appropriately, have the potential to demonstrate to the world that our democratic, constitutional system of government is our greatest strength in fighting those who attacked us. And that is why I am saddened that I must oppose this legislation. Because, Mr. President, the trials conducted under this legislation will send a very different signal to the world, one that I fear will put our own troops and personnel in jeopardy both now and in future conflicts. To take just a few examples, this legislation would permit an individual to be convicted on the basis of coerced testimony and hearsay, would not allow full judicial review of the conviction, and yet would allow someone convicted under these rules to be put to death. That is simply unacceptable. We would not stand for another country to try our citizens under those rules, and we should not stand for our own government to do so, either. Not only that, this legislation would deny detainees at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere—people who have been held for years but have not been tried or even charged with any crime—the ability to challenge their detention in court. Among its many flaws, this is the most troubling—that the legislation seeks to suspend the Great Writ of habeas corpus. The legislation before us is better than that originally proposed by the President, which would have largely codified the procedures the Supreme Court has already rejected. And that is thanks to the efforts of some of my Republican colleagues for whom I have great respect and admiration. But this bill remains deeply flawed, and I cannot support it. One of the most disturbing provisions of this bill eliminates the right of habeas corpus for those detained as enemy combatants. I support an amendment by Senator Specter to strike that provision from the bill. I ask unanimous consent that my separate statement on that amendment be put in the record at the appropriate point. Habeas corpus is a fundamental recognition that in America, the government does not have the power to detain people indefinitely and arbitrarily. And that in America, the courts must have the power to review the legality of executive detention decisions. Habeas corpus is a longstanding vital part of our American tradition, and is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. As a group of retired judges wrote to Congress, habeas corpus “safeguards the most hallowed judicial role in our constitutional democracy – ensuring that no man is imprisoned unlawfully.†Mr. President, this bill would fundamentally alter that historical equation. Faced with an executive branch that has detained hundreds of people without trial for years now, it would eliminate the right of habeas corpus. Under this legislation, some individuals, at the designation of the executive branch alone, could be picked up, even in the United States, and held indefinitely without trial and without any access whatsoever to the courts. They would not be able to call upon the laws of our great nation to challenge their detention because they would have been put outside the reach of the law. Mr. President, that is unacceptable, and it almost surely violates our Constitution. But that determination will take years of protracted litigation. Mr. President, why would we turn our back on hundreds of years of history and our nation’s commitment to liberty -- particularly when there is no good reason to do so? We should be working to provide a lawful system of military commissions so that those who have committed war crimes can be brought to justice. We can do that quite well without denying one of the most basic rights guaranteed by the Constitution to those held in custody by our government. Some have suggested that terrorists who take up arms against this country should not be allowed to challenge their detention in court. But that argument is circular – the writ of habeas allows those who might be mistakenly detained to challenge their detention in court, before a neutral decision-maker. The alternative is to allow people to be detained indefinitely with no ability to argue that they are not, in fact, enemy combatants. Unless any of my colleagues can say with absolute certainty that everyone detained as an enemy combatant was correctly detained – and there is ample evidence to suggest that is not the case – then we should make sure that people can’t simply be locked up forever, without court review, based on someone slapping a “terrorist†label on them. There is another reason why we must not deprive detainees of habeas corpus, and that is the fact that the American system of government is supposed to set an example for the world, as a beacon of democracy. And this provision will only serve to harm others’ perception of our system of government. Mr. President, a group of retired diplomats sent a very moving letter explaining their concerns about this habeas-stripping provision. Here is what they said: “To proclaim democratic government to the rest of the world as the supreme form of government at the very moment we eliminate the most important avenue of relief from arbitrary governmental detention will not serve our interests in the larger world.†Many, many dedicated patriotic Americans share these grave reservations about this particular provision of the bill. They have reservations not because they sympathize with suspected terrorists. Not because they are soft on national security. Not because they don’t understand the threat we face. No. They, and we in the Senate who support the Specter amendment, are concerned about this provision because we care about the Constitution, because we care about the image that American presents to the world as we fight the terrorists. Because we know that the writ of habeas corpus provides one of the most significant protections of human freedom against arbitrary government action ever created. If we sacrifice it here, we will head down a road that history will judge harshly and our descendants will regret. Mr. President, we must not imperil our proud history. We must not abandon the Great Writ. We must not jeopardize our nation’s proud traditions and principles by suspending the writ of habeas corpus, and permitting our government to pick people up off the street, even in U.S. cities, and detain them indefinitely without court review. That is not what America is about. Unfortunately, the suspension of the Great Writ is not the only problem with this legislation, nor is it the only instance where the legislation goes beyond establishing military commissions to include unnecessary provisions with deeply troubling results. The Administration has spoken about the need for this legislation to bring clarity to the War Crimes Act, which makes it a crime to violate Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. It has proposed that we specifically list the actions that would be considered crimes under that law. On the face of it, that certainly sounds sensible. But when you look at this legislation, you realize that the modification it makes only muddies the waters. Not only that, it does so retroactively. The key problem is in the definition of “cruel or inhuman†treatment. This is a critical definition because it is the provision that determines which coercive interrogation techniques amount to crimes under U.S. law. But because of the complex structure of this section, it is very difficult to understand what the new definition would criminalize, and I am concerned that any ambiguity may be interpreted too narrowly by some. The definition incorporates several terms that in turn have