Jihad is Theft and Tax Evasion

Sheikh Anwar also commands Muslims to engage in tax evasion, which leads me to my concluding thoughts:

One may see this as an alarming development if one wishes to do so, and there might be some previously law-abiding jihadis who will take this advice to heart and take up thievery and tax evasion. Ordinary criminal activity may even be a better form of training for terrorists than what they can get in remote camps or conflict zones. At the end of the day, however, criminal activity undermines the security of the terrorist enterprise by exposing the mujahideen to a set of threats that they might be better off avoiding and playing to the strengths of law enforcement.

With the above comments in mind, here is Sheikh Anwar's ruling, presented as a free-standing PDF despite Samir Khan's best efforts to prevent that from happening:

Awlaki_Ruling_on_Thieving.pdf [9 MB][click to view or right+click to download and save]

The enduring fascination of terrorists with bank robbery is something that could stand to be better understood. There is no shortage of examples, but what is missing is some treatment of the subject that gets beyond simple history and explores the underlying behavior that spans decades and ideologies. And speaking of Samir Khan - the presumptive editor of Inspire Magazine - readers may wish to familiarize themselves with the story of Mustafa Naushad.

Atlas Shrugs

Crime Without Punishment

My lady friend was a deeply religious Jewess. There was a scandal concerning a local Rabbi and his eleven-year-old daughter. My friend refused to believe the evidence or the Court verdicts.Somewhere in the human psyche lies the ability to complain about our leaders without a corresponding urge to punish them for criminal doings. It's considered bad form.The current Administration has carried this to the logical conclusion. Forgiven of preemptive war, rendition, torture and crimes against humanity, the perpetrators conduct fraudulent bailouts without any attempt at concealment. They are confident neither the public or the Democrats will do anything about the situation.

Repair the Congress? Good Luck to You

The Congress is a money making club. Why on earth would any member follow his conscience, or listen to the people? They can't possibly pay the bribes and graft available from the special interests.
If the opposition makes waves, the incumbent runs a smear campaign documented by co-operative media lackeys. If the opponent gets too close to the truth, a call to the FBI will release damaging evidence on him videotapes of his sexual adventures, the slaves he keeps in his attic, the nuclear secrets he sold to the Pakistanis etc.
The recent lootings by venal officials have been so flagrant as to give every voter a swift kick in the teeth. The outgoing administration doesn't bother to make the usual excuses. They stuff their trunks and suitcases with newly printed greenbacks as they retreat to friendly tax havens.
Mr Obama can deliver all the flowery speeches he wants, but they are meaningless if the vast majority of his colleagues are not incarcerated.