their own separate definitions, and it even has one new definition that doesn’t go into effect until the date of enactment, even though the rest of the amendments to the War Crimes Act are made retroactive to 1997. Frankly, Mr. President, the new prohibition is extremely unclear. And we have already heard different interpretations of it from Senators and Administration officials who negotiated the language. If our goal is to give unambiguous guidance to our personnel, and the courts, this does not do it. The way the provision is drafted, it even seems designed to grant immunity to senior officials who authorized coercive interrogation techniques. Mr. President, we should just follow the approach originally endorsed by the Senate Armed Services Committee, which would have applied the language of the McCain amendment. Mr. President, I am also very concerned about the definition of unlawful enemy combatant that is included in this legislation, and about the corresponding issue of the jurisdiction of the military commissions. Mr. President, this legislation has been justified as necessary to allow our government to prosecute Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other dangerous men recently transferred to Guantanamo Bay. Yet if you look at the fine print of this legislation, it becomes clear that it is much, much broader than that. It would permit trial by military commission not just for those accused of serious terrorist crimes, but also individuals, including legal permanent residents of this country, who are alleged to have “purposefully and materially supported hostilities†against the United States or its allies. This is extremely broad, and key terms go undefined. And by including hostilities not only against the United States but also against its allies, the bill allows the U.S. to hold and try by military commission individuals who have never engaged, directly or indirectly, in any action against the United States. Not only that, but the bill would also define as an unlawful enemy combatant subject to trial by military commission, anyone who “has been determined to be an unlawful enemy combatant by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal or another competent tribunal established under the authority of the President or the Secretary of Defense.†This essentially grants a blank check to the executive branch to decide entirely on its own who can be tried by military commission. If we are going to establish military commissions outside of our traditional military and civilian justice systems, at a minimum we should explicitly limit their application to the worst of the worst, those who pose a serious threat to our country. We shouldn’t leave it up to just one branch of government to make these incredibly important decisions. Mr. President, the bulk of this legislation concerns the structure and process of military commissions. Although we heard from many witnesses at congressional hearings this summer that we should hew as closely as possible to the long-established military system of justice, this bill instead essentially starts from scratch and creates a whole new structure. It does so despite Justice Kennedy’s wise advice in his concurrence in Hamdan, where he said: “The Constitution is best preserved by reliance on standards tested over time and insulated from the pressures of the moment.†For example, this legislation creates a presumption for the admissibility of hearsay evidence. Now, it is true that because of the exigencies of war and active combat situations, hearsay rules may need to be structured differently than they are in our criminal courts, but the rules laid out in the UCMJ are drafted to handle these same exigencies. While there may need to be some adjustments to the UCMJ hearsay rules, we need not discard them altogether. The presumption against hearsay is a fundamental protection built into our existing legal structures to ensure that proceedings yield a just and fair result. Yet in this provision and elsewhere, the legislation erodes such protections—going far beyond what is allowed in the military system—and without justification. Even more disturbing is that the bill appears to permit individuals to be convicted, and even sentenced to death, on the basis of coerced testimony. According to the legislation, statements obtained through cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, as long as it was obtained prior to December 2005 when the McCain amendment become law, would apparently be admissible in many instances in these military commissions. Now, it is true that the bill would require the commission to find these statements have sufficient reliability and probative value. But why would we go down this road of trying to convict people based on statements obtained through cruel, inhuman, or degrading interrogation techniques? Either we are a nation that stands against this type of cruelty and for the rule of law, or we are not. We can’t have it both ways. The idea that coerced statements can be used as long as they were obtained long enough ago is appalling. It seems to assume that there was a lack of clarity in the law prior to December 2005. In fact, there was great clarity, until this Administration decided to invent a narrow definition of torture that had never been used or accepted anywhere in the civilized world. The McCain amendment was needed to get this Administration to return to the law. It was a repudiation of the legal theories of the infamous Bybee memo, which the Administration even said it was withdrawing once it was publicly revealed. Its enactment should not now be used as a dividing point before which evidence obtained through cruel and inhuman treatment can be used in court. At times of great adversity, the strength of a nation’s convictions is tested and its true character revealed. If we sacrifice or qualify our principles in the face of the tremendous challenge we face from terrorists who want to destroy America, we will be making a terrible mistake. If we cloak cruel or degrading interrogations done in the name of American safety with euphemisms like “alternative techniques,†if we create arbitrary dates for when differing degrees of morality will apply, we will have betrayed our principles and ourselves. Statements obtained through such techniques should not be admissible, even against the most vicious killers in the world, in proceedings held by the government of the United States of America. Period. Mr. President, in sum, this legislation is very troubling and in many respects legally suspect. I fear the end result of this legislation will only be more delay. It will surely be subject to further legal challenge, and may squander another four or five years while cases work their way through the courts again. We can and must fight terrorism aggressively without compromising fundamental American values. We must remember what the Army Judge Advocate General told me at a Judiciary Committee hearing this summer: that the United States should set an example for the world, and that we must carefully consider the effect on the way our own soldiers will be treated. Mr. President, in closing let me do something I don’t do very often – and that is quote John Ashcroft. According to the New York Times, at a private meeting of high-level officials in 2003 about the military commission structure, then-Attorney General Ashcroft said: “Timothy McVeigh was one of the worst killers in U.S. history. But at least we had fair procedures for him.†How sad that this Congress would seek to pass legislation about which the same cannot be said.

^^Gee I wonder why? Why didn't they interview/follow a normal niqab'd woman who works and go to school. I am sure she could have found one of them. I can go undercover for a day as a basketballer and live the baller life but that doesn't tell me the gruelling hours they put in practice nor the joy they feel when they win a game. Its flawed to think living in someone's skin in one day will give you proper understanding of their viewpoint when the experimenter herself comes into the experiment obviously jaded! And thats what they call journalism these days.

^^^Even when you love your job there are days you just don't want to be there or other thoughts are plagueing your work day and remove the joy of being there.

^^Thats was a funny debate. I felt the al-jazeera man was absolutely rattled by the outspoken woman. I actually sent the link to my professor too.

Do you ever laugh every time to hear bill O'reilly tell someone to shut up but then don't realize what exactly he was talking about the whole time? Or is it that you hate Fox news and wouldn't be caught dead watching it but still want to know what the ultra-conservative news outlet is saying? Either way there is this website that watches it for you, infact their slogan is: We watch FOX so you don't have to. This site is actually a blog that was birthed from the documentary OUTFOXED. I can understand the need for checking the FOX channel but then again a liberal bias is not the answer.My other issue arises with the fact most news we hear on the networks (fox and others) are filled with commentary and no longer can we see the distinct lines. Fox is the number one news network in US at the moment because this creed works. How many other networks are employing the same tactics to gain revenue?

^^Maybe next time you should try adding some berries instead of bananas in your mixture. I like blueberries and blackberries. Personally I think cooking should be a personalized thing. If you notice everyone cooks the same dish differently. In our own home alone, when I am in the kitchen and people are helping out, I am the master chef. So, even though you might know how to cook your own version bajia, mahamri, kaymati.....etc. You will do wise to abide by my orders otherwise you might just land on your ears on your way out the door. Angel can you post a pic so we can actually see how the finished good is supposed to look like?

I agree with Naden. Islamic history is rich with scientific discovery from algorithim to alchemist to discovery of small pox to unearthing that light travels faster than sound to optics. Muslims have been sitting on their laurels on the premise that the Quran contains all the answers, but we forget that it is in this book that we are told to seek knowledge unto the ends of the earth. The last time I heard anything resembling a scientific discovery from the Muslim world was the Somali doctors and their feat with blood transfusion. I will go further and pinpoint the problem to two things. First, the governments (my latest scapegoats). They do nothing to encourage nor fund scientific exploration in the Islamic worlds. No wonder most universities in the West seem to be acquiring very smart muslim scientist who primarly do research. The other factor is that muslim tend to be narrow minded in assuming that western thinking will erode their society. We have to accept the steps the west have taken in the scientific community as the west as to acknowledge that without the muslims historical contribution none of their fruits would have come to bear.

I thought rumour mongering was a sin in Islam. God forgive the lot of you! Akhas Caleyk.